My Blog

Blame Jeremy Corbyn for the increasing number of public sector strikes
The total number of working days lost through labour disputes last year was, at just 170,000, the second lowest annual

What England’s greatest ever batsman tells us about how to use statistics
Cricket fans will be delighted that Joe Root is establishing himself this summer as a truly great batsman. His Test

Why the economic picture tends to be rosier than initial estimates suggest
One of the surprises of last week was the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate of economic growth in the

Why Britain and the US are streets ahead of Europe in innovation
The proposed takeover of the hugely successful ARM Holdings by the Japanese giant SoftBank is in the news. Cambridge-based ARM

Sorry, Prime Minister: Legislation won’t end excess in the boardroom
A key platform of our new Prime Minister is to curb what she perceives to be boardroom excesses. “It is

Why austerity must be the order of the day for May’s chancellor
On the face of it, the Brexiteers have a bit of explaining to do. A week before the vote, Boris

How Stalin’s right-hand man could help the UK in EU exit negotiations
The topic of behavioural economics is very fashionable. But many economists remain rather sniffy about it, arguing that it often

The only way could be down for shares – and Brexit is just the catalyst
The Brexit vote creates many uncertainties, exciting or frightening depending on your predilection. One thing which is certain is that

The EU referendum has shown just how irrational voters are
Some things never seem to change. In the mid-16th century, in the course of her short reign Queen Mary, a

Old Europe’s poor innovation record is a harbinger of long-term stagnation
The economic debate around Brexit has been disappointing. Far too many of the points focus on the short-term. Would Brexit

The poor state of macro justifies scepticism with Brexit disaster forecasts
David Cameron has tried to frame the Brexit debate into one based on economics. Standing with him is the overwhelming

The coming explosion in natural debt is a serious risk to the economy
Martin Feldstein of Harvard is an economist who should always be taken seriously. Writing in 1997 about the forthcoming introduction

There’s a smart case for diversity – but it’s not the one you think.
Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, hit the headlines last week with his confession that even he

Don’t give in to Twitter mob: Social media is just an echo chamber
Greater Manchester Police staged a simulated terror attack in the massive Trafford Park retail complex last week. As with many

Is Britain on the edge of recession? History is an unreliable guide
Concerns are growing about a marked slowdown in the UK economy. The Lloyds Bank purchasing managers’ index, for example, fell to 52.1

There’s little logic to 2016’s shareholder revolts against executive pay
The crisis at BHS has focused as much on the ethics of Phillip Green’s behaviour as it has on the

Surviving the pensions crisis means encouraging work
The Queen’s 90th birthday has quite rightly dominated the media over the past week. Her Majesty continues to break all sorts

Forget avoidance outrage: this is what we really think about tax
Rather like a quantitative version of Hello! magazine, the Panama papers made headlines everywhere. Read all about the vast amount

From golf to GDP, why unlikely events confound forecasters
Life imitates art, as the sporting world has shown this week. The Grand National was won by a horse which

Bank bail outs are no model to follow for British steel
The potential closure of the Tata steel plants, and the plight of Port Talbot is a tragedy for those directly affected.