Category Archives: Uncategorized

Inflation has risen in the US, the UK, the Euro Area and elsewhere, as demand has increased following the opening up of the economy after pandemic-induced lockdowns, and supply chains have been disrupted. This has produced a debate amongst the … Continue reading →

I just noticed that Mervyn King, former Bank of England Governor, has taken a place on the HoL Economic Affairs Committee, and is therefore due to take part hearing evidence in an enquiry on quantitative easing [QE]. This is a … Continue reading →

You can find it here. Anyone teaching international trade, game theory, time consistency, should find this period full of great – if tragic – teaching material. I just read this great thread by one of the researchers involved in the … Continue reading →

A while back I argued that the government should set up an independent body charged immediately with producing integrated economic and epidemiological forecasts, analysis and virus/fiscal policy options. With the vaccine roll out proceeding at >400k shots per day, and … Continue reading →

Talking to a friend today he pointed out how the pandemic, and a potential disorderly Brexit, compound each other. The way for consumers and firms to get through a threatened interregnum in essential supplies, to ensure continuity of services and, … Continue reading →

In a previous post [scroll down!], I called for the UK [and other countries] to set up new, local centres for Economics and Epidemiology.  This is because the economic-epidemiological outlooks are impoverished by the two disciplines – at least at … Continue reading →

The UK covid19 crisis kicked off with forecasts of the epidemic with and without mitigation measures like lockdowns.  They were ultimately alarming enough to persuade the government to lockdown. The forecasts joined epidemiological insights with social science – evidence on … Continue reading →

I am crystallizing my concern about retail vouchers, part of Rishi Sunak’s latest package [and recommended by others, including one of my affilliations/clients, Resolution Foundation], and mostly thanks to a Jason Furman tweet. Sunak has seen his challenge as wanting … Continue reading →

The Bank of England is, arguably, at the end of the road as far as currently agreed methods of monetary stimulus are concerned. Interest rates are at their effective floor – in the UK, as understood by the Monetary Policy … Continue reading →

It has been much commented on that the UK entered its lockdown to combat covid19 too late.  This had the consequence of allowing the virus to gain more of a foothold, generating an increasing flow of infections that quickly swamped … Continue reading →