When you study economics at Cambridge you are forced to get your hands dirty with some actual economic data. My colleagues and I were confined to programmable calculators and manual entry of data in those days. But the point was … Continued
Steve Levene’s excellent blog on oil and gas at Foreign Policy magazine told me that the world’s largest oil reserves are now no longer in Saudi Arabia, but in Venezuela, according to the authoritative BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2012. … Continued
While awaiting the outcome of the Greek elections this coming weekend, the focus has been shifting in the blogosphere and on Bloomberg to the world’s most indebted government by far, Japan. Japan’s debt to GDP ratio is about 220%, around double … Continued
Michael Sandel’s recent book “What Money Can’t Buy” has been selling well. He has put his finger on something that many people feel very uncomfortable about, the increasing number of activities that are subject to market-like forces. Examples including people … Continued
Introduction Conventional finance theory is based on the microeconomic theory of consumer choice under uncertainty. This is a long established theory with some serious weaknesses. On the MFin we have a core course called “Economic foundations of finance” which shows … Continued
In recent years there has been a fierce debate about the effectiveness of foreign aid, with opponents such as William Easterly arguing that most is wasted and that it often props up regimes that harm their population’s long term future. … Continued
Portugal is one of a number of countries that I have wanted to visit for years but somehow haven’t got to yet (some others are Russia and Turkey). I made my first, short but very enjoyable visit to Lisbon last weekend … Continued
Courtesy of the Economist’s View blog, I came across this important piece of research. You can tell it’s important because it isn’t in a finance or management journal but in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research … Continued
When I was flying to Portugal on Friday for a short holiday (more of that in a later post) I faced the small but not zero probability that the banking system might have collapsed. Why? Because the previous day the … Continued
As everybody has by now noticed, Greece and the ECB/EU are playing a game of chicken. If the opinion polls are correct, the anti-austerity vote will rise in the second set of Greek elections in June. A failure to keep … Continued
Recently one of my most distinguished colleagues said that the defining feature of academic research is rigour. He didn’t define it but I think his is a widely accepted view. I agree but “rigour” needs to be considered in context. … Continued
One of the most basic problems to solve before you can have a successful economy is, how do you reassure investors that they won’t be expropriated? This problem arises because of the combination of two features of most investments. First, … Continued
Daniel Kahneman – Thinking, fast and slow Whenever I’m asked in future to recommend a book on behavioural finance, I shall enthusiastically suggest this one. Although it’s not limited to behavioural finance or even its wider relation behavioural economics, the … Continued
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson: “Why Nations Fail“ There have been many fascinating books in the last couple of decades on the big question of why some countries are rich and others poor, and the persistence of inequality over decades, … Continued
At a time when oil prices are around their all time highs it may seem odd to be thinking of how lower hydrocarbon prices will affect the world. But there is a growing sense in the US that longer term … Continued