This is the place where WHS students write about the issues we care about, challenge existing academic discourse, and ignite debates of our own. We invite people to remember the joy of learning for the sake of learning and encourage the broadening of academic horizons in both students and adults alike. This blog also acts as a part of our inspiring Scholars’ Programme linking in with the idea-sparking Explore Talks and Rosewell Lectures, from which much of our writing finds inspiration. From Physics to Art to English, we have something to say about everything. We hope you enjoy reading our pieces.
Isabelle in Year 11 looks at whether we will ever be able to live on the moon, and what this might involve.
Ever since man first stepped onto the moon, the possibility of one day living there has become increasingly prevalent. NASA’s several lunar missions have brought back information that shows the potential of a new home for the human race and, with Earth slowly becoming less inhabitable due to global warming, it is now more essential than ever to find a (potentially radical) solution. In our solar system the other planets have extreme temperatures and pressures that would make it impossible for us to survive and, since technology has not advanced enough to send life beyond the moon, it is unlikely the habitable planets outside of our solar system are within reach in the next 100 years.
Above: Astronaut via Pixabay
Data collected by NASA has shown that the moon’s surface (made up of regolith) has a consistency and cohesiveness of baking flour and although it is similar to sand on the Earth’s surface, it has very different properties. A build-up of electrostatic forces causes the regolith particles to stick to equipment and astronauts’ suits and clouds of dust could become trapped around the wheels of vehicles rendering them immobile. It would definitely be difficult to build infrastructure on this type of surface but a planned Artemis mission in 2024 will send scientists and engineers to the surface to examine the potential.
Water is an essential for humans and although the moon lacks liquid water, molecules can be found trapped in the rocks and minerals or in the form of ice at the poles. This water can be extracted to sustain human life for some time – certainly not the entire of Earth’s population but potentially enough for a moon base. Oxygen for breathing can also be found in the moon’s surface as it makes up 42% of the regolith. This can easily be extracted by robots which NASA have already built prototypes for, and used as fuel for rockets alongside hydrogen. So, the moon already has the raw materials for 2 necessary conditions for humans to live.
Food is a little more complicated. In previous space missions, astronauts have brought light, compact packets of non-perishable food but going back and forth from the moon bringing food every few months would cost a huge amount and a whole civilisation would require a lot more food compared to 3 or 4 astronauts. The moon’s soil contains toxic elements that would kill plants before they would have the chance to grow but experiments have found that if you add human manure, the soil becomes safer to use. This sustainable way of producing food would only need seeds to be brought in the spaceship.
A major difference between the moon and Earth is the strength of gravity. The moon’s gravity is around a 6th of the Earths. This has a negative impact on humans as the weightlessness causes bone density and muscles to deteriorate as they are not being used and heart rate and blood pressure to decrease dramatically. Fitness levels of astronauts have been shown to drop as aerobic capacity reduces by 20-25%. However, there have been no deaths related to lack of gravity over a long period of time and medicine can help our bodies to adapt to the new norm.
Cosmic radiation rarely affects us on Earth due to the ozone layer that protects us from most of the waves however the moon doesn’t have anything like this. Scientists have found that hydrogen can act as a shield and have considered wrapping a form of it around infrastructure. Another option would be to use regolith to create bricks to create housing as this would also protect humans. Much like the Earth, the moon’s poles receive sunlight almost 24/7 and so that would be an excellent option for providing power through solar cells.
Scientists have really thought about just about everything to sustain a base or civilisation of the moon. The problem with this all is the cost. There haven’t been very many missions to the moon due to the expense of building a rocket that contains all the necessary things and the advanced technology such as the rovers that are used to transport astronauts around the surface of the moon. It would currently be impractical as even a handful of people would still require several rockets and as well as robots and technology the idea of sending enough people to even create a base would be impossible for the near future. The dream is not dead yet though. Elon Musk recently became the richest man in the world and he has set his sights on building a small civilisation on the moon among other things through his SpaceX programme and with all the information gathered this could become a reality for the next generations.
In WimLearn this week, Imogen in Year 10 looks at the secret to becoming timeless, looking at the story of Helen of Troy through different historical periods.
It is uncertain if Helen of Troy ever lived, and yet nearly 3000 years after she first featured in Homer’s epic, the Iliad, she remains infamous – her story and reputation timeless. Set in the final year of the bitter Trojan war, the Iliad tells a legendary tale and includes characters both mortal and immortal. Although appearing only a handful of times, the portrayal of Helen is a striking one.
“No blame that the Trojans and strong-greaved Achaeans
have suffered so long on account of such a woman;
terribly does she seem like the immortal goddess to look on.”
(3.156-158)
At this point in the poem, Helen herself has not even spoken, but already has been pegged as almost divine in her beauty as well as having the blame for the brutal war placed upon her.
The strange thing is that once this claim was made, Homer neglected to elaborate further. She was supposedly the most beautiful, but no specific features are described, instead leaving it to the imagination. But deliberate or not, employing such a fluid image was a powerful choice, as after all beauty is so subjective. This ambiguity is appealing to the masses, since by allowing the individual to tailor their own perception of her, she can truly become the most beautiful in their eyes.
In a way the Iliad revolves around Helen, but Homer did not require her so much as a character, but more as the ultimate prize – compelling and beautiful, but nonetheless a possession. As a result, her personality is vague, with the little dialogue she has simply presenting her as wracked with regret. One of the first things she says is, “How I wish I’d chosen evil death.” (3.173) Her words are used just to support her reputation, for the more she blames herself for the sufferings of the war, the more the reader dwells on the part she played.
There is something so intriguing about being called the most beautiful woman in the world and yet wishing for death. That, coupled with a lack of detail regarding her personality and background, is what most likely led other writers to continue it, resulting in contradictions and strange embellishments to her tale. For example, in Euripides’ play Helen, she was told to have been born from an egg – peculiar, but it is thought that this was accepted by the Ancient World. And Helen had become so famous that not one, but two different places in Greece, Sparta and Athens, each paraded an eggshell and claimed it was the very eggshell from which she was supposedly born.
Regardless, it seems much of her acclaim stemmed from those in Ancient Greece. Although details like the timeframe, scale and Helen’s involvement in the war are debatable, many historians believe some kind of Trojan war did actually take place. Assuming one did, the aftermath of it would have brought many exaggerations and tales, due to war being a quick path to glory. These would have served to make the war even more renowned, simply adding to her considerable reputation – the greater and more terrible the war was, the more worthy the cause must have been. And had she existed, very few people would have seen her in person, resulting in speculation which was just another factor inflating her stature. For although some would scorn her alleged behaviour, many had genuine faith in her, or at least her beauty. A cult dedicated to her even sprung up across Greece, just like one would have been created for deity.
But how did the myth of Helen survive long after the Ancient Greek’s demise? Her status was not just maintained orally but would have also been displayed in more tangible ways like her appearing in writings, art and architecture, all of which outlived the people. They helped preserve her story, but ultimately it speaks for itself. Even for Greek mythology the tale was unique, and so it was embraced widely by other civilisations. Around 800 years after the Iliad she briefly appears in Roman writer Virgil’s Aeneid. Her story continued to be told even once the gods in it were discarded in favour of other religions like Christianity – somehow in early Middle Ages Helen began to be taken as almost an equivalent temptress to Eve. Skip a few centuries and the Elizabethan playwright Marlowe had coined a catchphrase for her – ‘Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?’ Even today, she continues to be a source of interest, inspiring more literature and films.
Therefore, what is the secret to becoming timeless? With Helen, there does not seem to be a single factor which can be isolated. Perhaps one could argue it was her iconic story, with her being beautiful enough for thousands of men to die over. But this alluring beauty is also reliant on speculation and mystery – all-important as a fixed image of her would never align with every individuals’ opinion. And so this opens up an important question: could there ever be another woman considered to be the most beautiful in the world? Nowadays, technology would undermine any such claim by eliminating this key element of mystery. Yet this is not necessarily a negative thing. Helen may be a timeless figure, but in the end being beautiful and famous brought her a sad life. The first time she speaks she begs for death, and in the Odyssey by the time she is back at Sparta she has resorted to putting herbs in her wine; essentially drugging herself against her grief. She seems broken – would anyone want to be timeless if that is the price?
This week’s WimLearn post is an extract from Hannah B’s EPQ about Belgium’s political system.
According to the Belgian constitution, citizens of this European country have the right to freedom of language, since its independence on 4th October 1830, and can, therefore, choose which language to conduct their daily lives in. Article 30 states that ‘only the law can rule on matters involving language, and only for acts of the public authorities, and in legal matters’ (Vermeire Elke, Documentation Centre on the Vlaamse Rand, 2010). The freedom of language for citizens also complicates political matters, in which national polling occurs because votes from both language-speaking sides must be collated and moderated for a fair system.
Additionally, article 4 states that “Belgium has four linguistic areas: The French-speaking area, the Dutch-speaking area, the bilingual area of Brussels Capital and the German-speaking area.” Around 55% of the Belgian population belong to the Flemish community, whilst 40% belong to the Walloon community, and just 1% to the German Community. However, 16% have Dutch as their second language, whilst 49% have French as their second language. Overall, this means that for the national government, ratios must be put in place to ensure that one linguistic group does not outweigh the other on the basis of their population.
Above: Image from https://brussels-express.eu/wacky-world-belgian-politics/
Over the past 20 years, Belgium has not seen much political stability, largely due to their language divide. Belgium has a multi-party system, which means that political parties are often required to form coalition governments with each other. An issue that immediately arises when a coalition government must form is the parties’ cooperation.
In Belgium, this is made difficult by the languages that the two sides speak. Before political decisions are even made, the efficiency of the decision, that is who should form a coalition, is hindered. Whilst the regions are able to communicate with each other, both sides have preconceptions, and therefore hesitations to working together. These doubts are supported by the fact that, previously, Belgium has been without a government for 541 days, due to disagreements. The affect the language divide has on cooperation is seen here.
The fact that instant interpretation is often required would imply that the reason for Belgium’s political instability is due to their language divide, however this is not the case. There are 43 administrative arrondissements, which are an administrative level between the municipalities and the provinces. Each party must form a list of candidates for each of these arrondissements.
Arrondissements are split so that Flemish-speaking and French-speaking citizens will not fall under the same one. Many rules surrounding the use of language are put in place to minimise disagreement, and regional superiority. During political campaigns, there are restrictions on the use of billboards, and they only last for around one month. In national politics, politicians can choose to speak any of the three official languages, and the parliament will provide simultaneous interpretation. In this case, it would suggest that language is not the issue, but, instead, conflict of interest. All other official correspondence, such as tax returns, or passport requests, must be conducted in the official language of the region. At the age of 18, all citizens are automatically placed on the electoral roll, and are subject to compulsory voting.
Malin in Year 13 looks at the internationalisation of the English language, and the impacts this has had on the global community.
1.5 billion of the world’s population of 7.5 billion are able to speak English, albeit that only 380 million of these people speak it as their first language. The remaining 1.12 billion have learnt English as a second or third language, and this number is growing all the time given that English is the most commonly studied foreign language in the world. In my talk today, I will be exploring the extent to which the global expansion of the English language is a positive development for the world.
I will touch upon the pros and cons of the development of a dominant global language but also focus on some of the opportunities a greater ease of global communication can provide.
One of the most obvious pros of the increasing influence (and dominance) of English is that it provides a common language to make communication in a globalised age less difficult. This facilitates the transmission of world knowledge and increases understanding and interconnectedness, helping to draw unity from diversity. People from different countries and cultures around the world; Bermuda, Fiji, Ireland, Singapore, Guyana, America, can all come together and communicate with a shared language despite their apparent differences. A common language also extremely beneficial in the world of business as effective communication is key within many fields, such as international trade, banking and finance, as well as diplomacy, research and media. Through having people from different backgrounds work as a collective, numerous new opportunities for collaboration can arise.
Furthermore, in comparison to other widely spoken, international languages such as Spanish and Chinese, the English language is seen as a less redundant language due to its simple alphabet and the lack of a need to assign genders to nouns. This can make it easier for non-native speakers to learn, especially at a conversational level which in turn can explain the positive spread of the language due to its ‘face-surface simplicity’.
English speakers by % country population. Source https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_map_percentage_english_speakers_by_country.png
On the other hand, there is an acknowledged risk that the predominance of English as a common global language may result in the marginalisation of other less popular languages, whilst also encouraging a degree of cultural ignorance. With the success of English, particularly in international business, minority languages can be perceived as ‘unnecessary’ as they do not appear as useful in a number of scenarios – whether that is in an economic sense or in popular media. This creates a potentially hazardous situation where languages may die out, often resulting in the loss of valuable traditions, knowledge of certain cultural heritage, and life perspectives. For example, in Indonesia, where the national language is Bahasa Indonesia, due to the increasing global use of English, a mastery of Indonesian has become increasingly proportional to the social hierarchy, with the result that people who are fluent in English are considered to be of a higher class and more intellectually capable. As a result, Bahasa Indonesia has been demoted to a second-class status, where in some more extreme cases, Indonesians may take pride in speaking it poorly. There is a risk that this loss in popularity of minority languages could result in even greater ‘Westernisation’ of the world and a lack of interest in learning the culture of less dominant societies.
Furthermore, whilst communication barriers are being broken down between people from different countries, new generational barriers are developing between people living in the same country. Younger generations more comfortable in English will struggle to communicate with older generations who are less well equipped to learn English and newer ways of communicating (a multi-faceted problem not just of language), which again may inhibit the generational transmission of cultures and heritage.
Nevertheless, while it is likely that the use of less popular languages will decrease as the growth in the use of English spreads, it is always possible for people to learn English whilst still retaining their ability to speak their local language, hopefully ensuring that their heritage and culture is not completely lost.
Despite the global spread of English having potentially negative consequences for less popular languages and less dominant cultures, overall, it can be argued that the positives outweigh the negatives and the spread of English offers potentially significant opportunities through greater global communication, increased international understanding and economic well-being.
Kate in Year 13 explores how organoids are going to contribute to biomedical research.
At the moment, biomedical research is almost exclusively carried out in animal models. Although this has led to a better understanding of many fundamental biological processes, it has left gaps in our understanding of human specific development. In addition to this, the variability of human individuals is in sharp contrast to inbred animal models, leading to a deficiency in our knowledge about population diversity.
These limitations have forced scientists to invent a new way of looking at and understanding how the human body works; their conclusions were organoids.
An Organoid (Wikipedia)
Organoids are a miniaturised and simplified version of an organ produced in vitro in 3D which shows realistic micro-anatomy. They originate from renewable tissue sources that self-organise in culture to acquire in vivo-like organ complexity. There are potentially as many types of organoids as there are different tissues and organs in the body. This provides many opportunities such as allowing scientists to study mechanisms of disease acting within human tissues, generating knowledge applicable to preclinical studies as well as being able to offer the possibility of studying human tissues at the same if not higher level of scientific scrutiny, reproducibility and depth of analysis that has been possible only with nonhuman model organisms.
Organoids are going to revolutionise drug discovery and accelerate the process of bringing much needed drugs to reality. Nowadays, the process averages around 20 years from conception to reality. This is a lengthy process mainly due to the fact that the pharmaceutical industry has relied on animal models and human cell lines that have little resemblance to normal or diseased tissue – possibly one of the reasons behind the high failure rate of clinical trials adding to the high cost of drug discovery – an average of $2 billion for each new drug that reaches the pharmacy.
Organoids can help this development by using human cells instead of animal cells due to the improved compatibility, making it quicker and more efficient. Organoids are also able to provide a better understanding of human development.
Above: Uses of organoids from https://blog.crownbio.com/key-organoid-applications
The human brain, especially the neocortex (which is the part of the mammalian brain involved in higher-order brain functions such as sensory perception, cognition, spatial reasoning and language), has evolved to be disproportionally larger compared with that of other species. A better understanding of this species-dependant difference through brain organoids will help us gain more knowledge about the mechanisms that make humans unique, and may aid the translation of findings made in animal models into therapeutic strategies answering the question what makes humans human.
Organoids are the future of biomedical research providing the potential to study human development and model disease processes with the same scrutiny and depth of analysis customary for research with non-human model organisms. Resembling the complexity of the actual tissue or organ, patient derived human organoid studies will accelerate medical research and generate knowledge about human development which is going to dramatically change the way we are going to study biology in the future.
Alice in Year 13 explores some of the possible links between aid and dependency, looking at the central issues relating to the giving of aid.
Above: Humanitarian Aid, Pixabay
Aid is the money, food or other resources that are given or lent by one country to another, for the purpose of helping those in poverty or those who have been affected by disasters and need relief. However, it is often argued that this can result in welfare dependency which occurs when a person or household is reliant on the aid they have received or are receiving; potentially leading to the prevention of government accountability and development. This is because a household is theoretically less likely to become independent through actively seeking out work, education, or training if they have the support of organisations or the government to fall back on. The usefulness of aid varies for different events, often longer-term and materialistic or monetary assistance are thought to provoke higher levels of welfare dependency than shorter-term or more sustainable support.
Firstly, it is important to establish the definition of dependence and what would qualify a household to be in a state of dependency. Although this could be measured through the percentage of income that is derived from aid, other factors influence reliance as well, such as the extremity of the situation as only a small proportion could be needed to help a family in a crisis yet this assistance may be necessary for relief. On the other hand, aid could make up a large amount of a household’s income yet they may not necessarily be dependent as job availability and eligibility are also a significant factor in calculating a household’s dependence. However, Sharp et al. (2003) classifies destitution as ‘a state of extreme poverty that results from pursuit of ‘unsustainable livelihoods’, (…) they lack access to the key productive assets needed to escape from poverty, and they become dependent on public and/or private transfers’. This depicts dependency as a defining character of destitution, implying that because those who receive humanitarian action are often in an extreme state of poverty, they have to be dependent on it in order to receive it and therefore aid has to foster welfare dependency.
In addition to this, although dependency on aid may be seen as a defining feature for destitution despite subjective stances on whether recipients are dependent, the degree to which aid can be relied on is a completely different factor. Despite dependency being necessary to receive aid, realistically aid may not be the most useful way of supporting those in poverty or a crisis and therefore in actuality, beneficiaries are unable to rely on it. This varies depending on the organisation giving help and their transparency with the receivers as well as the regularity of its occurrence. For example, Harvey and Lind use a case study in South Sudan, where ‘relief deliveries have in general been too unreliable and inadequate for dependency, except in limited periods of acute emergency’, showing that the only time aid could be guaranteed was when the situation was extreme. In other times, the citizens would most likely have to rely on other sources of support as relief aid would be too irregular to be depended on.
Above: Child, PIxabay
As well as this, in a 2001 study of the drought in Eastern Africa by Erin Lentz and Christopher Barret, there was ‘no qualitative or quantitative evidence that the meagre amounts of food aid they received had an appreciable effect on their capacity to become self-reliant’. This, again, shows how organisations can lack transparency with their recipients as well as a possible lack of domestic knowledge of the country and investment due to concerns of public image over the well-being of the citizens in need. These cases are examples of when aid cannot physically be relied on either because of the little amount or low quality of the support or because of the short-term effect it had and varying circumstances that also play a part in the usefulness of aid.
In contrast to this, many studies where humanitarian assistance has been given to those in poor conditions or a crisis show that aid has helped to relieve victims of poverty and disasters and therefore were and can be relied on. According to Jeffery Sachs in The Guardian, ‘a growing flood of data shows that death rates in many poor countries are falling sharply, and that aid supported programmes for healthcare delivery have played a key role’. A study by Gabriel Demombynes and Sophia Trommlerova shows that Kenya’s infant mortality rate has decreases due to the up-take of anti-malaria bed nets that had been donated. As well as this, ‘malaria deaths in children in Africa were cut from a peak of around 1 million in 2004 to around 700,000 in 2010’. These statistics would suggest that healthcare ais is necessary for the survival of those at risk to diseases and therefore are depended on by many people.
Above: Person holding money, Pixabay
However, the allocation of aid is also important to factor in when considering how dependable households are on foreign aid. For example, in Afghanistan the ability for aid agencies to communicate with women was restricted during the Taliban period due to the patriarchal society, reducing their reliability on it. Other factors that determine whether groups can rely on foreign aid also include local power dynamics and hierarchies, for people to be able to depend on aid it is important that those distributing it are not corrupt, or have a bias over certain households. In Ethiopia, the distribution of aid was decided by local-level authorities who often allocated support equally throughout the community, lessening its effectiveness on those who may have needed it more than others. This is shown in Dawunta Delant, a region in Ethiopia, where some recipients claim that poorer households may not have received as much assistance as others due to their disconnection with local leaders, ‘aid is provided to wealthy people. We poor receive a small ration. The aid comes in the name of the poor of our community but the poor do not receive the aid’, depicting how those who need aid cannot rely on it since only a small portion is given.
Food aid is also often seen to cause a high level of reliance from the beneficiaries. Again, this is because the provision of food can sometimes act as a replacement for locally sourced food, leaving local businesses with less revenue and customers as well as a disincentive for farmers to work if food will be provided for them. In Ethiopia, food insecurity is a persistent problem due to the unreliable rainfall patterns and low irrigation levels, leaving a large proportion of Ethiopians (an estimated 4.6 million) relying on food aid. Aschale Dagnachew Siyoum has associated this with the ‘dependency syndrome’, and the idea of ‘aspiration failure’ where there is ‘the lack of systematic pro-active effort to better one’s future’. The head of the District Agricultural Office explains that ‘due to availability of food aid for many years, farmers have developed a dependency syndrome and have become reluctant to improve their lives. As a consequence, they are not willing to use their potential to improve their livelihood by themselves.’ However, interviews with the recipients of food aid also shows that the assistance was not enough to be able to depend on, showing the lack of reliability. One household claimed that ‘the amount of food aid that we have been receiving was not enough to cover our food gaps and we always have to supplement our income from other sources’, furthermore, 65% of the households that were surveyed depended upon ‘the sale of productive assets like livestock and credit to cover consumption gaps in times of need’. This suggests that rather than having a ‘dependency syndrome’, where farmers and families are reluctant to work, they use the aid to complement other activities as it is not enough to depend on alone.
As a result, for the majority of cases aid does not cause the recipient to become dependent due to its unreliability and the insufficiency of the amount given. Although in some circumstances aid can be relied on which would arguably make the beneficiaries dependent, many would suggest that rather than becoming reliant on this aid, receivers are instead only using this aid to complement other activities in order to become self-sufficient in the future.
Emily, Year 12, investigates how reforms to China’s agricultural industry helped to develop the Chinese economy.
Shortly after Deng Xiaoping became the new leader of the People’s Republic of China in 1978, the first economic reforms took place under the agricultural sector. Prior to this, between the years 1966-1978, the agriculture sector’s output was only growing at roughly 3.1% per annum. 20 years of poor agricultural performance called for changes to be made and the lack of arable land amongst the country of China, shared responsibility for this.
Deng Xiaoping, the ‘architect of modern China’ who led the People’s Republic of China from 1978-1989 (Wikepedia)
The biggest feature of Chinese agriculture pre-reform was the collective agricultural production. This system proved to be very inefficient and highly unproductive, as grain yields were distributed based on household sizes and there were few incentives to work hard on the land.
Decollectivisation of agriculture one was the first changes made in the late 70s. The original communal system involved all land being collectively owned, with no private land left. The idea of collectivisation was deserted, and the idea of individual responsibility was favoured over the previous ideas of communal responsibility. Although decollectivisation came with a time lag of approximately 5 years, and slowed down agricultural production after being introduced, it is arguably the single main reason of high growth rates in China’s agricultural sector.
In 1981, the ‘Household responsibility system’- an agricultural production system – was introduced. Under this system, the communes that were once formed under the reign of Mao Zedong were abolished. Collectives were no longer the main system of production and this transitioned to the households. The system allowed households to take out contracts to cultivate plots of land with specific crops. Each household was set a procurement quota, which required them to sell a certain amount of crops to the state at a low price; however, anything that they grew outside of the quota they were able to sell.
Near the end of 1978 a trial of the system began in the Anhui province. A year later a comparison of crop yield was made between the households had tested the system of ‘land contracts ’and households that had not yet. The households under the land contract system had a significantly larger crop yield than the others.
Rice Terraces Fields Paddy – Free photo on Pixabay
After the proven success of the system this type of farming had taken over nearly all rural households in China. The abolishment of the communal systems was required in order to solve the issue of insufficiency amongst the citizens. The challenge associated with a communal system is that individuals are often obliged to act in their best interests or what will result in the best outcome for them, meaning that there is often a lack of will to provide labour efficiently on the communal plots of land, leading to a smaller yield.
There was also agricultural price reform. ‘State procurement prices’, the amount the government paid for the quotas, rose significantly. The baseline of the reform was to convert collective processes into independent ones. The increasing individuality of each household meant that the self-sufficiency of each citizen grew as they leased a section of land from the previous collective system which resulted in the substantial growth of food to feed their individual families.
To sum up, three central changes were made to the structure of China’s overall agricultural sector in this period.
The first change to be made was the much-needed removal of the communal systems that was an imminent contributing factor to China’s Great Famine. This was replaced with the much more effective household responsibility system.
Secondly, the market for agricultural goods were also deregulated, allowing for a much more expansive and versatile agricultural market.
Finally, prices underwent change in the form of the ‘state procurement prices’ which allowed for increased agricultural output.
The successful combination of the main agricultural reforms paved the way for similar success in other sectors. After the reforms were made, the agricultural sector output rose dramatically. These were the first reforms established by the new leader, and due to its success, proved itself to be a very useful model for future economic reforms, especially in China’s industrial sector. A 1.5% increase in the growth rate of grain output per annum was seen in the years following the beginning of the reforms.
In 1984, China’s output of grain had exceeded 400 million tons for the first time. The problem associated with a shortage of food to feed the intensely growing population had now been resolved. As a result of the changes to the agricultural system, now only 10% of the Chinese economy comes from agriculture from what used to be an agrarian economy. From 1978 to 1984 the agricultural sector’s output had risen by over 61%.
The incomes of rural households had also risen simultaneously, with a series of positive knock-on effects on the industrial sector. Due to the rising incomes, an automatic increase in aggregate demand occurred as people with more disposable incomes wanted to spend money on consumer goods/services, which ultimately expanded industrial production at the same time. Not only did reform promote a sizeable rise in agricultural output, it aided reduction of people living in poverty.
With families and households becoming increasingly self-sufficient due to the individual plots of land, the number of people who could not afford sufficient nourishment decreased. An increase in industrial production meant there were more factory jobs available, which encouraged people to switch from rural jobs into the city to work in the factories. More income meant more of the population had savings in which they put into banks. Having more savings meant that this money could be used to finance investments in other sectors.
References
Marden, S., 2015. Agriculture, Development And Structural Change In Reform-Era China. [online] Etheses.lse.ac.uk. Available at: <http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3264/1/Marden_Agriculture_development_and_structural.pdf> [Accessed 8 September 2020].
Huang, Jikun, and Scott Rozelle. “China’s 40 Years of Agricultural Development and Reform.” China’s 40 Years of Reform and Development: 1978–2018, edited by Ross Garnaut et al., ANU Press, Acton ACT, Australia, 2018, pp. 487–506. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv5cgbnk.32. Accessed 1 June 2020.
Coursera. 2020. 1.4 Decollectivization Of Agriculture – Orientation And Module 1: China’S Gradualist Reforms | Coursera. [online] Available at: <https://www.coursera.org/lecture/econtransform1/1-4-decollectivization-of-agriculture-cITfm> [Accessed 14 September 2020].
Lin, Justin Yifu. “The Household Responsibility System in China’s Agricultural Reform: A Theoretical and Empirical Study.” Economic Development and Cultural Change, vol. 36, no. 3, 1988, pp. S199–S224. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1566543. Accessed 1 June 2020.
Oecd.org. 2020. OECD Review Of Agricultural Policies – China – OECD. [online] Available at: <https://www.oecd.org/china/oecdreviewofagriculturalpolicies-china.htm> [Accessed 20 September 2020].
Roberts, J., 2011. A History Of China. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, p.292
McMillan, John, et al. “The Impact of China’s Economic Reforms on Agricultural Productivity Growth.” Journal of Political Economy, vol. 97, no. 4, 1989, pp. 781–807. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1832191. Accessed 20 June 2020.
Mr James Porter, Specialist English teacher and Experientia Scholarship lead, reflects on the first half-term of a radical bespoke curriculum project that aims to introduce the Upper Junior School girls to the concept of critical thinking and the art of Socratic discussion.
What does academic achievement look like in 2020?
Fionnuala Kennedy, Head, began this academic term with an address to staff in which she spoke of a ‘new epoch’ in education. In this time of truly unprecedented crisis the core business of schools has very much been thrust into the public spotlight, and, with circumstances necessitating a ‘back to basics’ approach, there is now a very prescient need to look closely at the fundamentals of teaching and learning and to ask – how can we do the basics better?
Nationally and globally, the lives of children have been turned upside down and the education community has been rocked by profound and severe crises, the implications of which many observers hold will be felt for years, if not indefinitely. Take this summer’s public exam fiasco and the ongoing uncertainty around this type of assessment as just one example of the domino-like impact that the COVID crisis will continue to have on the core components of the British education system. Naturally, this is leading to a renewed impetus in the search for change.
Above: The Media
The need to explicitly address the social implications of the crisis in school planning is widely acknowledged. It is this principle that Barry Carpenter makes central in his proposal for a ‘recovery curriculum’ model for the Autumn term, which addresses the holistic development of pupils in response to a deficit that is perceived as having emerged during the period of school closure. [1]
However, there are those who propose that times of profound uncertainty be met with more divergent thinking that is far broader and deeper in scope:
In more turbulent times, a radical vision of education may emerge from cultural trauma, as it did in Reggio Emilia in northern Italy at the conclusion of the Second World War. A whole society pulled together in revulsion at the ease with which they had embraced, or tolerated, fascism, and vowed to raise young people who would not make the same mistakes. [2]
Further, a growing discourse in British education reflecting a broad spectrum of society has seen this crisis as the catalyst for their calls to end what they perceive to be an inherently problematic public assessment regime, the most eloquent of these coming from Michael Rosen in a letter to Gavin Williamson published in The Guardian. [3] Their calls to replace GCSEs with alternative models cite the established practices at Bedales School who introduced “richer, more expansive courses” that “encourage creativity, autonomy, and enjoyment of learning for its own sake” as a ground-breaking example of a successful alternative. [4]
While some have drawn equivalents, I am not comparing the gravity of our present situation with the fall of Fascism at the end of the Second World War (this weekend’s election result not withstanding). However, at no time since the Second World War has it been more important that we support the holistic development and emotional intelligence of our pupils through considerate planning that addresses emerging needs while focusing on the development of skills and maintaining disciplined academic rigour.
What is the Experientia Scholarship?
Inspired by dramatic developments in education and tasked with developing a radical new curriculum programme in the Upper Junior School, I wanted to address the challenges of 2020 and beyond by creating a programme focused on rigorous academic pursuit and the development of higher-order thinking. The programme also needed to be responsive to the needs of pupils through engaging, thoughtful, and sensitive planning that makes the habits of effective discussion and learning explicit, building on the psychological development model proposed by Abraham Maslow in 1943:
Above: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Since September, the girls in the Upper Junior School have been immersed in a bespoke curriculum programme which considers the contentious issues that affect our daily lives and introduces pupils to the concept of critical thinking and the art of Socratic discussion.
Above: The Experientia Scholarship
The Experientia Scholarship, which forms part of the weekly timetable for all girls in Years 3-6, exposes pupils to a range of learning experiences which challenge their view of the world. Comprising of a range of short courses, pupils explore elements of both classical ‘enlightenment’ and progressive ‘modernist’ units of study devised to grow cultural capital, cultivate divergent thinking and enhance preparation for success in a globalised and digital world.[5]
Underpinning this are three pillars which guide the ongoing development of the programme:
Academia: A community concerned with the pursuit of knowledge, always seeking to find truth and assessing all available evidence to make logical conclusions that are not based on opinions or emotions;
Fraternity: A feeling of friendship and support within our community, being kind and supportive, understanding that we never discount the person; we challenge their conclusions based on our understanding of the evidence;
Culture: We learn about, respect and show tolerance towards all no matter their background, geography or beliefs. Understanding that high culture is not limited to high art, we embrace eclectic tastes across a broad range of disciplines, from Schubert to Stormzy.
Through weekly Socratic discussions based on a thought-provoking reading, pupils engage with a cycle of themes that introduce them to a range of critical topics.
Experientia Scholarship – Autumn Term
Year 3
Has technology made life easier? Can machines replace human beings?
Year 4
Does Hollywood need to change? Who makes the news?
Year 5
What is art? Is art inclusive?
Year 6
How much influence does the media have?
The pupils reflect on their position throughout the discussion cycle and are encouraged to conduct their own research into the topics of discussion and to set their own questions for future discussions.
In the lessons, the teacher prepares discussion-based activities that ask a series of open-ended questions specifically targeting the different ways of thinking about a topic. Arguments are dismantled into their constituent parts which can then be evaluated, and the implications considered.
Above: Questioning to Promote Higher Order Thinking Skills
The benefits of the Socratic approach to learning have long been espoused by those who have studied it:
“[…]Within the context of the discussion, students listen closely to the comments of others, thinking critically for themselves, and articulate their own thoughts and their responses to the thoughts of others. They learn to work cooperatively and to question intelligently and civilly” [6]
The scholarship culminates in a formally assessed public speaking activity in which pupils explain and justify their thinking around the topic of their choice before being awarded commended, highly commended or distinction, aiming to reward metacognition and the process of learning rather than just linear attainment.
What have the lessons been like?
Above: The Experientia Scholarship
I will share one example of the impact that I have observed of the Socratic approach with a Year 4 group.
The first discussion in the Year 4 unit on ‘who makes the news?’ is an introduction to the concept of fake news and an examination of the people who could gain from spreading misinformation. In a follow-up discussion, pupils look at the idea of censorship and consider the occasions when they believe it is justified before reading a text about president Xi Jinping who, it is reported, censored Winnie the Pooh in China after memes emerging online mocking supposed similarities between them offended him.
The girls had decided that there are circumstances in which censorship is warranted. They gave the examples of internet blocking on their devices at school and people sending offensive messages as times when it would be right to censor. I was fascinated when the implications of their reasoning were applied to the example of Xi Jinping. While there was broad agreement that offensive communication should be censored, a vocal group of girls emerged who came to the conclusion that presidents, being in a unique position of influence and power, were to be treated differently than the general population, and in this case the rights for the people to criticise the president should be defended.
The ability of the girls to form critical connections when introduced to reasoning in this way was powerfully illustrated to me recently with the same group while watching Newsround coverage of Trump contesting the presidential election count. Pupils were immediately able to identify this as misinformation, and crucially were able to articulate the motivation for Trump to do so, as well as identifying the dangerous implications.
Teachers from across the Junior School have also commented on the impact they have noticed the Scholarship having in other areas of the curriculum. In an English lesson, Year 5 girls were able to articulate their thoughts around intrinsic gender bias and the etymology of words, citing the example of ‘female’ being the negative form of ‘male’, and explaining that this issue had been thrown up in discussion with Mrs Walles-Brown about whether art is inclusive.
I asked the girls to share their thoughts describing what their Experientia lessons have been like. This word cloud formed from their responses neatly summarises the general consensus felt after the first half term of the Experientia Scholarship in the Upper Junior School.
Israel, E., “Examining Multiple Perspectives in Literature.” In Inquiry and the Literary Text: Constructing Discussions in the English Classroom, NCTE, 2002
[6] Israel, E., “Examining Multiple Perspectives in Literature.” In Inquiry and the Literary Text: Constructing Discussions in the English Classroom, NCTE, 2002
Millie (Year 13) explores issues surrounding food production and climate change.
If we look at the UK today, there has never been a wider range of exotic foods in our supermarkets and restaurants. In Western society, we are now able to access an unprecedented choice of fruits and vegetables. Just a few decades ago, no one could ever have dreamed of picking up a pineapple that was grown thousands of miles away at their local shops. Globalization has given consumers huge choices. But what does this mean for our environment, given current consumer demand in the United Kingdom?
Food and carbon in the UK
The food industry makes up 20% of the UK’s carbon footprint (Carasso et al, 2015), with the fruit and vegetable industries accounting for 10-12.5% of total food-related emissions (Garnett, 2006). This sector emits a small but significant part of our overall carbon dioxide emissions. The average person in the United Kingdom emits 15 tonnes of carbon per year, and this needs to be reduced by at least a third to be on the way to reducing the UK’s carbon footprint (Berners-Lee, 2019).
Food could be one of the ways to do this, as something we consume every day. It is important to consider the whole fruit and vegetable supply chain and where the largest carbon savings can be made. It appears that consumer behaviour is the most important factor, followed by transport, waste, agriculture, technology, energy usage, resources, and finally, processing and packaging. A safe and extensive new food system is needed for the production and distribution of fruits and vegetables and there are so many changes which could be made in each stage of the food system. It will be difficult to achieve a universal solution but making changes in all the different areas in the industry will eventually benefit the environment greatly.
Consumer behaviour
Above: Supermarket by Pixabay
Consumer behaviour is the most important factor in reducing emissions, as it underpins all the other areas of the industry. Consumer demand influences what products are brought to the shelves and the supply chains and processes that are used, so we have the opportunity as citizens to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of this industry. Consumers being aware of the environmental credentials of different food products is key to reducing emissions, as they can then make informed decisions about what fruit and vegetable supply chains they will support. According to Berners-Lee (2010), asparagus contributes to 125g CO2e for a local and seasonal pack but that same pack, flown from Peru to the UK in January, creates a massive 3.5kg CO2e. In this way, by being educated further and choosing more sustainable products, we can change the carbon footprint of this sector. It is difficult to change consumer behaviour, but it links all the factors together, and changing what the customer demands will change what the supermarkets supply. If we all work together, a big reduction in carbon dioxide emissions could be made.
Transport
Transport is one of the key contributors to the overall carbon emissions of the fruit and vegetable industry, and the next most important factor in lowering carbon dioxide emissions. Imports are a huge industry in the UK due to our temperate climate that can only grow a limited variety of crops. As summarized by the EU Fruit and Vegetables Regime: Producer Organisations (2017, p.5.), ‘Fruit and vegetables are by far the greatest source of imports in the UK food system’, making up 25.5%, with 15% of vegetables being imported and 62% of the fruits we consume (Garnett, 2006).
The UK becoming more self-sufficient would reduce the volume of imports needed, reducing transport emissions, so growing more of our own crops would really benefit the environment in most cases. This may require a change in consumer demand, however, to be viable, with the UK’s temperate climate. Reducing plane travel through changes in demand to less perishable goods is also really important, as the most carbon-intensive mode of transport, releasing 4.59kg of carbon dioxide per pound of goods (Berners-Lee, 2010). Increasing shipping and driving from abroad would also be very effective in reducing carbon emissions, despite some exceptions. Retailers could also be encouraged to source their items from places where more environmentally friendly transport methods are used, and this would be another useful way to lower the sector’s carbon footprint. Therefore, transport is really important in this climate battle, and a lot of changes could be made here, although there are challenges.
Above: food waste by PickPik
Waste not, want not…
Waste is another really important area in emissions reduction, as currently, one third of the food we produce is wasted (Royte, 2014), creating needless carbon dioxide emissions, and a 50% reduction in food waste could be achieved by 2030 compared to what it was in 2010 (Rothamsted Research, 2016) through various methods. Increasing awareness of waste and how it could be reduced along every stage of the food supply chain is vital, such as the modification of consumer expectation and the sale of fruits and vegetables which would have been wasted, such as the wonky fruits scheme.
Restaurants could also introduce more takeaway boxes, portion size choices and self-service to lower the volume of wasted food. There are many innovative solutions to this waste crisis, such as a new technology based on dynamic pricing created by the organisation Wasteless. Artificial intelligence is used to help retailers sell food that is perishable at the best price when it is near its ‘use-by’ date (Glover et al., 2020). Most shoppers reach to the back of the shelf, getting longer expiration dates so that shorter ones go to waste, according to David Cut, an employee at the company. The shorter expiration date could be made to look more attractive by lowering their price at the right moment to incentivise customers to buy that product over one with a longer expiration date. Therefore, waste is a really important factor in reducing emissions.
Agriculture
Above: Agriculture by SnappyGoat
Agriculture is the next biggest area for emissions to be reduced in this sector. This could be done through better and more efficient land use, using clever planting methods which would allow more food to be grown in the same space. Soil carbon sequestration, taking carbon out of the atmosphere and storing it in the soil, is a very viable and useful way to take carbon out of the air, even though this technology is new and could foster our dependency on greenhouse gases. Methods like this have been cited as necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Amann et al., 2008).
Less deforestation is essential, as out of three and a half tonnes per person per year on average produced by the food we eat, deforestation accounts for two tonnes of it (Tolley, 2019). We need to increase the number of carbon sinks and reduce the volume of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and less deforestation is needed to achieve this. I believe that building sustainable agriculture is key to achieving a reduction in emissions.
The use of technology
The use of technology in agriculture is the next most important way to reduce the carbon footprint of this sector, as it is critical in reducing the damage caused to the environment. Technology, globalization and marketing have changed recent attitudes towards food, as we need to start prioritizing the environment and safety over consumer demands and money. Genetic modification is a very controversial topic and, even though it could improve the environmental credentials of many foods, many people are opposed to it, seeing it as unnatural. According to Buller (2005), there is no long-term data concerning the safety of genetically modified foods, and it is not known how they affect health or the environment long term. However, it could be an incredible way to increase productivity of crops, make them more resistant to disease and different weather conditions, and reduce emissions in this way. Technology is really important in agriculture in the 21st century, as there have been so many scientific advancements in the last 40 years (Rothamsted Research, 2016) and it has many possibilities, but there are always limitations.
Driving efficiency
The energy consumption and efficiency of the food industry is the also really important in making changes to benefit the environment. So much energy is wasted in the production, storage and transport of foods. Protected horticulture requires a lot of energy, so fewer crops should be grown in this way, and instead in their suitable climate, but this may not be possible without food supply chains being changed drastically. For example, the environmental footprint for strawberry production in the UK is approximately 1.2 CO2 equivalent per kilogram whereas it is 0.35 in Spain (Gaillard et al, 2009). This shows that shorter transport distances don’t necessarily mean reduced carbon emissions, as foods could have been grown in hothouses, such as tomatoes in the UK, and actually those flown in from Spain have lower emissions as they grow well in the natural climate there without increased energy emissions.
Also, improvements in the crop growing efficiency of glasshouses would be beneficial, such as with better lighting, excess crops being used as fuel, and reducing machinery usage for less effect on the environment. This would ask a lot of farmers to change their whole lifestyle, but big changes are needed to create big reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing refrigeration efficiency would be very beneficial, with refrigeration used in all parts of the supply chain, but it could be hard to implement nationwide. Renewable energies are the future, and their usage is needed for a sustainable future across the food supply chain. According to Berners-Lee (2010), solar power is the best renewable source with a lot of potential, but it doesn’t currently contribute a lot to energy supplies. Fundamental societal change will be needed but changes in energy efficiency and consumption could reduce emissions greatly.
Use of pesticides and fertilizers
Above: Soil by PickPik
Resource usage in agriculture is another key factor contributing to the carbon dioxide emissions of this sector, including pesticides and fertilizers. If we use our resources wisely, we can live well and provide a life on this planet for future generations too. We need to use a smaller volume of resources but in a more efficient way to produce crops in a new production-consumption system, according to Rothamsted Research (2016). Fertilizers and pesticides are so useful to produce enough food for the planet, increasing crop yields and reducing the effect of pests so that more products can be sold. However, they are detrimental for the environment in their production and use, and their overuse can lead to pollution, worsening the effects on the environment. Fossil fuels are used to manufacture fertilizer, making up 12% of food’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions (Berners-Lee, 2019) and pesticides can greatly harm the environment, impacting directly and indirectly on biodiversity as they kill many pests and other species as well (Murphy-Bokern et al, 2008). Therefore, their usage should be monitored and limited, in my opinion. They could be used with other more carbon-friendly methods, such as the use of manure and biological control, to increase productivity. The use of resources in agricultural production is therefore very important, and they need to be used in moderation.
Packaging
Improving the efficiency of the processing and packaging of fruits and vegetables could reduce emissions in this industry, although there are challenges. This is the method by which the least tonnes of emissions could be saved, but there still could be changes made. Processing food is a great way to greatly increase shelf life, reducing waste and its associated high emissions. Also, packaging provides valuable information and can help food to last longer, so less of it is wasted. Overall, not a lot of modifications could be made here to improve the environmental credentials. However, methods such as consumers bringing their own packaging like Tupperware could make a small difference in emissions for shops. Also, supermarkets could use more carbon friendly packaging. For example, one of the UK’s largest supermarkets, Waitrose, say that they started to reduce packaging in 2009. Karen Graley, who works in packaging at Waitrose said that ‘Within the next five years, we will make all our own brand-packaging widely recycled, reusable or home compostable’ (Duffy, 2019). Small but no substantial differences in emissions could be achieved by processing and packaging.
Above: Grapes in paper bag by PickPik
Final thoughts
If nothing is done, by the end of this century, post global warming, there will be environmental, social and economic degradation. We can avoid a looming food crisis by united actions. All factors need to be considered, especially consumer behaviour, and this can be changed through media and advertising in retailers across the UK. To feed a growing population with nutritious, delicious, low carbon food, there will be many challenges ahead but if everyone, including food policy makers, producers, farmers, retailers and consumers works to influence the others and changes their actions for a more sustainable world, we can restore our relationship with nature and live better than ever. Big differences will need to be made and although there will be many challenges and difficulties, I believe that the carbon dioxide emissions of the fruit and vegetable industry in the United Kingdom can be reduced significantly.
References
Amann, J., Bouallou, C., Gros-Bonnivard, R., Jaud, P., Kanniche, M., Valle-Marcos, J. (2008). Pre-combustion, post-combustion and oxy-combustion in thermal power plant for CO2 capture. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359431109001471. Last accessed 12th June 2020.
Berners-Lee, M. (2010). How Bad are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything. www.profilebooks.com. Last accessed 14th April 2020.
Berners-Lee, M. (2019). There Is No Planet B: A Handbook for the Make or Break Years. Cambridge University Press. Last accessed 14th April 2020.
Buller, L. (2005). The Eyewitness Guide To Food. DK Eyewitness UK. Last accessed 30th March 2020.
Carasso, N. and Fondation Daniel. (2015). Chapter 3. Food systems and greenhouse gas emissions. Available: https://foodsource.org.uk/sites/default/files/chapters/pdfs/foodsource_chapter_3.pdf. Last accessed 24th June 2020.
Duffy, N. (2019). Action Stations. Waitrose and Partners’ Food Magazine. Last accessed 3rd June 2020.
EU Fruit and Vegetables Regime: Producer Organisations. (2017). United Kingdom’s National Strategy for Sustainable Operational Programmes. Available: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/665637/National_Strategy_final_Dec_2017.pdf. Last accessed 12th June 2020.
Gaillard, G, Dr., Mordini, M., Nemecek, T, Dr. (2009). Carbon and Water Footprint of Oranges and Strawberries A Literature Review. Available: https://saiplatform.org/uploads/Library/WG%20Fruit%20-%20ART%20Final%20Report.pdf. Last accessed 12th June 2020.
Garnett, T. (2006). Fruit and Vegetables & UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Exploring The Relationship. Available: https://www.fcrn.org.uk/sites/default/files/Fruitnveg_paper_2006.pdf. Last accessed 12th June 2020.
Glover, F., Milne, G., Smithern, A., Greenfield, R., Lemanski, B. (2020). Positive Thinking: Tackling Food Waste Podcast. Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cqd6. Last accessed 12th June 2020.
Murphy-Bokern, D. et al. (2008). Environmental impacts of the UK food economy with particular reference to WWF Priority Places and the North-east Atlantic. Available: http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/environmentalimpacts_ukfoodconsumption.pdf. Last accessed 12th June 2020.
Rothamsted Research. (2016). Agricultural Transformation Pathways Initiative. Available: https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep15873.6?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=agricultural&searchText=transformation&searchText=pathways&searchText=initiative&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSear. Last accessed 12th June 2020.
Royte, E. (2014). One-Third of Food Is Lost or Wasted: What Can Be Done. Available: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141013-food-waste-national-security-environment-science-ngfood/. Last accessed 12th June 2020.
Tolley, M. (2019). How to reduce your carbon footprint by 80% TEDxTelford Talk. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r06-dpRsEg. Last accessed 12th June 2020.
Lily in Year 13 looks at the importance of sovereign wealth funds, telling us more about this area of Economics.
Simply, a sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund meaning countries can invest in shares and assets internationally in the hope that these investments will then increase in value. These profits can then be extracted by a government when shares are sold and ideally then used to benefit the country’s economy and citizens.
The term sovereign wealth fund was initially created in 2005 by the economist Andrew Rozanov who stated that the funds in question “are neither traditional public-pension funds nor reserve assets…but a different type of entity altogether”. A new and exciting form of investment was emerging, now commonly called the sovereign wealth fund.
Sovereign wealth funds are important because of the economic benefits they can bring to a country. The largest fund in the world at the moment is the Government Pension fund of Norway which “owns on average 1.3% of all equities listed worldwide”, which means that Norway owns 1.3% of global stocks and shares, now worth over $1 trillion in assets. This shows the scale of these funds and the influence they can have on the world economy.
One key benefit of sovereign wealth funds is the diversification of countries incomes. This is because sovereign wealth funds almost always invest in foreign assets which is particularly helpful if a country relies on a single commodity for their income as they are more at risk if that particular industry experiences a downturn. This is why many oil reliant countries have sovereign wealth funds as oil markets are often volatile. This factor has become particularly important in 2020 through the corona virus epidemic, one specific example being in the oil industry since “US oil prices went negative for the first time in history” in April 2020, resulting in companies paying people to take oil off their hands because the demand for oil had fallen so rapidly.
This shows the oil industry is particularly vulnerable to large fluctuations in price and if a country relies on oil for their income they could be at risk of an economic downturn (recession). Sovereign wealth funds have been shown to limit this risk as some funds around the Gulf (largely oil reliant countries) are already “channelling some of their billions back to counter the recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.”, showing how important these funds have already been for the recovery and survival of oil reliant economies throughout the Covid-19 outbreak.
However, there are debates surrounding the benefits of sovereign wealth funds as there will always be an element of risk in making investments since they can never be one hundred percent safe as assets always have the possibility of decreasing in value. This includes the idea of black swan events – the idea that some events are unpredictable and therefore markets cannot prepare for the shocks they cause. This is one way of stating we can’t predict the future and therefore will never be able to completely rely on an investment bringing positive returns. Which poses the question ‘is it a good idea to be risking millions of public money on the stock market?’
Sovereign wealth funds can be very beneficial but there are always opportunities for investments to turn sour. This means that it is important for a country to analyse the rewards that can be generated before creating a sovereign wealth fund. These countries are still not immune to black swan events which can disrupt the global economy however, if profits from these funds are used well they can actually mitigate these risks and add huge value to their economies, such as through diversification. A well-managed and cleverly invested fund will always benefit the country at hand if it is used wisely. These benefits mean that sovereign wealth funds are likely to become more and more common, making them important as they a likely to become a huge factor of the global economy.
