The question of whether the BBC is institutionally biased to the left and/or anti-capitalism (not necessarily quite the same) might … Continue reading “Does the BBC have an anti-capitalist bias? A critique of “Promises, Promises: A History of Debt””

One of the most important controversies generated by the Scottish independence debate relates to the continuation (or not) of the … Continue reading “Scottish independence and the sterling-zone controversy”

One of the so-called ‘Big Beasts’ of UK politics and government, Lord Heseltine – formerly cast as ‘Tarzan’ by much … Continue reading “High Speed 2: Tarzanomics vs. Economics”

Mark Twain contended that there are three kinds of lies: ‘lies, damned lies, and statistics’. These matters have become even … Continue reading “Conometricks and the new NAFF ‘case’ for HS2”

The recent IEA evaluation of the High Speed 2 project has presaged much further criticism of this serious misadventure. A … Continue reading “‘Fallacies and Misadventures in Blunderland’: the HS2 case”

During a briefing on 5 November 2008 – conducted with big wall-chart graphs – about the ongoing financial ‘crunch’, the … Continue reading “More macro-quackery”

Industrial policy may be defined as government interference in the market process of economic evolution. Its main instrument is the … Continue reading “Picking Losers…? The political economy of industrial policy”