Finance & economics | Free exchange

How bad are video games for your grades?

Chinese students provide an answer

Retro space invader alien with flames coming out of eyes
Illustration: Alvaro Bernis

Arriving on the magical continent of Teyvat, you and your twin are attacked and separated by an unwelcoming god. When you regain consciousness, you set off in search of your lost sibling, exploring seven beguiling worlds (one of which resembles a Chinese national park). Along the way you team up with other heroes, blessed with elemental powers. One can cross lakes by freezing the water beneath his feet. Another can float on air currents of his own creation. Together, your travelling party must fight monsters, solve puzzles and plunder treasure chests.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Confessions of a spiritual opium-eater”

From the October 26th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Finance & economics

China meets its official growth target. Not everyone is convinced

For one thing, 2024 saw the second-weakest rise in nominal GDP since the 1970s

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks during the launch of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on January 10th 2025

Ethiopia gets a stockmarket. Now it just needs some firms to list

The country is no longer the most populous without a bourse


Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, Japan

Are big cities overrated?

New economic research suggests so


Why catastrophe bonds are failing to cover disaster damage 

The innovative form of insurance is reaching its limits

“The Traitors”, a reality TV show, offers a useful economics lesson

It is a finite, sequential, incomplete information game

Will Donald Trump unleash Wall Street?

Bankers have plenty of reason to be hopeful