Birthday parties and the NHS: We Need More Markets
Many outrageous things happened around the world during the course of last week. But, judging by both the level of popular interest in the story and reaction to it, the most heinous was the decision of a mother to send an invoice to the parents of a boy who did not turn up to her […]
Volterra investigates a potential new location for Everton FC
Volterra recently produced a report investigating the potential relocation of Everton FC to a new site at Walton Hall Park in North Liverpool. The study found that up to 1,250 permanent jobs, 1,000 new homes and 30,000 square metres of leisure, retail and restaurant space could be created by the proposed plan. Everton’s 50,000-seater stadium […]
Planning permission granted for Battersea Park East
Permission was granted at the end of 2014 for a mixed use development at Battersea Park East. The development will transform the area between Queenstown Road Station and Battersea Park Station. The development includes retail, leisure and residential facilities as well as the expansion of St Mary’s Roman Catholic School. Volterra was brought on board […]
HS2 Stoke Route in the news
Volterra’s work on the economic benefits of a HS2 Stoke route (first published in October) continues to make the headlines in anticipation of the Government’s final decision later this year on whether HS2 will change from a route via Crewe to one via Stoke. Our report concluded that an HS2 station in Stoke-on-Trent would result […]
Volterra Promotions and Opportunities
We’re delighted to announce some promotions within the Volterra team. Kieran Arter, who joined us last year following ten years’ experience working as a transport economist is now an Associate, whilst Lucy Dean who has worked with us since graduating from Oxford in 2013 has accepted a position as Senior Consultant. We’re also currently recruiting […]
Bring Back Cedric the Pig!
Executive bonuses are back in the news. The Goldman Sachs pot of £8.3 billion has been prominent. German executive pay has overtaken that in the UK for the first time. Top management seems to have no shame. Some bad publicity, but the fat cheque remains safely in the bank account. How one longs for the […]
Can Adam Smith Solve the Problem of Youth Unemployment in Europe?
Youth unemployment remains a serious problem in Europe. There is the tiniest glimmer of hope in that the number of young people under 25 unemployed in the Euro zone is 58,000 lower than it was a year ago. But that still leaves 3.4 million without a job. In Italy, the youth unemployment rate is 44 […]
Prospect theory: will the Greeks keep a hold of Nurse?
Will 2015 be the year in which fantasy economics in Europe is finally put to the test? Somewhat to the surprise of many commentators, in December the Greek political class failed to elect a new president even after three attempts. Parliament has now been dissolved and an election will take place on 25 January. The […]
A Tale of Two Financial Crises: the 1930s and Now
As the seventh anniversary of the start of the economic crisis approaches, it is an appropriate moment to take stock. At the time, the recession was simply not recognised by conventional economic forecasts. These continued to foresee positive growth until the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the autumn of 2008. But the latest national accounts […]
Bond market yields imply gloomy growth prospects
Very strange things have been happening in government bond markets. The yield on 10 year US bonds is currently around 2.25 per cent. It makes intuitive sense that the Germans, with their longstanding reputation for fiscal prudence, are enjoying a much lower rate, some 0.8 per cent. Similar levels obtain in most of the countries […]
