Graph sowing the principle of Malthus’ theory of population. (Graph by Jan Oosthoek, Environmental History Resources) In June 1798, an English vicar penned two sentences that in many ways defined the problem economists have tried to solve ever since. “Population,…
BIS warns that finance is laying the foundations for a new crash. Is anyone listening?
The latest quarterly review published in December by The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) delivers a warning that the finance industry is laying the foundations for the next big crash. It contains a report that highlights the role of non-bank…
Nine reasons not to study economics
1 It’s not a science. Economists present themselves as champions of a discipline with the rigour of physics. The models you’ll learn about are presented algebraically and will borrow from real sciences, particularly hydraulics. But the material of economics isn’t…
Comedy, Britain’s fiscal rules and Rishi Sunak’s budget
Will UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rushi Sunak’s budget be (yet) another comedy show? Ahead of UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s budget statement on 27 October, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) has released a report about “rules” that…
Keir Starmer and the end of the Fabian dream
Insanity and the London housing market
A single fact says everything about what’s happened to the UK economy in the past 40 years. In 1978 aged 23, I purchased a two-bedroom flat in South Tottenham, an unfashionable suburb of London about five miles from Piccadilly Circus,…