Q.2336

In Jan 2017, Finland became the first country in Europe to officially experiment with this socio-economic concept. Similar experiments are scheduled for many Dutch cities and the Canadian city of Ontario in 2017. In the case of Finland, the figure is 560 Euros a month. What concept?

[+ Show Answer]

A basic income, regardless of one's economic status. The Finnish experiment is focused first on the currently unemployed, but they will receive this even if they find a job. More here on this idea

, which is an idea being talked about across the Western world.

Q.2056

In May 2016, this South American country announced that the number of working days in a week would be reduced to just two in order to deal with a crippling energy crisis.

Also tackling the Zika virus, drought, and politico-economic instability, which country is this?

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Venezuela. More here.

Q.1847

The Svalbard Seed Vault (also dubbed the "Doomsday Vault") is located in the Arctic, where it holds seed samples of different types of crops from across the world.

In 2015, researchers from the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas requested a "bank withdrawal" for some seeds. This was because their research centre's gene bank at its headquarters was no longer available, due to a conflict.

If the HQ has now moved to Beirut in Lebanon, where was it previously housed - the largest city in a nearby country?

[+ Show Answer]

Aleppo in Syria. More here.

This day last year: Q.

Q.1737

What portmanteau word coined by Citigroup economist Ebrahim Rahbari in 2012 has been in most business headlines in mid-2015 and is easily the most commonly used word from something called the "Grexicon"?

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"Grexit" referring to the potential exit of Greece from the Eurozone. Other words include "Graccident" and "Grimbo". More here.

This day last year: Q1372.

Q.1649

In Mar 2015, the Financy Secretary of India, Rajiv Mehrishi, publicly unveiled what piece of paper in pink and green, which also bears his signature?

[+ Show Answer]

The new one rupee note of India. More here.

This day last year: Q.1284

Q.1620

The Narendra Modi-led Indian govt. is an acronym-friendly one. An acronym used during the 2015 budget is "JAM", used to denote ways to help deliver financial benefits to the poor.

In "JAM", if "M" is for "Mobile", what do the letters "J" and "A" stand for?

[+ Show Answer]

"J" is for "Jana Dhan Yojana", the banking inclusion projeect, and "A" for "Aadhar", the UID project. More here.

This day last year: Q.1255

Q.1555

SETU (Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation) is a techno-financial incubation programme which supports start-up businesses most significantly in technology-driven areas.
This mechanism falls under a something that has replaced an institution established in 1950.
Which institution? And what was it replaced by?

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NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aaayog replaced the Planning Commission of India.
Formed on 1 Jan 2015, NITI Aayog is a Government of India policy think-tank established by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to replace the Planning Commission.

Q.1554

The co-author of a 2013 book named "Why Growth Matters" was put in charge of a National Institution for Transforming India. Who and what was he made charge of?

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The economist Arvind Panagariya was named Dy. Chairperson of a new Indian body called "NITI Aayog", which replaces India's Planning Commission. "NITI", an acronym, also means "Policy". More here.

This day last year: Q.1189

Q.1420

Created in 1950 by the then Prime Minister of India, the beginning of its end was announced on 15th August, 2014, by the present Prime Minister. Two later Prime Ministers and a later President have headed its day-to-day functioning. Its members were once dismissed as a bunch of jokers by another Prime Minister.

What?

[+ Show Answer]

The Planning Commission of India. (The future PMs being P V Narasimha Rao & Manmohan Singh, and the President being Pranab Mukherjee.) More here.

This day last year: Q.1055

Q.1320

In 2014, French economist Thomas Piketty published the English translation of a book he had completed in 2013. "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" became a best-seller with its discussions on income inequality being hotly debated by the business media.

The book makes interesting references to characters from works of literature, using them to talk about incomes in various eras. One such example is the discussion about a fictional 19th century heroine who can only become well-off by marrying rich. From which author's book is this character taken?

[+ Show Answer]

Jane Austen, being a reference to Elizabeth Bennett in "Pride and Prejudice". More here.

(Here's the book at Amazon)

This day last year: Q.955

Q.1205

"Bitcoin" is a digital currency that has taken the world of business and economy by storm in the last few years. Given that, central banks and other financial regulators have been taking a close look at various issues related to this and other currencies, which is why India has yet to formally approve their use in the Indian financial system.

This has also meant that India's first digital currency is also waiting for approval. What is the name of this currency, which cleverly replaces 'bit' by a guest Indians would like to invite home and not complain if they overstay?

[+ Show Answer]

The currency is called "Laxmicoin". More here.

This day last year: Q.840

Q.1191

"Milda" is the nickname of the Freedom Monument in this country's capital city, which commemorated the country's war of Independence just after World War I. Milda is a national symbol in the country: she was seen on the country's banknotes, which, from 1st Jan 2014, gave way to the Euro.

To be seen on one and two euro coins within that nation, which country is this?

[+ Show Answer]

The former Soviet republic of Latvia, which formally switched over to the Euro on the first day of 2014. More here.

This day last year: Q.826

Q.1117

The economist Robert Shiller, a professor at Yale University, received the Nobel Prize for Economics for 2013, along with Eugene Fama and Lars Peter Hansen. A behavioral economist, he has been studying bubbles in markets.

In 2000, he published a book on a possible bubble in stock markets which was how things turned out that year. The book took its title from a phrase made famous by the then Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan.

What is this phrase?

[+ Show Answer]

"Irrational Exuberance". Here's an interview with Shiller after his Nobel win.

This day last year: Q.752

Q.1114

Guest Question by Sumit | contribute questions

(Earlier, the guest question was incorrectly attributed to Mr. Rajib Phukan instead of Sumit. Our apologies to both.)

The typical life of these is about 7.5 years before wear and tear demands replacement. The first ones were issued in 1862 and since then many "series" of these have been issued. More than two-thirds of these circulate outside of the United States. The latest one (released in October 2013) costs 12.6 cents to produce.

What are we talking about?

[+ Show Answer]

The United States one hundred-dollar bill, a new version of which enters circulation in 2013 (see this for more).

This day last year: Q.749

Q.1086

Guest Question by Ramki | contribute questions

He is an Indian-American professor of Gujarati origin, whose two brothers have also made names for themselves in Indian legal and medicinal circles. In July 2013, Bibek Debroy listed seven reasons why he never won the Nobel Prize for economics adding that the man "has won a fictional Nobel in a 2010 episode of The Simpsons. I fear it will remain that way."

Who is this personality who, in mid-2013, waged a war of words with his contemporary from right across his native state?

[+ Show Answer]

Jagdish Bhagwati, who sparred with Amartya Sen (more on this). Here's the Debroy article.

This day last year: Q.721

Q.1084

Mark Carney trained as an economist and has spent time both in government and in financial companies. He became famous for having kept Canada out of the financial crisis of the last decade. He has now taken up a position across the pond, becoming the first non-Briton to hold a post that goes back over three hundred years. In some sense, expectations from his appointment mirror those of a similar appointment in India, also in 2013.

What post?

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The Governor of the Bank of England. You could say, for more reason than one, that he is their Raghuram Rajan. More about Carney.

This day last year: Q.719

Q.1037

A July 2013 decision hailed by British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne as showing "sense and sensibility", why will certain kinds of legal document in the United Kingdom have the line "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!" from 2017?

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Likely to be issued in 2017, the new British 10 pound sterling note will feature a tribute to Jane Austen, the celebrated author of books such as "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice". This line is a quote from "Pride and Prejudice". More here.

This day last year: Q.671

Q.1027

The High Security Printing Conference is a regional forum for organisations that make artifacts such as currency notes, visas, licences, and other such governmental documents. The 2nd Latin American conference was held in July 2013, where it announced the inaugural Latin American Banknote of the Year prize.

.

This went to Argentina for a new 100 peso banknote for its technical and design qualities. This note, released in 2012, features which famous Argentinian, despite the fact that the person never held any post in the government?

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Evita Peron, a former First Lady of Argentina. More here on the award.

This day last year: Q.661

Q.909

Australia pioneered this monetary innovation: some other countries have also adopted it. India will trial this by introducing it via Reserve Bank of India offices in five cities (Cochin, Jaipur, Shimla, Mysore and Bhubaneswar), choosing the Rs. 10/- denomination.

Thus, if you have it in your pocket, you can use a phrase that is usually applied to credit cards. What innovation is this?

[+ Show Answer]

Currency notes made of plastic. More here.

This day last year: Q.544

Q.869

In early 2013, several Central and South American countries have been badly hit by an outbreak of rust (a type of fungus) affecting one of their most important cash crops, and thus their economies and employment figures. Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica have gone as far as to declare national emergencies because of it.

Which crop?

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Coffee. More details here.

This day last year: Q.503