Category Archives: Writing

That Cambridge Analytica used millions of Facebook profiles to create tools to target and manipulate US voters comes as no surprise to those who watch and work in large digital firms. This is for two main reasons. Firstly, many simply already knew. Secondly, activity of this kind – data accumulation and analysis to build toolsContinue reading “The oldest sins in the newest ways”

Before headline statistics were developed, governments had little idea of what was going on in the economy. In the 1930s, American presidents Hoover and Roosevelt grasped at a range of statistics in an attempt to understand the functioning of the economy, from the number and value of freight train loadings to stock price indices.  AsContinue reading “Lies, damn lies, and GDP”

Ours is the age of global environmental collapse. Resources are being consumed at around 1.5 times the Earth’s ability to regenerate them. We are living through the sixth mass extinction and nearly two-thirds of all vertebral life has died since 1970. The stubborn entrenchment of carbon into our economies means that we are highly unlikelyContinue reading “The Road to Ruin: Making Sense of the Anthropocene (editorial)”

Britain has often led the world in understanding and responding to global environmental change. IPPR Progressive Review’s Laurie Laybourn-Langton talks to former Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett about what made Britain a leader and if it remains one today.  Laurie Laybourn-Langton:   Margaret Beckett, you are a former Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State for the DepartmentContinue reading “British leadership in the Anthropocene: an interview with Margaret Beckett”

The most important story in this year’s Budget is the downward revision of both productivity and GDP growth. In March, the Office of Budget Responsibility expected growth in productivity per hour to come in at 1.6% in 2017 and by at least 1.5% in the years thereafter. Now, they do not expect productivity to have increasedContinue reading “A gloomy economic outlook reflects the failures of the last two chancellors”

Ten years after the crash, the movement to replace neoliberalism is in the ascendency. Well organised campaigns cover everything from the promotion of pluralism in economic curricula to the application of new economic principles in local communities. Academics and campaigners, who prior to the crash were lone voices in the wind, have been joined by a growing chorusContinue reading “The movement to replace neoliberalism is on the ascendency – where should it go next?”

The Chancellor said today that the future is bright and that he is building a Britain fit for the future. But that’s not what it looks like to many people, including economists. The uncertainties of Brexit – which have already cut growth and raised inflation – are just the tip of the iceberg. As the IPPRContinue reading “The Budget Did Not Address The Deep Economic Challenges The UK Faces”

The arguments for mission-oriented industrial strategy in general, and the focus on a zero carbon mission in particular, have been well made. Historical examples – the moon landings provide the usual case – prove that it matters who is driving innovation and for what purpose. Public policy can steer the path of socioeconomic development toward solutionsContinue reading “How to deliver a national mission to decarbonise the British economy”

The mayor of London’s plan to introduce the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) by April 2019 is a very important step in reducing London’s lethal and illegal air pollution. This air pollution is attributable to over 9,400 early deaths per year; the negative health effects it causes fall particularly hard on children and low income communities. The greatest sourceContinue reading “London should embrace digital technology to clean up its dirty air”

In times of disjuncture and hardship, an impulse exists to take flight from reality and retreat into the comfort of old-worn habits and familiar surroundings. To some, this offers the opportunity to reflect and reimagine. Many may simply desire to escape, or remain entirely ignorant to the problems at hand. For others, to be seenContinue reading “Davos’s time is up”