New...
Measuring happiness...
In unstructured online media text, users reveal their emotions in ways analogous to the principle of revealed preference in consumer demand theory. Machine learning techniques can be used to construct real-time measures of sentiment/well-being.
Here is a paper which gives the practical illustration . The Feel Good Factor for London is updated regularly here.
Challenging Rationality...
The rational choice theory of economics still works well in many contexts. But it faces increasing challenges when networks, social influence and emotion are playing an increasing role in decision making. Here is a presentation I gave on the topic to a conference organised by ING bank in Amsterdam.
The Obesity Epidemic
Obesity has become a major problem in the West, highlighted by the Covid crisis. Here is a paper on how obesity in the US has grown rapidly over the past 30 years, along with potential explanations.
Income Inequality
There is still intensive debate about income inequality, and in particular the pay of the top 1 per cent. Here is a piece I contributed to a book on the topic.
Machine Learning
Here are the slides of a keynote presentation I gave to a Bank of England/Federal Reserve conference on better ways to understand economic recessions using machine learning
Recent Posts from the Blog
Protecting against cyber attacks means tackling rational inattention
Cybersecurity, highlighted by recent attacks on the Co-op and Marks & Spencer, is not just a technical challenge but also a human and economic one,
What Rachel Reeves can learn from Geoffrey Howe
In 1981, Geoffrey Howe defied Keynesian orthodoxy by tightening fiscal policy during a recession – and completely changed the narrative about the British economy. Reeves
UK universities should focus on excellence, not DEI
The UK university sector won’t solve it’s financial problems by prioritising diversity goals over research quality, says Paul Ormerod The university sector in the UK
