Of course, the Government can hardly lecture the banks on efficiency, if it does nothing to improve its own. When it came to power, the Coalition promised to do ‘more with less’ – and one of the ways it proposed to do so was through the application of behavioural economics, which basically means working with […]
The ancient Babylonians knew a thing or two about nudging. Or, at any rate, Hammurabi’s code – the first legal code in history – had a firm grasp of behavioural incentives: “If a builder builds a house for a man and does not make its construction firm, and the house which he has built collapses and […]
This week, British politics has mostly been about pasties. Fortunately, we have the likes of Charles Moore to divert us with such trivial matters as the future of capitalism. Interviewed in the European, Moore politely introduces his fellow conservatives to the elephant in the room: “Marxists have always said that the idea of the free […]
David Cameron may not been seen as a visionary, but he does nevertheless have a vision. Or rather, if agree with Rowenna Davis in her piece for the New Statesman, he did have a vision: “Has anyone seen Dave’s ‘big society’? It’s an odd loss, because according to many, this was the closest thing Cameron had to a […]
Between 1939 and 1944, over two million children were evacuated from British towns and cities. But “rather than being placed in camps, they were mostly accommodated in private homes, and many stayed with their foster families for several years.” The author and philosopher Roman Krznaric describes this remarkable story as the “greatest meeting of strangers in history” […]
“It is easy to feel that we are an exhausted country that gave its best and last in the Second World War, and having stretched ourselves beyond our limits, has no energy to continue.” And yet, says Rory Stewart, in another brilliant article, national greatness is still within our grasp. He begins by condemning the notion that a […]
Rory Stewart (see previous post) draws a provocative contrast between the “inert and disappointing” politics of the present day and the “vibrantly, destructively inventive” politics of the Tudor age; but, as a conservative, shouldn't he disapprove of the latter? Shouldn’t he stand up for institutions that have stood the test of time? Well, yes, he should and, no doubt, he does. But what […]
A few weeks ago, the Deep End featured an everyday tale of Greek economic madness – the bookstore/café that could sell neither books nor coffee. This story is even better – a New York Times profile of Greek entrepreneur Fotis Antopolous. One day, Mr Antopolous decided to start up an e-business selling olive oil products: "It […]
What if Greece defaults on its soverign debt? A while back, the story was this: default would trigger a ‘credit event’, which would in turn activate a complex web of insurance agreements, leading to a Lehmans-style meltdown of the European banking system. Thus everything must be done to stop Greece from defaulting. Except that Greece already has […]
For all the caveats, the risk of financial meltdown can’t be ignored. Indeed, we need ask ourselves why events like the collapse of Lehman Brothers caused such chaos and what can be done to prevent future events from triggering system-wide panic. Andrew Haldane, of the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Committee, sets out some of […]
Deborah Orr is a Guardian columnist who doesn’t like the NHS bill and is rude about Conservatives. Somewhat unremarkable, you might think, but as the bill passes its final Parliamentary hurdles, she uses her column to smash a few taboos. She starts with some personal context – a letter from the NHS inviting her to book a […]
What is your first memory? For Shin In Geun it was an execution. That's because he was born in a North Korean labour camp, the son of political prisoners. At the age of 23, he escaped, which is why his story can be told in Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harnden. The Guardian carries an […]
The Bible tells us that a prophet has no honour in his own land. As a man of faith, Prince Charles will no doubt be familiar with these words. Indeed, he might even be tempted to take them as a personal motto, such is his treatment in the British press. But writing in the American […]
There are few overlaps between the green left and reactionary right, but one of them is an obsessive fear of global population growth. To a certain mindset, there is no doubt as to the greatest threat facing mankind: babies. In his 1995 book All the Trouble in the World, PJ O'Rourke includes a chapter entitled […]
From Malthus onwards, population growth has been a favourite explanation for why some countries are rich while others are poor. Other theories have focused on geographical location, natural resource endowments and colonial history. All of these ideas have something to be said for them, but according to the economist Daron Acemoglu – profiled by Adam […]