Which books have been the biggest bestsellers in the history of economic thought? You might be surprised to find out that one contender is ‘Progress and Poverty’ by Henry George which at the time of…
How do countries grow and develop most rapidly? Most economists would argue that openness to trade is an absolutely key factor, with specialisation leading to greater living standards for all. What…
Behavioural economics can explain an awful lot about how governments, media and businesses can manipulate your day-to-day choices and habitual thinking to their advantage (and your disadvantage!).…
‘On Liberty’ by JS Mill is beloved by libertarians across the world - it championed the freedom of the individual in the face of growing state power. This individualism is at the heart of orthodox…
Imagine a world where Santa was forced to put shareholder value ahead of spreading joy to millions of children across the world. In this new play by your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and…
In 1925, on the 13th October, a daughter was born to Alfred Roberts and his wife Beatrice Stephenson - she was named Margaret Hilda Roberts. The world would get to know her as Mrs Thatcher or ‘The…
In standard economic theory monopolies are generally seen as leading to "sub-optimal outcomes" (they are bad!). However in their own discipline one could argue we have seen one particular approach to…
The Rolling Stones once sang ‘You can’t always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need’ and when it comes to a rhyming history of economics, the Rolling Stones knew their stuff!!! In…
Paul Samuelson once said ‘I don’t care who writes a nation’s laws or crafts its advanced treatises if I can write its economics textbooks’ and boy did he write the book! Samuelson understood the power…
In the post-war era in particular the orthodox view in economic and political circles has been that "free" trade is crucial in ensuring that economies grow and prosperity is shared across the world.…
