Dare to be different in this era of ‘average’. Exchange rate volatility and monetary policy. Why algorithms are not a good source of consumer advice – for the consumer. The undesirable consequences of ‘premiumization’. Bees may be far more sentient than we thought.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Alex Murrell, The Age of Average
(Murrell’s blog, 20 March 2023)
A point so obvious that it may be overlooked. This well researched and well documented piece argues that from film to fashion and architecture to advertising and cars to brands, and even ‘professionally beautiful women’, creative fields have become dominated and defined by convention and cliché. Mimicry is everywhere and distinctiveness has died. “In every field we look at, we find that everything looks the same – this is the age of average”. This is a great opportunity for those aiming to be different, distinctive and disruptive! (Free access – reads in about 15 min).
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Ethan Ilzetzki, Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, Exchange rate volatility and monetary policy
(CEPR, 4 April 2023)
In the past two decades, there has been a great deal of economic and financial volatility, but exchange rates have remained unusually stable. In this short piece, the three economists suggest that monetary policy is a main driver of exchange rate volatility. It is only when interest rate policy becomes much more uncertain (like over the past 15-18 months) that exchange rate volatility returns, even though it hasn’t done so (yet?) at the level of the 1970s and 1980s. Their conclusion: “major currency exchange rate volatility is likely to remain elevated until the next ultra-low interest rate period arrives, which may not be anytime soon” (free access – reads in 6-8 min).
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Julia Angwin, If It’s Advertised to You Online, You Probably Shouldn’t Buy It. Here’s Why
(The New York Times, 6 April 2023)
Micro-targeting stems from tech firms tracking nearly every click to develop detailed profiles of our interests and desires, and then making that data available to advertisers. It works! The online ad industry has grown into a $540 billion market worldwide, dwarfing all other forms of advertising. But new research shows that, apart from damaging democracy by decimating traditional news publishers and allowing the delivery of politically divisive messages, micro-targeting seems also to be selling us higher-priced, lower-quality goods (gifted article – reads in 6-8 min).
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Anne D Innocenzio, $90 cream and $10 toothpaste: Companies target big spenders
(APN News, 2 April 2023)
A similar theme as the article above. To counter a sales slowdown, many companies pump up sales and profits by chasing after high-end incomes and focusing on premium items – some extravagant (like honey with black truffle for Heinz) or others just following the “premiumization” trend (like AMC Entertainment selling better seats in cinemas in a three-tier pricing system). This “premium products” strategy is deeply divisive and risks penalizing people with lower income while rewarding those with higher income (free access – reads in 4-5 min).
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Annette McGivney, ‘Bees are sentient’: inside the stunning brains of nature’s hardest workers
(The Guardian, 2 April 2023)
Research undertaken by a pollination ecologist suggests that bees can demonstrate sophisticated emotions resembling optimism, frustration, playfulness, and fear – all traits more commonly associated with mammals. Different experiments have also shown that bees can recognize different human faces, process long-term memories while sleeping, and maybe even dream. According to one of the researchers, “bees are self-aware, they’re sentient, and they possibly have a primitive form of consciousness. They solve problems and can think. Bees may even have a primitive form of subjective experiences.” If true, this would raise practical and existential quandaries (free access – reads in 6-8 min).
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