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Companies use price markups to make money from selling goods and services. By increasing this gap between the cost of producing an item and the amount an item is sold for, companies are able to make profits. But as it turns out, companies are widening this markup gap much more than anticipated.
Today in The Conversation Canada, Constantin Colonescu from MacEwan University finds that consumer prices are higher than they should be, even while considering inflation. According to his research on the markups for a variety of goods and services, prices are up to five times higher than the natural costs of production.
But Colonescu still sees a light at the end of the tunnel. His solution, he writes, is for governments and consumer organizations to use research like his to promote more competition in markets, advocate fair trade and re-think income inequality policies.
Also today:
Regards,
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Abnormally high market prices funnel wealth from consumers to owners of large companies.
(AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Constantin Colonescu, MacEwan University
Prices are up to five times higher than the raw costs of production for many of the goods and services we all need.
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A worker from Hope House, an organization that sponsors the use of cryptocurrencies on El Zonte beach, makes a purchase at a small shop that accepts bitcoins, in Tamanique, El Salvador, June 9, 2021.
(AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)
Annie Lecompte, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
An expert in the field of cryptocurrencies answers the question: Is crypto really here to stay or is it just a fad?
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Teachers need to be able to connect games used at school to curricula and students’ lives.
(Allison Shelley/EDUimages)
Scott DeJong, Concordia University
Without an educator to critically engage students about learning in a game, the learning can be misinformed or lost.
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Diversity is usually only thought of in terms of visible diversity, but in reality, it goes far beyond.
(Shutterstock)
Steven Smith, Saint Mary’s University; Katelynn Carter-Rogers, St. Francis Xavier University; Vurain Tabvuma, Saint Mary’s University
True workplace diversity goes beyond visible diversity and also includes diversity of personalities, values and attitudes.
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La recherche préclinique – celle qui précède les essais sur les humains – oriente souvent le choix des traitements potentiels à poursuivre jusqu’aux essais cliniques. Mais les tentatives de reproduction de 50 études ont révélé que les chances d’arriver aux résultats obtenus auparavant n’étaient que d’environ 50 %.
(Pexels/Artem Podrez)
Robert Nadon, McGill University
Les études précliniques constituent une partie importante de la recherche biomédicale. L’incapacité à reproduire les résultats de la recherche suggère la nécessité d’améliorer la qualité des études.
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Arts
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Paul Pettitt, Durham University
It makes sense that a world of individuals used art to explore identity.
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Culture + Society
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Megan Bryson, University of Tennessee
In most parts of East Asia, the new year that begins on Jan. 22 corresponds to the rabbit. In Vietnam though it will usher in the Year of the Cat.
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Politics
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Felia Allum, University of Bath
The mafia boss is the last known face of the Cosa Nostra crime syndicate. But his capture represents the end of an era, not the end of the mafia in Sicily.
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