Many people have asked me about this chart, which appeared in David Smith’s regular (and usually excellent) column in the Sunday Times this weekend. The chart shows that GDP per head has grown much faster since 2016 in the euro area than it has in the UK – ‘nearly three times as fast’, according to … Continue reading Does the UK’s weak growth in GDP per head really “lay bare the full costs of Brexit”?
Category: Politics
What is the real cost of the Chagos deal?
Many people are understandably still confused about the huge differences between the official figure of 'just' £3.4 billion for the cost of the Chagos deal, as cited by the Prime Minister, and other estimates which are as high as £30.3 billion. Here's my best attempt to clarify. The top figure of £30.3 billion (which I … Continue reading What is the real cost of the Chagos deal?
No, the MPC doesn’t have a time machine…
The larger than anticipated jump in UK inflation in April has prompted many to argue that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will now be much slower to cut interest rates. But there is, of course, nothing that the MPC can do now about last month’s CPI. The right question to ask is what … Continue reading No, the MPC doesn’t have a time machine…
What to make of Trump’s tariffs?
Here are the slides from a presentation I gave today to sixth form students at a school in Reading. It features a discussion of the pros and (mostly) cons of the new US tariffs policy and concludes with a recommended book and a film for budding economists! What to make of Trump's tariffs (9 May … Continue reading What to make of Trump’s tariffs?
Plain-speaking Economics 