Integration won’t save the struggling Eurozone
Olivier Blanchard, the recently retired Head of Economics at the International Monetary Fund, has something of a track record with his predictions. In 2013, he warned George Osborne that he was “playing with fire” with the UK’s recovery from the financial crisis. Austerity had to be relaxed. We now know that we were actually nowhere […]
Bridget Rosewell speaker at The Great Manchester Economics Conference
On 2nd October leading Economist Bridget Rosewell spoke at The Great Manchester Economics Conference. An event organised by The Saturday Economist in association with pro-manchester, this top level conference bought together the best economic minds in the country. Over 300 of the region’s professionals, leading experts and influencers in the world of economics gathered together […]
Uber – a disruptive technology?
Uber’s arrival in London over the last two years has received a mixed response. By some it has been lauded as a progressive solution to their transport woes. By others it is regarded as an aggressive, and fundamentally unfair, competition for black cabs and has been heavily criticised over its perceived tax avoidance. There were […]
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 […]
Does behavioural economics pose as many questions as it answers?
In Paul Ormerod’s recent article for EA magazine he discusses the merits and pitfalls of behavioural economics. It appears in EA Magazine’s Autumn Edition, a publication by the Institute of Economic Affairs, that is distributed to thousands of students throughout the UK studying either A Level or IB Economics or Business Studies. It features the […]
Um Bongo: a spotlight on modern social and economic behaviour
Readers who either had young children or were children themselves in the 1980s will recall the Um Bongo jingle. The advert assured us it was drunk in the Congo. A survey published last week to mark the 60th anniversary of British television advertising showed that no fewer than 32 per cent of the total sample […]
Bridget Rosewell speaks at RGS event: Is London too big to succeed?
Last week leading Economist Bridget Rosewell spoke at the Royal Geographical Society’s 21st Century Challenges event titled ‘London: Too big to succeed?’. Chaired by City Hall Editor for London’s Evening Standard Pippa Crerar; Bridget Rosewell, Lord Adonis and Jules Pipe discussed London’s ever growing economy and population and the toll of this on its infrastructure. […]
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 […]
