A monthly round-up of what the ICMR team is reading, watching, and listening to. Recommendations are based on what the team finds interesting or thought-provoking, and are not representative of ICMR’s views.

Company of One by Paul Jarvis 

In this book, the author argues that instead of pursuing constant growth, staying small and efficient leads to greater profitability, sustainability and personal fulfilment. It promotes the idea that businesses can thrive long-term by focusing on simplicity, flexibility, and aligning with the owner’s value rather than scaling up at all costs. 

The Sandwich Generation Is Stressed Out, Low on Money and Short on Time 

Source: WSJ 

The “sandwich generation” faces growing stress and financial strain, caring for both children and ageing parents. Balancing these dual responsibilities often leads to exhaustion, strained finances, and challenges in managing work-life balance. This highlights a need for more supportive policies and resources for multigenerational caregiving. 

Planet Money’s Summer School 8: Big Ideas and Life Lessons from Marx, Keynes and Smith and more 

Source: NPR’s Planet Money 

The final episode of podcast Planet Money’s 2024 Summer School series (highly recommend listening to all eight episodes as an easy-to-digest economics history primer), this episode examines the lessons some of the greatest economics minds have taught us, and what it means for our everyday life.  

Do ESG ratings improve capital market trading activities? 

This study investigates the impact of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings on stock liquidity using Chinese A-share firms from 2016 to 2021, with findings showing that higher ESG ratings enhance stock liquidity.  

AI has an environmental problem. Here’s what the world can do about that. 

Source: UN Environmental Programme 

As ChatGPT and other Generative AI programmes becoming increasingly embedded in our day-to-day lives, have we paused to think about the environmental impact? A request made through ChatGPT consumes 10 times the electricity of a Google Search. This piece examines the ways we need to assess AI’s environmental footprint as we move forward.