My Blog
Act now, think later: Card surcharge ban is typical of myopic soundbite politics
Companies and service providers are no longer allowed to charge customers for using a credit or debit card. The new
‘Expertise’ has become a tool of the liberal establishment to drown out opposing views
The row over the Conservative-supporting journalist Toby Young’s appointment to the universities watchdog has been intense. Despite the relative obscurity
The balance between wages and capital is shifting – rent seekers had better beware
The first column of a new year is the time for a prediction. By far the hardest part of forecasting
Old-fashioned educational values offer the UK’s most deprived children a future
Economics is the gloomy science, but we can end the year on a cheery note. Newham Collegiate Sixth Form College
Companies that bow to the social media mob are operating in the wrong century
Pizza Hut is the latest addition to the list of companies grovelling to criticism on social media. The restaurant chain
It is the private sector, not the state, that has enabled America’s economic recovery
The American economy continues to power ahead. The widely respected and independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reckons that the actual
The OBR’s forecasts should be taken not just with a pinch of salt, but with the contents of an entire mine
There has been a great deal of crowing in metropolitan liberal circles over the report of the Office for Budget
Doublethinking or dim? Why the Labour party can’t be trusted with the economy
Are members of the Labour Party frontbench experts in doublethink? The concept was invented by George Orwell for his novel
Mind the gap: Economics is catching up to the fact that we’re not always rational
Do Tube strikes make Londoners better off? At first sight, the question is simply absurd. The answer is surely “no”.
There’s a difference between priceless and worthless, but economics can’t measure it
The so-called “productivity puzzle” just does not go away. The October, employment figures released by the Office for National Statistics
Catalonia tries to avoid repeating history, but Spain has economic reality on its side
Karl Marx famously wrote: “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”. The phrase might well have been coined
It’s time to question the macroeconomic orthodoxy on interest rates and inflation
Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, is getting his retaliation in early. Faced yet again with the Bank
Comparison sites are forcing businesses and economists to rethink price theories
The competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a report about Price comparison sites at the end of last month. They
Behavioural economics has had its Nobel moment, but take it with a pinch of salt
Behavioural economics has received the ultimate accolade. Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago Business School has been awarded the
From Korea to Germany, experiments with socialism show markets always win
A red-hot topic in economics is randomised controlled trials (RCT). Esther Duflo, the MIT academic who has really driven this
The demise of Germany’s Social Democrats reflects the challenge for all liberal parties
The German elections on Sunday went pretty much according to the polls. Another victory for Chancellor Merkel. Much of the
Rochdale Hornets End of Season Dinner
I have supported Rochdale Hornets, the Rugby League team of my home town, for many years. I continue to enjoy my
Full employment in Britain has lowered productivity instead of increasing wages
The UK jobs market is booming, as the latest ONS figures show. Unemployment is at its lowest for over 40
Why can’t we confront climate change? Behavioural economics explains
The devastating storms in America have kept the issue of climate change firmly in the public mind. But so far,
Anti-capitalists in UK universities need a refresher course in the perils of socialism
The great Harvard economist Joseph Schumpeter, writing in the 1940s, predicted the eventual demise of capitalism. He did not want
