Oxford Smith School: "if all UK households switched to renewable energy, bills could be reduced by £105-£441 per household per year on average" But read on: "We do not explicitly include the costs of intermittency from the switch to renewables" Ie, those numbers are misleading

The problem with Britain's student loans is they were designed on the principle that middle-high income graduates--except those whose parents paid--should cross-subsidise low-earning graduates, rather than the general taxpayer doing so. Why anyone would think that is beyond me

Brazil's budget situation is dire. It borrows 8% of GDP, mainly to pay for debt interest. The IMF forecasts debts will stabilise in the late-2020s because interest rates will fall by a lot. That is not what markets expect

"Remove both motherhood and any decisions women might make while anticipating it, and the wage gap seems to vanish." "[Women with MRKH] earn much the same as other women and men in early adulthood. Then...their wage trajectory is almost identical to that of their male peers."

What drives the wage gap between men and women?

Surprise: it’s still motherhood

economist.com

Britain's income inequality is at its lowest since 1986 (Includes tax, transfers and transfers in kind; excludes retirees)

Reeves has tried to pin £26bn of tax rises on a forecast that is only £6bn worse, to fund new welfare spending that was not in Labour's manifesto, having promised not to raise taxes on working people. Regardless of the merits of the policies, this is dishonest

The bodge-it budget "With the deficit still gaping at 4.5% of GDP, Ms Reeves succumbed to her own worst instincts and those of her backbenchers by increasing borrowing, relative to her previous plans, for four years" My leader and our cover story www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

This bodge-it budget does not give Britain what it needs

Without ambitious reform, the country will not thrive

economist.com

The UK has the most progressive tax system in the developed world, argues @jburnmurdoch.ft.com As @duncanrobinson.bsky.social wrote for @economist.com, the Tories created "an unbelievably progressive tax system". on.ft.com/3JPv6dP economist.com/britain/2025...

A withering critique of British energy policy by Dieter Helm. "Britain is not going to have cheap energy any time soon – unless there is radical policy action." dieterhelm.co.uk/energy-clima...

British energy policy – not cheap, not home-grown and not secure - Dieter Helm

Some people – and some politicians – seem to believe that if you keep repeating claims eventually they will be believed, even as the evidence unfolds that they are obviously just not true. Any counter...

dieterhelm.co.uk

The question on everyone’s mind in the market is ‘will the government actually cut spending if it gets a negative fiscal shock’ and the revealed behaviour is that western governments find this extraordinarily hard to do.

In taking a passing shot at my special report, @sjwrenlewis.bsky.social offers a confusing set of opinions. He writes both that "we have a fiscal problem in the US" *and* that talking about the UK facing a fiscal crisis is "silly".

This discussion turned increasingly interesting by every reply~

Henry Curr@curr.bsky.social · 10mo ago

"Stop worrying about public debt" says @martinsandbu.ft.com, citing US gross federal interest payments / GDP as being in the middle of the historical range. But that measure includes interest the govt pays to itself. Net interest / GDP is near historical highs. And then look at the forecast...

"Stop worrying about public debt" says @martinsandbu.ft.com, citing US gross federal interest payments / GDP as being in the middle of the historical range. But that measure includes interest the govt pays to itself. Net interest / GDP is near historical highs. And then look at the forecast...

Britain should raise not cut the cash ISA limit. There is no good economic argument for taxing the normal return to savings. To quote the Mirrlees review: "by taxing the normal return to savings, we are not taxing the better-off; we are taxing those who spend their money tomorrow rather than today"

The Labour government is led by technocrats with a working majority of 157 in Parliament. It has forgiving budget rules and as long as four years until the next election. If it cannot put the budget on a sound footing, then who will? www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

Britain is slowly going bust

Even with a huge majority and plenty of time, Labour is drifting towards a fiscal crisis

economist.com

I reported this week's Money Talks podcast from the mountain, lake and lodge at Jackson Hole. Featuring Kristin Forbes, @jonsteinsson.bsky.social ‬, Barry Eichengreen and - at 10,000ft - @laura-veldkamp.bsky.social Listen to my Jackson Hole audio diary: www.economist.com/podcasts/202...

Gone fishing: our economics editor’s Jackson Hole diary

Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. This week, how Donald Trump’s fight with the Fed escalated in a usually quiet corner of Wyoming

economist.com

While central bankers debated the technicalities of monetary-policy credibility at Jackson Hole, the Trump administration stood ready to bludgeon the idea My column from the conference: www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Trump’s interest-rate crusade will be self-defeating

The president’s threats loomed over this year’s Jackson Hole conference

economist.com

Absurd laws saying Britain's employers must pay equal amounts to workers doing jobs judges deem to be of "equal value" have made central planners of the judiciary and left rubbish piled high on Birmingham's streets. Scrap them www.economist.com/britain/2025...

Birmingham’s bin strikes reveal local problems—and a national one

Rubbish policy and rubbish on the streets

economist.com

Trade deficits just don’t measure what President Trump thinks they do. Why the tariffs are among the most profound and harmful economic policy mistakes of the modern era ⬇️

Could the “major questions doctrine”--a conservative legal theory used to stop Biden's student loan forgiveness--bring down the tariffs? "The pool of potential plaintiffs to take this fight to the courts is vast." www.economist.com/united-state...

How Donald Trump’s tariffs will probably fare in court

The president has drawn fire from some conservative legal scholars

economist.com

The striking thing about American hegemony pre-Trump was how robust it had been while America's share of world GDP declined. Now, because it is burning its alliances, America's power is more likely to fall in line with its share of the global economy.

About three quarters of aid spending goes on something that doesn't work: trying to make poor countries rich by spending money. Only a quarter is humanitarian relief and health funding www.economist.com/finance-and-...

Aid cannot make poor countries rich

For decades, officials have promised to raise economic growth. For decades, they have failed

economist.com

The rupture in the transatlantic alliance would surely justify Labour raising taxes despite its pledges. But the higher defence spending goes the more important it is that taxes are carefully designed to minimise the damage. That means land (ie, council-tax reform) and VAT

It amazes me that people still argue that Britain's fiscal rules are too exacting. Reeves must balance the current budget. With balance defined as a deficit less than 0.5% of GDP. Only in 29-30. And only with >50% probability (54% at the last forecast). The rules aren't tight. The stance is loose

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social · last yr.

Extremely sensible advice from @dsmitheconomics.bsky.social "Economic policy is not supposed to be about scrabbling around for small savings in pursuit of a distant target viewed through the cloudiest of telescopes. There are bigger fish to fry." www.thetimes.com/article/ef85...

If the ageing population was the first budget shock for which British politics was unprepared, the next is the loss of the peace dividend:

China's AI models have almost caught up with America's. How Chinese AI stunned the world: www.economist.com/briefing/202...

Why Chinese AI has stunned the world

DeepSeek’s models are much cheaper and almost as good as American rivals

economist.com

As President Trump was giving his inaugural address, DeepSeek, a Chinese company, released its latest impressive AI model. How China is catching up with the US and changing the economics of AI ⬇️ economist.com/leaders/2025...

Chinese AI is catching up, posing a dilemma for Donald Trump

The success of cheap Chinese models threatens America’s technological lead

economist.com

Either you should want no state pension (ie, the same safety net as for the working-age), or you should want a universal state pension. Means-testing it would greatly discourage saving—and private pension saving is already too low. Plus, it's taxed already.

Many of my critics seem unaware that Denmark has already acknowledged Greenland's right to self-determination (and it is on the road to independence as a result). Taking that right seriously would mean letting Greenlanders freely vote on a lucrative offer were America to make one.