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
In low income parts of the UK, boosting productivity is a question of competition
Productivity is a puzzle with many different layers. When it becomes a mainstay in political speeches, it is rarely for a good reason. Most of
Housing Associations have no accountability and a 2-year-old has paid the price
The tragic death of Awaab Ishak, the two-year-old killed by exposure to mould, has been described in detail over the last week. We’ve heard of
Everyone wants a pay rise, but we will have to pay with cuts to jobs or services
The nation seems to be in the grip of an epidemic of cognitive dissonance. Where is Matt Hancock when we really need him to impose
