Thomas Sampson
@thomsampson.bsky.social
International Trade. Brexit. Associate Professor, LSE Economics.
My thoughts on where Andy Burnham’s (and the Left’s in general) priorities on the economy should be futureoftheleft.substack.com/p/the-left-m...
The Left must focus on where the jobs will be, not where it wishes they would be
A series on the politics of production.
futureoftheleft.substack.com
Glad someone senior from the sector is pushing back. Labour MPs need to understand the serious real anger from graduates and the people who produce them. And the dangerous financial situation they have allowed to fester, or indeed worsened, in one of Britain’s leading sectors.
Labour has harmed universities as much as Trump, London School of Economics head says
LSE vice-chancellor Larry Kramer points to domestic student fees freeze, international student limits and rise in employers’ national insurance
ft.com
How has tariff confusion affected US imports? Kalina Manova talks to voxeu@voxeu.org about our research on the trade disruption caused by Trump’s 2025 tariffs
VoxEU @ CEPR@voxeu.org · 5d agoHow much does tariff confusion matter? In this #VoxTalks episode, Kalina Manova discusses new research showing that confusion about the tariff actually in place amplified the impact of tariff hikes on trade. Recorded at the PSE-CEPR Policy Forum. 🎧 Listen now: ow.ly/fKha50Zv6s9 #EconSky #Trade
Burnham has a chance to reset norms and make racism shameful again. He should make it a priority
Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · 11mo agoLife’s getting a bit more crap here if you are a person from an ethnic minority 🧵
"[N]o UEFA national teams will participate in any FIFA competition for so long as these proposals remain alive, unless this proposal has been abandoned in its entirety and binding assurances have been given that FIFA will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership."
Jorge Liboreiro@jorgeliboreiro.bsky.social · 6d ago💣 UEFA eviscerates Gianni Infantino. "The World Cup is not for sale." "This is not merely a profound failure of leadership, but an abdication of FIFA’s duty as the custodian of world football." "We will never lend this model our legitimacy."
Assaf Razin, who passed away in July 2026, had a distinguished career that spanned more than five decades. Gene M. Grossman & Elhanan Helpman highlight his influential research on international trade, the welfare state, migration, fiscal policy, and more. cepr.org/voxeu/column... #EconSky
I agree with @thomsampson.bsky.social here: we don't know how much individual reforms will raise productivity, so do try to do as many of them as possible. (And trade policy is a supply-side reform implemented by central government.) www.cfmsurvey.org/listsurveys/...
Devolution and UK Policy Alternatives
Experts responding to the CfM-NIESR survey downplayed the potential that greater devolution has on UK economic growth relative to other policy approaches
cfmsurvey.org
Is there an option not to award the World Cup this year?
English FA president, Debbie Hewitt, paid a quarter of a million USD per year for saying "yes, great idea" in Gianni Infantino's Fifa Council, pictured with some friends in NYC last night. It's not just Infantino who is the problem.
👎 Abandoning the Blair-Brown commitment to overseas aid is high on my list of the Starmer government's failings
Ian Mitchell@ianmitchell1.bsky.social · 3w agoThe UK has just published the brutal cuts it will make to country spending plans. In 10 of 17 African partners spend is being cut to a de minimis level. They are home to over 130m people in extreme poverty. The UK is giving up meaningful influence and heading for an all-time low in overseas aid.
Interesting piece by @econromesh.bsky.social. I always thought the right frame was the trade-off between (formal) sovereignty and living standards, and we emphasised that from the start. But the Leave campaign was effective with 'wrong then, wrong now' and so forth 1/ blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...
Despite a near total academic consensus on the negative consequences of Brexit, voters were not swayed. In a new LSE Impact blog, @econromesh.bsky.social (Economics Observatory, CEP) argues economists must communicate findings as carefully as they produce them. blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...
Did Brexit make us better at communicating economics? - LSE Impact
The referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU was a watershed moment for research communication. Despite a near total academic consensus on the negative economic consequences of a vote to Leave, thi...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Brilliant news about a brilliant economist. You always learn something from a conversation with Silvana. And usually have a lovely time doing so www.imf.org/en/news/arti...
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Names Silvana Tenreyro as IMF Economic Counsellor and Head of Research Department
Washington, DC – July 7, 2026: Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), announced today the appointment of Silvana Tenreyro as the Fund’s Economic Counsellor a...
imf.org
To be clear, three people can be absolute legends tonight. 1. Pochettino benches Balogun 2. Balogun goes down with "serious leg injury" early doors, stretchered off 3. Ref sends off Balogun in first minute, straight red for "looking at me in a funny way". None will happen, but 3 would be funniest.
I am sure Infantino has done worse but he really must go. There should be an attempt to create various ways to normalise, amplify disrespect for him everwhere he goes
Researchers at two Russell Group universities published scientific research funded by an "anonymous donation". But the money really came from an industry group with a clear conflict of interest 🥸 After 10 months of "investigation", Wiley has done... nothing. No retraction, no EOC, no correction.
I for one am proud that @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social's student body reflects the diversity of our city - something that was not remotely the case when I was an undergraduate.
Roland Smith@rolandmcs.bsky.social · last mo.The Telegraph isn't funny any more. It's seriously grim.
Tariff Confusion New working paper with Manova, Novy & Tang #EconSky Study how US trade policy changes in 2025 affected US imports Key finding is chaotic policy making generated confusion, which amplified fall in imports from higher tariffs 1/ cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/downloa...
Changes in US tariff policy in 2025 reduced US imports – and the effect was amplified by confusion created by frequent and complex policy announcements, our new discussion paper, Tariff Confusion, shows. Read the full paper here: https://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp2195.pdf UCL
Tariff Confusion New working paper with Manova, Novy & Tang #EconSky Study how US trade policy changes in 2025 affected US imports Key finding is chaotic policy making generated confusion, which amplified fall in imports from higher tariffs 1/ cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/downloa...
4️⃣ The evidence is conclusive: Brexit has been an economic failure, shows @thomsampson.bsky.social @cep-lse.bsky.social on @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social
Brexit has been an economic failure | LSE British Politics
There is ample evidence that Brexit has damaged the UK’s economy.Putting up trade barriers, higher import prices and uncertainty have made the UK poorer.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
How has Brexit affected the UK economy? Badly Higher prices, lower investment, less trade, lower growth. I wrote a blog for @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social summarising evidence on the economic effects of Brexit blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Brexit has been an economic failure | LSE British Politics
There is ample evidence that Brexit has damaged the UK’s economy.Putting up trade barriers, higher import prices and uncertainty have made the UK poorer.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
I'd just add that key issue with care workers now is not visas, but Mahmood's "earned settlement" proposals whose main impact will be to expel care workers and their families who have been here for several years. Both Streeting and Burnham should make their positions on this clear.
Frances Ryan@francesryan.bsky.social · 2mo agoRegular reminder that what Britain desperately needs is “low skilled” care workers - and that these jobs are not actually low skilled at all and should be welcomed by an immigration system that appreciates their huge value. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
This is no more about the details of immigration policy than the progroms my great great grandparents fled were about Jews committing crimes. It's straightforward racist violence and it needs the strongest possible response.
Shocking and offensive, also for the fact that FIFA doesn't protest www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
World Cup referee from Somalia barred from entering US
The decision comes amid concern that Trump administration policies will hamper preparations for the global sporting event.
politico.com
The UK government and the EU need to do something together about X. Now. It is pushing racist nonsense that is now bleeding into the mainstream media.
Once again: German universities were the envy of the world before the Nazis rose to power and took an ideological wrecking ball to the entire enterprise. If you want to know how long it took for German universities to recover… they haven’t.
Katie Mack@astrokatie.com · 2mo agoIt’s truly astonishing to see how comprehensively the US government is tearing down every part of the system that has made it up until now a world-leading power in science, research, and technological development. The entire world will suffer from this wanton destruction.
