The UK – even a flexible labour market still is a LABOUR market

In their book Animal Spirits George Akerlof and Robert Shiller state that wages are not set equal to the marginal productivity of labour but according to social norms – i.e. equal to (a part of) other wages. A wage is not just the atomistic market remuneration for your labour. It’s also a powerful social token of the respect you earn and a neon sign of your position in society. 

Global warming will compound security threats, UN panel claims

In an authoritative report due out Monday a United Nations climate panel for the first time is 

connecting hotter global temperatures to hotter global tempers. Top scientists are saying that 

climate change will complicate and worsen existing global security problems, such as civil 

wars, strife between nations and refugees.

A fighter in the war-torn Central African Republic. (photo credit: AFP/ FRED DUFOUR)

They’re not saying it will cause violence, but will be an added factor making things even more 

'dangerous. Fights over resources, like water and energy, hunger and extreme weather will all 

go into the mix to destabilize the world a bit more, says the report by the Nobel Peace Prize-

winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The summary of the report is being 

finalized this weekend by the panel in Yokohama.