Economy

 

Media gathering ahead of last year's announcement of the economics award. Anders Wiklund/TT  

 

The Nobel Prize  

Professor: "Economics helps people to have better lives" 

 

National economics can contribute to people having a better life. That's what Erik Angner, PhD in economics and professor of practical philosophy, tells TT ahead of the economics prize being awarded on Monday.  

 

National economics is about our behavior and how it can be influenced, which can help us solve major societal problems such as the climate crisis and poverty, says Angner.  

 

An example is the theory of "nudging", for which Richard Thaler received the economics prize in 2017. In other words, "little nudges" that make it easy for people and companies to act correctly.  

 

- The national economists almost completely agree on the method that you should "tax the crap" out of companies that cause problems. Then their products become expensive, and that is an incentive to change behaviours, says the professor.  

 

The economics prize in memory of Alfred Nobel will be awarded on Monday, at 11.45. 

 

Galaxy casino in Macau, stock photo. Vincent Yu / Ap  

 

China's growth  

Chinese tourist boom gives boost to "Asia's Las Vegas"  

 

Macau's casinos, Asia's equivalent of Las Vegas, are booming as Chinese tourists flock in during the holidays. Bloomberg reports.  

 

China has three annual week-long holidays that usually lead to a tourist boom. During the last "golden week", which ended on Friday, Macau's casinos had 932,000 visitors. This corresponds to 84 percent of the number of visitors in 2019, before the outbreak of the pandemic.  

 

Analysts now estimate that revenues for October will reach 72 percent of the pre-Covid level, which would be the highest figure since the pandemic broke out.  

 

Friday's postponement. Terry Renna / AP  

 

The new space race  

Amazon's Starlink rival has sent up demo satellites  

 

Amazon wants to challenge the Space X system Starlink for the role of the leading Internet provider from space. On Friday, Amazon sent up its first two demo satellites to be used with the Kuiper system, international media reports.  

 

Amazon has said that it will invest the equivalent of SEK 110 billion in the project. The goal is to send up 3,200 satellites over the next six years.  

 

77 launches are already booked with commercial operators such as Arianespace, ULA and Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin. 

 

Starlink satellites, file photo from 2021. Malcolm Denemark / AP  

 

Space X launches 

Startups and states compete for satellite internet in space  

 

The Space X system Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper are investing in offering internet access in hard-to-reach parts of the world, including war zones and disaster areas. Elon Musk's Space X is by far the biggest player - but there are many challengers on the market, writes AFP.  

 

Britain's One Web, Canada's Telesat and Germany's Rivada are some of the companies trying to get a stake in the space-based internet sector.  

 

The technology also has strategic importance for governments. China plans to launch 13,000 satellites as part of its Guowang constellation, while the EU's Iris project aims for 170 satellites.

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