Oxford Odyssey

Category: Academics

  • Branding in the Information Age: Still Relevant?

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    The Erosion of Credibility in an Era of Information Abundance In the pre-internet era, brands were synonymous with trust. A name like Berry Brothers & Rudd symbolised safety in a world where a sip of counterfeit moonshine could lead to blindness. The brand’s reputation was its most valuable asset, built on years of consistent quality.…

  • Sandcone Model: Why I’m suspicious of cost-cutting measure

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    Cost cutting is not ideal as a standalone project. It’s far too easy for a central bureaucrat to say – costs are too high, we need to trim it. It is immensely difficult to parse out which departments are overspending, and which are being responsible stewards of the company budget. I’ve often seen corporate leaders…

  • Global Business History – the GOATed module

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    Have you ever wanted to step into the shoes of a Harvard Business School professor and create a case study that others will learn from? At Oxford, the Global Business History module lets you do just that.  This is perhaps my favourite course in Oxford. In Harvard Business School, students learn through the Case Method.…

  • Median Voter Theorem – and my thoughts on why democracies are less likely to go to war

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    The Median Voter Theorem and Political Moderation The MVT posits that in a majority-rule electoral system with two parties, candidates have strong incentives to align their policies with the preferences of the median voter — the individual whose position lies at the exact middle of the ideological spectrum. This alignment minimizes the risk of alienating…

  • Why Blitzscaling is overrated

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    I believe that the blitzscaling strategy has lost a large part of its effective and is a convenient way for growth companies to obscure profitability problems. Firstly, switching costs for most applications today are overstated and valuations are hence over-estimated. The notion behind switching costs is best exemplified by Microsoft, which has built a durable…

  • Government handouts and its theoretical futility

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    Ricardian equivalence is an economic theory that challenges the effectiveness of government spending as a tool for stimulating economic activity. The theory posits that when a government borrows to finance spending, rational consumers anticipate future tax increases required to repay the debt. As a result, they save more, neutralising the stimulative effect of the spending.…

  • Consumption smoothing – The case for BNPL

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    The consumption smoothing theory in economics posits that individuals aim to maintain a stable standard of living over their lifetime, balancing income fluctuations through saving and borrowing. Rather than spending excessively during periods of high income and cutting back drastically during low-income phases, people distribute their consumption more evenly. According to this theoretical model, people…

  • My thoughts on the rental market

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    Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck once said, “Rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city — except for bombing.” The reason for this stark statement is rooted in economic theory: rent control reduces the incentive for new housing developments. By capping potential rental income, landlords and developers are discouraged…

  • Accounting: The subjectivity of hard numbers

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    When people hear “accounting,” they often picture dull number-crunching or meticulous cash counting. But accounting is far from the boring, mechanical process many assume. Beneath the surface of matching the debits and credits lies a fascinating world of interpretation, judgement, and subjectivity. At its core, accounting is about storytelling — using numbers to convey the…

  • Tragedy of the Commons

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    The tragedy of the commons refers to a situation where individuals, acting in their own self-interest, deplete shared resources, leading to long-term collective harm. This concept highlights issues that arise when externalities—costs or benefits incurred by third parties—are not reflected in market prices. The inherent conflict between individual incentives and collective welfare often demands solutions…