Check out the articles with the most readers in 2021.

Algorithm and blues: whose tune do we dance to?
Artificial intelligence rarely gets it wrong – it’s the culture that programmed it that’s messed up, says Madhavi Venkatesan. I have become accustomed to my smart phone alerting me in

An ideal economist
Alex M. Thomas introduces the Indian economist, Krishna Bharadwaj. There are few economists who have made stellar contributions to theory, history and empirics. Rarer is the same individual making lasting

Coal, climate and the circle of injustice
First there were slaves, then there were coal-fired machines, then there was climate change wreaking havoc on the descendants of the slaves. Jeremy Williams goes around a vicious circle. Friday

Colonial economics
Post pandemic, which issues need to be added and reincorporated into the development economics curriculum? Kevin Deane asks. There is a strong argument that Covid is not an external shock

Deforestation: the route away
Without robust due diligence, financial institutions will continue to fund soy-driven deforestation. By Daniel Jones. Late last year, the UK government announced “world-leading new measures” to protect rainforests. Enshrined in

Farming: a woman’s work
Yashaswi Shetty and Hamza Ahmad, describe how women in India’s agricultural sector are pushing back barriers to their recognition and security. Surinder Kaur is a member of the Kisan Sabha

Power: don’t mention it
Do economists speak their mind or mind what they speak? Blair Fix interprets. Economists of all nationalities, when speaking about their area of expertise, have their own words and ways

The economics of corruption and the corruption of economics
The true meaning of corruption has been distorted, leaving research, policy and the public to allow it to continue unchecked. Geoffrey M. Hodgson explains. Some authors – particularly economists –

The realities of artificial intelligence
Tania Duarte explains why, in post-Brexit UK, the scrutiny of ethics in advanced tech cannot be left to companies or governments. We have all been made keenly aware of the

Three forgotten lessons about the circular economy
A circular economy requires a more holistic view of the economy (image by Tony Biddle 2020). Emma Fromberg retrieves some earlier wisdom. I vividly remember the first time that the idea