Gross Domestic Product pops up everywhere in the news. In the summer of 2016, for example, the news that Ireland’s … Continue reading “A mercantilist misreading of GDP figures”

(The extensions are set below in square brackets, so that the original text, which the FT did not publish, can … Continue reading “Getting it wrong at the FT and in Downing Street”

The Financial Times has long been a continuing source of misleading statements about the relative size of the economies of … Continue reading “GDP figures: How the Financial Times gets it wrong”

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement certainly contained some good news – but not enough to justify the self-congratulation that we saw, … Continue reading “The Autumn Statement brought good news – but not enough for the self-congratulation we saw”

The statisticians will be arguing about the last quarter’s growth figures for years. Was it really a 0.7 per cent … Continue reading “Stagnation Britain: Osborne has played his hand extremely badly”

It was interesting to see former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark pop up in the news again this week. … Continue reading “Measuring everything that matters to all seven billion of us – in one index number”

When it comes to happiness, myths abound. For centuries we have hotly debated what makes a good life, where satisfaction … Continue reading “Can the government make us happy?”

A major policy plank in the re-branding of the Conservative Party has been the adoption of well-being economics – one … Continue reading “A message for David Cameron – government cannot make us happy”

A lot of people are looking to economic history for help in understanding the current economic situation. Most attention is … Continue reading “Lessons from the ‘Long Depression’”