My Blog
Stamp duty contortions and eco-warriors with private jets? Welcome to silly season
August is traditionally the silly season. Brexit makes this year slightly different, of course, but it is good to see
What was behind Friday’s National Grid outage? Network theory, not conspiracy
National Grid is getting a kicking in the aftermath of last Friday’s electricity blackout. Potential explanations swirl around both social
Retailers beware, the online shopping revolution isn’t going anywhere
Another week, another retailer biting the dust. The baked potato specialist Spudulike has closed all 37 of its branches, with
A gender equality lesson for the new cabinet from the world of academia
There has been much discussion on the gender and ethnic composition of Boris Johnson’s cabinet. The Channel 4 Fact Check
Citizens’ assemblies would hand power to establishment experts
Citizens’ assemblies have become the height of fashion. The London borough of Camden is currently holding one on how to
Relax, the UK (probably) isn’t heading for recession
Immediate fears of a recession in the UK economy were eased last week with the latest Office for National Statistics
In the case of sugar, the nanny state really does know best
Boris Johnson created a furore last week by announcing that he was considering getting rid of the so-called sugar tax.
The left’s support for university students is fuelled by political self-interest
Why do left-wing politicians want to shower money on privileged members of society? In general, university students have a higher
Tragedy awaits if we don’t bridge the gap between beliefs and reality in the NHS
A tragic story over the weekend revealed how a man who died of lung cancer was failed abysmally by the
If you’re panicking about a spike in oil prices, look to history for a silver lining
The tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman have raised fears of a sharp increase in the price of oil.
From taxes to cats, May’s government has been an affront to Tory ideology
Theresa May has finally announced her resignation. How can we capture the flavour of her tenure in office? This can
Puzzled over Australia’s shock election result? Economics can help explain
The surprise of the week was the re-election of the centre-right Coalition government in the Australian General Election. The Labor
You can’t take the economics out of football
The appearance of Liverpool and Spurs in the Champions League final and Arsenal and Chelsea in the Europa Cup one
It’s not cutting-edge AI we should fear, but mediocre automation
If there were a betting market in future winners of the Nobel prize in economics, MIT’s Daniel Acemoglu would be
Extinction Rebellion hates capitalism, but they wouldn’t exist without it
The Extinction Rebellion protesters on the streets of London seemed to consist of two disparate interest groups: pensioners and the
Want to tackle the scourge of fake reviews? The market can help with that
The internet has led to a massive increase in the amount of information available. Often, this is a good thing.
Britain is more optimistic about Brexit than gloomy forecasts suggest
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is up to its usual tricks. Last week, it predicted a two-year recession in the
Modern Monetary Theory? More like Magic Money Tree
As the Brexit process unfolds, the possibility of a Corbyn government has become much more tangible. Last month, John McDonnell,
If there is something fishy about influencers, why do we take the bait?
Social media influencer, Yovana Mendoza, provided an amusing diversion from Brexit last week. The 20-something vlogger built a very lucrative
This Nobel-winning economist can tell you why there’s no Brexit consensus
Should pure blue sky research be funded? Certainly, the answer from government-backed research councils seems to be “no”. The emphasis
