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Capitalism in crisis?

Capitalism in crisis?

Is the era of globalisation, unfettered markets and billionaire philanthropists drawing to a close? Is the answer to rising populism for the state to tax the wealthy and invest more in the public good?

Manuela Saragosa speaks to three people who say the populist revolts, from Brazil to the US, are symptomatic of an economic system in crisis. Winnie Byanyima, head of anti-poverty campaigners Oxfam, explains why she thinks global jobs statistics mask the reality that many people do not receive dignified work or a decent wage.

Development economist Paul Collier of Oxford University says he thinks corporations and billionaires have lost their way in an era of shareholder value and a growing wealth gap, while journalist Anand Giridharadas claims we are witnessing the death throes of the free market ideology that has dominated global politics since the 1980s.

(Picture: Anti-capitalist protestors demonstrate in Paris; Credit: Kiran Ridley/Getty Images)

Rational partner choice

Rational partner choice

Should your head trump your heart when seeking lifelong love? That's the challenge Business Daily's Justin Rowlatt has taken on for this Valentine's Day.

The hyper-rationalist businessman Ed Conard thinks he knows the answer, and his strictly mathematical strategy for romance is called "sequential selection, no turning back". He used it to meet his wife of the last 20 years, Jill Davis.

But is Ed's approach right for everyone? Justin hears sceptical voices from two very different quarters - romantic novelist Nicola Cornick, and Nobel prize-winning economist Alvin Roth. And what about Jill? What's it like to be on the receiving end of such a calculated courtship?

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Picture: Jill Davis and Ed Conard; Credit: Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

The education scam

The education scam

Many African universities are not up to scratch, leaving African students vulnerable to scam institutions abroad. Ivana Davidovic reports from Northern Cyprus where many African students go looking for a better education. Nigerian businessman Evans Akanno explains the education problem at home, and Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, vice chancellor at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, explains the scale of the problem.

(Photo: University students in Lagos, Nigeria, Credit: Getty Images)

Poverty and Corruption in Nigeria

Poverty and Corruption in Nigeria

Nigeria goes to the polls to elect a president this weekend. Two issues are prominent - the state of the economy and corruption. Local businessman Evans Akanno tells us why just getting the electricity to stay on would be a good start. Amy Jadesemi, CEO of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base, explains why global oil prices are still crucial to Nigeria. Benedict Crave, Nigeria analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, explains why challenger Atiku Abubakar might win the presidency.

(Photo: A woman walks past presidential campaign posters in Lagos, Nigeria, Credit: Getty Images)

Taxing the Rich

Taxing the Rich

Last month Dutch historian Rutger Bregman told the billionaires at the World Economic Forum in Davos they should think less about philanthropy and instead pay more tax. The clip of his speech went viral. He comes on the programme to argue his point with Ed Conard, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the book The Upside of Inequality, who says higher taxes just stop people innovating.

(Photo: Rutger Bregman, Credit: Getty Images)

The Body Disposal Business

The Body Disposal Business

Funereal solutions on an overcrowded planet - Ed Butler investigates what various countries do when they run out of space to bury their dead.

In Japan, where the construction of new crematoriums has often been blocked by unhappy neighbours, there is a literal multi-day backlog of bodies awaiting burial - and businesses ready to host them. In Greece, crematoriums are opposed by the Orthodox Church, so the solution has been the controversial practice of exhuming bodies just a few months after burial and transferring the decomposed remains to an ossuary.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, mortician Caitlin Doughty tells Ed about an innovative new method of body disposal - disintegrate them in a solution of highly caustic potassium hydroxide.

(Picture: Grave-digger; Credit: David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

The Future of Fashion Retail

The Future of Fashion Retail

Will online shopping and AI combine to kill the high street clothing store?

Ed Butler gets himself digitally measured up in order to try on outfits in cyberspace, with the help of Tom Adeyoola, founder of virtual browsing business Metail. Meanwhile Julia Boesch - who runs Outfittery, one of Europe's biggest online fashion retailers, out of her office in Berlin - explains how artificial intelligence is enabling her company to provide customers with the kind of individualised style advice they would normally find in a bespoke tailors.

So is the roll-out of AI-enhanced phone-based services going to revolutionise the way we buy our attire? Yes, says Achim Berg of consultants McKinsey - but not quite yet.

(Picture: Body scan to provide exact measurements at custom tailoring shop Alton Lane in Washington DC; Credit: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

When to Pursue your Dream

When to Pursue your Dream

At what point should you give up your day-job to pursue your own business side-project full-time? And should governments do more to help those who want to do it?

Manuela Saragosa explores the world of the successful "side-hustler" - the closet entrepreneur who takes an after-hours pet project and turns it into a whole new business. Alexandria Wombwell-Povey gave up insurance brokerage to launch her jam-making company Cham, while Emma Jones set up the website Enterprise Nation to support such go-getters.

Meanwhile, Maddy Savage reports from Sweden, where all full-time employees have a legal right to unpaid leave in order to pursue their own start-up.

(Picture: Businesswoman looks wistful and distracted in a meeting with her colleagues; Credit: Squaredpixels/Getty Images)

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