Ellie speaker at Policy Forum for London event

Ellie was recently invited to speak at the Policy Forum for London’s event on the priorities for developing London’s night time economy. Specialising in the economic impact of developments and proposals, Ellie spoke about London’s night time economy hotspots and historic growth, as well as the business case for the Night Tube. When thinking about the […]

What changes could Hyperloop deliver?

Hyperloop One

The last in our series of blogs on WEBs. Having worked on the Hyperloop projects, Volterra Partner Paul Buchanan looks at the impact futuristic modes of transport have on WEBs. WEBs and Hyperloop I have been lucky to work on four or five Hyperloop projects; this means thinking about the impact of Hyperloop on where […]

The history of Wider Economic Benefits (WEBs)

Commuters

Paul Buchanan started WEBs, secured the original approval of WEBs by government and has continued to develop the techniques and spread the application of WEBs ever since. This series of blogs looks at some of the key changes and innovations that were introduced over time. They range from the original work on Crossrail, through early […]

A planning crisis

geograph-4895165-by-David-P-Howard

Partly due to its success in attracting jobs and talent, demand for housing in London has outstripped supply and now home ownership is unaffordable for many households. In a well-functioning market, increases in house prices should incentivise large scale housing development. But this simply has not happened. So what is constraining housing development in the […]

Blame restrictions on the supply of land for new homes for rising wealth inequality

Fields of Gold

Official data released last week on London house price increases in 2016 generated a lot of interest.  Given that housing represents by far the most important component of wealth for most people, it is not surprising that stories like this are read avidly. There is a feeling that the current situation regarding the affordability of […]

Forward guidance is just another delusion foisted on us by mainstream macro

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, was on good form last week when he appeared at the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons. Asked what “forward guidance” meant, he answered smoothly: “The thing about forward guidance is that it is guidance that is forward. Which is not to say it is meant to […]

Bridget Rosewell discusses Heathrow runway decision and post-brexit data

Prolific Economist Bridget Rosewell was invited on to Radio 4’s World Tonight on Tuesday 25th October to discuss the Government’s decision to grant a third runway at Heathrow. The long awaited decision was an important moment in Theresa May’s new government, after years of lobbying and indecision on the Heathrow and Gatwick extensions. The greenlight for Heathrow […]

Look to Twitter for why Britain’s economy proved Project Fear wrong

The economic data on post-Brexit Britain is beginning to emerge.  We discovered last month that employment in May to July grew by 174,000 compared to the previous three months.  Last week, the Office for National Statistics published its estimate for the output of the service sector of the economy in July.  This shows a 0.4 […]

What climate warrior Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes teaches us about punishment

Natalie Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes: don’t you just love her? One of the Black Lives Matter campaigners, our Nat caused chaos by occupying the runway at London City Airport, on the grounds that climate change is racist. She and eight others, including a former member of the Oxford University Croquet Club, were sentenced by the courts last week. […]

Paul Buchanan’s published report: Transport, land use and economics

Volterra Partner and leading economist Paul Buchanan has written a paper for the Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal.  Paul’s article Transport, land use and economics is featured as one of many papers discussing urban regeneration and renewal in a complex contemporary climate. You can read the article HERE. The publication is the essential peer-reviewed journal for all professionals […]