My Blog
Politicians must understand that taxation is not a substitute for economic growth
In a speech last week, the leader of the Scottish Labour Party provided a ray of sunshine. I am not
Years on, we still haven’t learnt to quantify the damage done during the pandemic
The Royal Society is the world’s oldest independent scientific academy. Last week, some of its scientists trespassed onto public policy with
Keep dreaming if you think Brexit is the reason craft beer breweries are going bust
A couple of weeks in the Highlands is always refreshing; the scenery is fantastic and the locals are welcoming, even
House prices will eventually start to fall, as long as owners accept their new reality
Economic news has had few moments of optimism lately: living standards are being squeezed and the overall level of economic
Edinburgh Fringe fame for a one woman show is proof of the randomness of celebrity
The Edinburgh Festival is in full swing and the number of performers is almost incredible: the overall total this year
The big beasts of banking, supermarkets and tech are behind our productivity slump
The mystery of the dramatic slowdown in productivity growth across the West since the late 2000s remains unsolved. It is
Even if the pandemic hadn’t happened, we would have all ended up working remotely
Working from home is a phenomenon we still associate with the pandemic. Some companies are trying to reverse its growth
If politicians keep ignoring economists, our strategies will never be cost-effective
Economists have been getting bad press because of the antics of the Bank of England and its Monetary Policy Committee.
Sunak should be modelling his fiscal rules on Clem Attlee’s, not Margaret Thatcher’s
Normally, reading economic statistics is, for almost everybody, a sure-fire way of curing insomnia. Not anymore. The Office for National
The Bank of England risked our economy by believing a Peter Pan myth on inflation
The Bank of England has finally accepted that it needs to react to the growing criticism of its failure to
Our approach to energy prices shows we want climate policies only if they’re free
The energy sector continues to grab the headlines. The government has announced the windfall tax on oil and gas companies
It’s time the Bank of England rethinks monetary policy – and its own methods
The Bank of England’s handling of inflation has been met with increasing levels of criticism. Despite its suite of academically
Confusion is the keyword for UK bonds as financial markets’ confidence fades
The yields on British government bonds have drifted upwards again. As many commentators have pointed out, we are back at
Windfall taxes, like speeding fines, can’t be a plaster solution for losing tax revenue
The flashing yellow boxes in the roads of Hammersmith and Fulham have become notorious. On Talgarth Road, a single one
Artificial intelligence won’t destroy your job, just look at Octopus Energy’s use of AI
There is growing concern about the potential power of AI to develop itself and to dominate humanity. Elon Musk was
Starmer is right, we need to give up on the cult of a university education for all
Labour leader Keir Starmer came under fire for his recent reverse ferret on abolishing university tuition fees. Some see it
The Bank of England needs trade unionists and social scientists to stop groupthink
The Bank of England’s persistent failure to meet its inflation target over a long period of time is a matter
Monopolies hire too many pointless managers and kill off productivity growth
The need to increase productivity is of fundamental importance to the political economy of the Western democracies. As I’ve written,
Our ailing productivity is workers’ payback to the greed of bankers after the 2008 crash
The self-destruct mission led by the SNP has helped the Labour party to be seen as firm favourites to win
From international trade to interest rates, macroeconomics is in yet another tail spin
Fifty years ago, the Euro area accounted for 30 per cent of the world’s economy. Since then, there has been
