Groucho Marx and Property Bubbles
The commercial property market in London has been booming for several years. The Bank of England is concerned about yet another property bubble building up. The executive director for financial stability, strategy and risk at the Bank, Alex Brazier, warned in a speech last month that positive sentiment in the industry must be “tempered by […]
Do markets solve the problem of discrimination?
The Prime Minister recently announced that the civil service will now introduce name-blind recruitment. When people apply for public sector jobs, their name will not appear on the documents sent to the appointment panel. Major companies such as HSBC, KPMG, the BBC and the NHS are following suit. Economists have produced a substantial body of […]
Technological breakthroughs will make fossil fuels unburnable – not bureaucrats
The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, courted the wrath of the fossil fuel industry in a speech at the end of last month. He argued that investors in the sector face ‘potentially huge losses’. Actions by governments to try to head off climate change could make most reserves of coal, oil and […]
CEO compensation and Jamaican demands for reparations: two sides of the same coin
David Cameron’s visit to Jamaica last week led to vociferous demands for the UK to pay the Caribbean island billions of pounds in reparations for slavery. Most people here reacted with predictable eye-rolls and sighs. Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire in 1833, nearly two centuries ago. Jamaica has been independent since 1962, over […]
How do you deal with someone who thinks the Earth is flat?
Imagine you are relaxing at a bar enjoying a drink after a hard day’s work. The person next to you strikes up a conversation. Initially he seems reasonable. But soon he begins to go on at length about how the Earth is flat and how a misguided cabal of scientists hides this truth from us. […]
The national accounts are the new JK Rowling
A potential candidate for the world’s most boring book is the Office for National Statistics’ National Accounts: Sources and Methods. This book, all 502 pages of it, is currently available in hardback on Amazon for just 1p. It does exactly what it says in the title. It gives a detailed description of how the data […]
Why economics can prevent Europe’s refugee crisis from becoming even worse
Emotions are running high over the refugee crisis, with heart-breaking images arousing waves of compassion across Europe. As ever, however, economics lurks in the background. The tragic stories of refugees coming to Europe rightly elicit a call to help those in need, but we must understand the underlying realities to truly do something about this crisis. […]
Whatever it is, Corbynomics is not mainstream
A group of economists hit the headlines last week with their claim that Jeremy Corbyn’s policies are supported by mainstream economics. Perhaps the best known of them is David Blanchflower, a Monetary Policy Committee member when Gordon Brown was Chancellor. He predicted before the 2010 General Election that under the Conservatives, unemployment would rise from […]
Response to Cecil the Lion’s death is a sad lesson in the irrationality of public opinion
Alas poor Cecil! Close personal friend of mine, sadly dead now. The catchphrases of the Scottish comedian Bob Doolally capture the outpourings of grief among the Twitterati at the death of the now famous lion. The mourning is mixed with incoherent rage, as long-standing opponents of torture and capital punishment demand that the American dentist […]
Technology is replacing school ties in companies’ battle to keep their employees honest
The activities of the House of Lords are very much in the news at the moment. But the members do carry out serious work, not least on the economic affairs committee. Last week, Lord Green, former chairman and chief executive of HSBC, appeared before them. Yes, the noble Lord admitted, the bank had not got […]
