Categories
Economics Trend Watching

Living in Germany: In 20 years, 1 in 3 people will be a migrant

1 in 3 people will be a migrant in Germany (about 35%) by 2040. In large cities, up to 70% of inhabitants will have a migrant background in two decades, experts say. Germany will need to attract a “range of nationalities” to keep the “economy stable.”

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Consumer Behavior Trend Watching

Consumer Behavior in Brazil: Even with US Dollar appreciation, spending abroad hits record

Even the 15% appreciation of the dollar against the Brazilian Real in 2013 (the highest in the last five years, making air tickets and hotels quoted in foreign currency more expensive) did not deter the spending by Brazilians abroad, which grew to a new record […]

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Economics Trend Watching

Economy in Brazil: the 5th most expensive Big Mac in the world

Brazil has the fifth most expensive Big Mac in the world, costing $ 5.25. The  McDonald’ snack is used as an index for the British magazine The Economist since 1986, to show the purchasing power of the currencies of the countries surveyed, according to the last calculation released recently. The Big Mac index suggests that […]

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Innovation Readings

Watch Michael Norton’s “How to buy happiness” talk at TED

At TEDxCambridge, Michael Norton shares fascinating research on how money can, indeed buy happiness — when you don’t spend it on yourself. Listen for surprising data on the many ways pro-social spending can benefit you, your work, and (of course) other people […]

Categories
Inspiration

Watch Dan Ariely’s “What makes us feel good about our work?” talk at TED

What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn’t just money. But it’s not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work.

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Consumer Behavior Economics Trend Watching

Internet in Brazil: Half of the population is included in the digital world, says survey

More than half of the population is included in the digital world, according to a survey of the Getulio Vargas Foundation, which puts Brazil near the world average […]

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China Economics Trend Watching

Living in China: Cost of living hurts Shanghai’s ranking

Soaring living costs and high housing prices are negatively affecting how Shanghai residents feel about their quality of life, according to a nationwide economic survey released recently […]

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China Consumer Behavior Economics Trend Watching

China, Socialism & Consumer Behavior: Richer, but not happier

Studies are backing up some of the suspicions I (and many other people who live here): Rising incomes in China are failing to bring greater happiness to broad swathes of the population. Rising prices and growing income inequality appear to be undermining any expected gains, and may be sowing the seeds of social unrest [..]

Categories
Design Innovation

Architecture & Design in Brazil: list of the world’s most innovative projects highlights houses in Brazil

Residential projects have become much more than places to live. Angles that seem impossible, unusual materials and shapes are some of the impressive aspects found in the experimental buildings that illustrate the volume two of the book 100 contemporary Architects, launched by the German publisher Taschen […]

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Design Economics Information Technology Innovation Trend Watching

Watch “What we’ve Learned from 5 million Books” talk at TED by Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel

Have you played with Google Labs’ NGram Viewer? It’s an addicting tool that lets you search for words and ideas in a database of 5 million books from across centuries. Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel show us how it works, and a few of the surprising things we can learn from 500 billion words […]