Economics

Economics tutor

Ian Thomas has been a tutor with IST since August 2018. Having practised as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in that jurisdiction, Ian came to Hong Kong as a Permanent Magistrate. Having held that position for over twenty years Ian then became a regulator with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) with responsibility for the Asia Pacific region. He has also taught on the Higher Diploma Course for Legal Executives in a Hong Kong Community College. Ian is a writer and proofing editor of academic business cases for use in tertiary business and management educational institutions. He is also a proofing editor for a number of business law journals published in Asia.

Ian holds an LL.B degree from Queen Mary College, University of London (now QML) and an LL.M degree from Hong Kong University.

In the UK Ian gained GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ level passes in economics. His professional career has continued to give him exposure to academic economic concepts and to practical applications of economic theory. In the macroeconomic field Ian understands and can communicate the problems and solutions involved in demand and supply, consumption and investment. Ian has a good insight into government policy and objectives, fiscal policy, money and banking. Ian is also able to instruct on the current topic of distributed ledger technology and cryptocurrencies. He understands the mechanics and implications of inflation, unemployment and international trade.

On the microeconomic side, Ian is able to guide students in the fields of supply and demand, multiple market challenges and monopoly.

Ian has mentored students on the theory of the market, the theory of supply and demand, the effect of monopoly on the retail industry in the UK and the economic forces affecting the rise and the fall of the film industries in Hong Kong and the UK

Ian can also assist students to understand the role that economic theory and practice play in regulatory structure and intervention, the roles of labour and management and current economic difficulties in the UK, Europe, the USA and developing economies.

Principal Economics tutor

Don Ho is the Principal of International Scholars Tuition School, which was established in 2005. Don studied Economics as part of his Business Major for his Bachelor Degree in Education, University of Alberta (Canada) and for his Master of Business Administration, University of Victoria (Canada). Don is also a registered teacher in Hong Kong with the Education Bureau (EDB) and in Canada with Alberta Education.

In Don’s tutorial lessons, he has also explained the components of Aggregate Demand, the differing views of Aggregate Supply by Keynesians and Classical Monetarists, and the Circular Flow Model to a student from St Joseph’s College (HK), who has gone on to receive an offer from LSE – London School of Economics; Indirect taxation and subsidies to an AQA AS student attending Harrow International School Hong Kong; the Determinants of the Income Elasticity of Demand of Inferior Goods, Cross Price Elasticity of Demand of Giffen Goods, and Price Elasticity of Supply to an Edexcel GCE A-Level self-study private candidate from German Swiss International School (GSIS).

Don has also tutored GCE AS/A2 Level students, who return to Hong Kong during their schools’ holidays and term breaks: External Costs created by consumption and production externalities to students from Concord College (UK) and Epsom College (UK); Abnormal profit, and profit maximization in a monopoly, oligopoly, perfect competition, and monopolistic competition to Harrow School (UK) and Roedean Independent School (UK) students; Long Run Aggregate Demand and Supply from the Keynesian and Neoclassical perspectives to a student from Queens College (UK); Monetary Transmission Mechanism Graphs to a Taunton School (UK) student; Relationships between interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, unemployment, and balance of payments to students who attend Malvern St James (UK) and Winchester College (UK); and Globalisation of Asian Tigers and Sub-Saharan African economies to a Culford School student. To Edexcel A-Level Economics students from Aiglon College (Switzerland), Sidcot School (UK), and Millfield School (UK), Don has tutored students topics such as: Expansionary and Contractionary Fiscal Policy; Multiplier Effect; Dead-weight Social Burden created by negative externalities, and the Potential Welfare Gain resulting from positive externalities; Demand-Pull and Cost-Push Inflation, and Deflation. To OCR AS/A2 GCE students from Royal Russell School (UK) and Headington School (UK), Don has taught tutorial lessons on consumer and producer surplus, the tax burden borne by each when an indirect tax is introduced, and the influence of fiscal and monetary policy on exchange rates. To an AQA AS/A2 student from City of London Freemen’s School (UK), Don provided tuition in the current account, capital account, and balance of payments. In addition, Don has tutored Badminton School (UK) students on how to identify the Welfare Loss when constructing a Monopoly Graphs. Kellet School – The British International School in Hong Kong and Harrow International School Hong Kong students have received tutoring in the Gini Coefficient, the Phillips Curve, the economics of developing countries, trading blocks, and the European Union.

Don has tutored the Private Cost and Social Cost of Unemployment, Conflicting Macroeconomic Aims of Governments, and the impact of Supply Side Fiscal Policies to CIE IGCSE students from German Swiss International School (GSIS) and French International School (FIS); the role of trade unions to South Island School Edexcel IGCSE students; and the entire syllabus to an Edexcel IGCSE self-study private candidates.

Don is also very experienced in tutoring the Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL) IB Diploma syllabus and has helped many students from GSIS, FIS, Island School, Singapore International School (SIS), Canadian International School (CDNIS), DBS (Diocesan Boys’ School), Creative Secondary School (CSS), Presbyterian Ladies College Melbourne (AUS), and Cheltenham Ladies’ College (UK) with their exam preparation, internal assessments, and extended essays. Topics include the Cost of Quantitative Easing in USA, Monopolistic Competition in Hong Kong Flower Markets, and the Informal Resale Market of Milk Powder at the Hong Kong – Shenzhen Border.

Full time undergraduate, graduate, and executive MBA university students attending campuses in Hong Kong, England, America, Canada, and international programs have benefitted from tutorial lessons in Economics and Business with Don.

Don has also provided tutorial assistance to a Winchester College student, who was preparing for his Cambridge interview by discussing the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also known as the ‘US Government Bailout of Wall Street’. The Winchester student student received offers from Cambridge and LSE (London School of Economics), but in the end chose to accept the offer from MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology.