Rishi Sunak and the legacy of Nigel Lawson
Rishi Sunak has a photo of Nigel Lawson on his wall. But is he the heir to Lawson?
Devex on Precision Development
Good article on Devex Pro about Precision Development based on an interview with our excellent India Country Director, Niriksha Shetty.
Labour’s Three Foreign Policy Mistakes
My local Labour Party called me the other day to ask if I would vote for them. I won’t, despite the forceful recent reminder from Rishi Sunak of why I could never vote Conservative. Here’s why. I’ve resigned from the Labour Party not once but twice over foreign policy; and Read more…
Rising prices are not what is making us poor
Framing this as a “cost of living crisis” creates the misleading impression that inflation is the problem. Our standard of living is lower for a combination of reasons: the war in Ukraine, the covid pandemic, Brexit, and structural problems in the British economy. These hits mean that real incomes will Read more…
Still not shopping
My mood has brightened since my last post, which was gloomy about the recent data on the spread of coronavirus in Britain. Nonetheless, I think the easing of the lockdown is premature, for reasons set out below. Let me reiterate: I’m an economist, not an epidemiologist. Furthermore, you should never Read more…
Why I am not going shopping
I think the relaxations in the lockdown are premature. Here is why: Hospital admissions in London are going up And in England as a whole, hospital admissions are rising slightly: UPDATE 8pm Here is the same graph with another day’s data – the admissions continue to rise: 2. The number Read more…
Do you feel lucky, punk?
I am worried that the UK Government is easing the lockdown too soon, and I am going to continue to be very careful in the coming weeks. Here’s why. I am not a doctor or an epidemiologist: I’m an economist. That means I don’t know about the biology (but I Read more…
Time for a “Love Actually” moment
President Trump’s decision to cut funding to the World Health Organisation calls for a “Love Actually” moment. There is a precedent. One of George W. Bush’s first acts as president in 2006 was to reinstate the “global gag rule” which withdrew US aid from organisations that counsel women about abortions Read more…
Thirty years a vegetarian
Reflections on the thirtieth anniversary of becoming a vegetarian
Ending the Exaggeration of Aid: A Modest Proposal
The current rules for counting loans in the aid statistics are a mess. Owen Barder and Stephan Klasen review the emerging consensus for reform, and suggest three improvements.