My Blog
Sovereign debt and Euro zone reality
The recent debacle in Cyprus has essentially been shrugged off by the markets. The European Central Bank vigorously asserts the
Are economics graduates fit for purpose?
Are economics graduates fit for purpose? This is a hot topic in policy making circles. A year ago, the Bank
The Market for Speeding Points
What is it worth to take someone else’s speeding points? The Huhne-Pryce case has brought this into sharp focus. Setting
Hip Hop and Why Some Things Succeed
Just over a month ago, a group of young men from a fairly yokel part of Australia posted a video
How expert are experts? Time to end the independence of the Bank
The Bank of England has held short-term interest rates very close to zero for several years, with devastating consequences for
What would Keynes have said? Ouija board active!
The loss of triple A status on UK government bonds has intensified the demands for a Plan B. So-called Keynesians
Networks, the North and Prosperity
What can be done about the North? The gap between London and the South East grows and grows. The response
Entrepreneurship and the filthy rich
Peter Mandelson famously said that he was ‘intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich’. As was the case with many
Today Singapore and Japan, Tomorrow China
It has suddenly become fashionable to be concerned about China’s growth rate slowing down. This is not a matter of
Tax cuts, public spending and morality
Kier Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has vowed to ‘ramp up’ prosecutions against individuals for tax evasion five-fold in
Springtime for America
Is America heading for a boom? Real GDP has risen for 13 successive quarters and now stands 3 per cent
Telling the Truth about the Retirement Age
In a democracy, it is always a risky business for politicians to tell the electorate things they do not want
Meat and potato pies and the Nobel Prize in economics
Tragedy struck at a mid-week game played during the holiday season in Football League Division Two. The pies ran out
A quiz for the end of 2012
There are many puzzles about the economy, and in the holiday spirit a quiz is provided at the end. A
Bankers, Greens and the Barking Mad: When Prophesy Fails
Forecasts of the end of the world have an even worse track record than predictions in economics. Some followers of
Prisons, incentives and how to save the planet
Criminals are refusing to leave Portugal’s prisons. According to the International Herald Tribune, prisoners are starting to want to serve the
A stitch in time. We need smarter government, but less of it
What is the connection between the content of Boris Johnson’s speech this week to the CBI, tax avoidance and evasion,
International Airlines Group: a ‘fantastic object’? The psychology of mergers and acquisitions
International Airlines Group (IAG), formed in January 2011 by a merger of British Airways and Iberia, is in the news.
Our Friends in the North are trapped in a monetary union
Michael Heseltine’s report on economic growth came out last week. It contains 89 recommendations. A mere 57 varieties, to recall
Corporation tax: fostering the illusions of the electorate that someone else will pay
Corporation tax is very much in the news. Starbucks is merely the latest to be in the spotlight, having paid
