In many ways we take the financial sector for granted. We tend to assume that we would be more prosperous … Continue reading “The financial sector: unpopular but useful”

In the UK, a furore has broken out over the failure of a company called Carillion. The focus of the … Continue reading “Let’s have less PFI – by reducing the scope of the state”

A little over 100 years ago, the American engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor outlined in his book Principles of Scientific Management … Continue reading “The new Taylorism misunderstands the changing nature of work”

If you were to ask an economist why financial institutions or food retailers exist, I wonder if the answer would … Continue reading “Economists need to look beyond their fancy models, and study transaction costs”

According to UNESCO, 230 of the world’s languages have died out over the past sixty years. Many more, UNESCO claims, … Continue reading “Why it’s a good thing when languages die out: a boorish philistine’s take”

There have been two enormous “revolutions” in human history. The first was the Neolithic, or the wide scale switch from … Continue reading “Tomorrow 3.0”