The Foundational Economy
Privatisation, market choice, outsourcing: these are the watchwords that have shaped policy in numerous democratic states in the last generation. These were claimed to provide more efficient services so we …
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What economic reform thinking might have looked like if we’d bothered to do it.
Here I am back… in the Treasury like a recurring decimal – but with one great difference. In 1918 most people’s only idea was to get back to pre-1914. No …
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Incisive, yet is the mustard cut?
Foundational Economy – The infrastructure of everyday life by The Foundational Economy Collective, Manchester University Press ISBN: 978-1-5261-3400-4 A collective at Manchester University has, through intensive research, concluded that a …
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Plural hands to the pump
Lending a hand: an Oxford University-led initiative in Kenya is tackling the chronic scourge of poor hand pump maintenance. Two award-winning projects in dryland East Africa were based on the …
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What Economic Reform should have looked liked
The turn to economic liberalisation from the 1970s on used ideas from the academy to address the problems of over-regulation and economic policy making by deal doing. But once underway, …
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Innovation, Sustainability and Trust
Creating a human society which is sustainable must rate as the biggest innovation challenge humanity has ever faced. We often think of this challenge as one of technological innovation, but …
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Barnstorming Success
Time for a cuppa: but no copper to be seen. A north Lancashire community has built a hyper-fast broadband network with a shovel and a nice cup of tea. Life …
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Basic Instincts
The value of a human life becomes clear. At last my old colleague, Felix Price, deigned to visit me last week after almost two years of retirement. I have to …
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The next energy revolution: Glorious or bumpy? Winners or losers?
The future green energy revolution is often pictured as a glorious combination of economic growth, employment and a solution to climate change. However the signs look more ominous. Oil companies, …
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The economics of ending PFI
Private Finance initiative deals are a source of significant public sector savings – when they are cancelled – says David Hall. While the media and professional classes in Britain have …
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