Paul Ormerod: why are so few economists Brexiteers?
Leading Economist Paul Ormerod wrote an article for Prospect Magazine on 9th January asking why so few economists are Brexiteers… Groupthink culture in the economics profession led the Bank of England’s Chief Economist, Andy Haldane, to admit last week that economic forecasting is in crisis. You can read the full article here.
What Dirty Harry tells us about economic forecasters’ Michael Fish moment
Economic forecasters are in the dock. Last week, none other than the chief economist of the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, was confessing the crimes of the profession. The failure to predict the financial crisis was, Haldane said, economic forecasting’s “Michael Fish” moment. Thirty years ago, the BBC weatherman predicted that the UK would avoid […]
Farewell to the game theory master who helped prevent a nuclear apocalypse
Last year was a year of celebrity deaths. But perhaps the most significant of all received very little coverage. Just before Christmas, Thomas Schelling, Nobel Laureate in economics, died aged 95. In the early, tense years of the Cold War between America and the Soviet Union in the late 1940s and 1950s, Schelling’s ideas were […]
The death of cash, the rise of trade unions and other eclectic 2017 predictions
It’s certainly been an eventful year. But rather than dwell on the past, what sort of things can we expect in 2017? Here are a few eclectic predictions. Sweden may become the world’s first cashless economy. Notes and coins are already fast disappearing as a means of payment, and retailers are legally entitled to refuse to accept […]
Volterra celebrates a successful year with staff promotions!
As Christmas and the end of 2016 approaches we have taken a moment to look back over the year and review our achievements, of which there are many. A few words from Partners Paul Buchanan and Ellie Evans: “2016 has been a record breaking year at Volterra. We have won work in Stockholm, Toronto and four projects […]
Volterra’s Paul Buchanan and Lucy Dean hard at work ‘down under’!
Volterra Partner Paul Buchanan and Senior Consultant Lucy Dean have just returned from Sydney where they have been working with Transport for NSW on the business case for a light rail scheme. More on this in the New Year…
Forget “post-truth”: A compelling vision drove Brexit and Trump triumphs
The buzz-phrase of the moment in political discussion is “post-truth”. Shell-shocked metropolitan liberals are astonished by both Brexit and Donald Trump’s success. How could their own rational analysis not find favour with the electorate? People in the internet age must be no longer capable of recognising the truth. Both the Brexiteers and Trump certainly created […]
Rampant corruption – not just the euro – has doomed Italy to stagnation
So farewell then, Matteo Renzi! The resignation of the Italian Prime Minister after his heavy defeat in Sunday’s referendum on constitutional reform has created turmoil. Fears have been resurrected about the stability of the Italian banking system, and even the possibility of Italy leaving the euro has been raised. But the problems of the Italian […]
Bridget Rosewell to speak at ‘The infrastructure challenge post Brexit’ Conference…BOOK NOW!
Conference: The infrastructure challenge post Brexit – 24 January, 2017 – Westminster – Programme now out Post Brexit, there is an emerging policy direction that puts infrastructure investment in the centre of an activist fiscal policy and the re-invention of industrial strategy. This is all framed around delivering fairness and inclusion to heal the social […]
Bridget Rosewell speaker at Highways UK 2016
Bridget Rosewell was a speaker at Highways UK 2016 annual conference on 16/17 November at the NEC in Birmingham, in her capacity as a judge of the Wolfson Economics Prize. The conference attracted 2,219 visitors to listen to the 109 speakers, in the three Industry briefing theatres, and to visit the 90 exhibitors. Highways UK is a major event […]
