Economics
A windfall tax would only hurt our weakened economy
The calls for tax hikes is ramping up. Last December the Wealth Tax Commission recommended a ‘one-off’ 5 per cent…
Now is the time for the Tories to be borrowing more
How should fiscal conservatism be defined? George Osborne inherited a fiscal deficit that was clearly unsustainable. During the panic over…
Why extravagant things don’t have to feel expensive
‘Suppose you bought a case of claret a few years ago for £20 a bottle. It now sells at auction…
John McDonnell’s right – the four-day week could work
Most people were scandalised by John McDonnell’s proposal to promote a four-day working week. But before we get incensed about…
Interview: Meet Mariana Mazzucato, big-state capitalism’s new champion
‘It was Plato who said storytellers rule the world,’ observes Mariana Mazzucato, her powerful voice tempered with a beaming smile,…
Letters
Let’s talk about guns Sir: I was surprised that the cover stories on the recent shootings in Las Vegas (‘Say…
What stopped Stoppard?
Two programmes this week presented two radically different world views, or rather ways of life. Aditya Chakrabortty’s series for Radio…
Warning: rationality could be bad for your health
Almost every popular commercial product owes its success to two different qualities. First, it does the job it is ostensibly…
Why the Spanish may be better off without a government
The Spanish seem to be doing better without one
Warning: the FTSE100 isn’t out of the woods just yet
When the FTSE100 fell close to 5,500 in February, we all said ‘Mr Bear is back’. On Tuesday the index…
What makes Argos worth £1.4 billion? I reckon I know
When I was at school in the 1970s, some of the richer kids would come back from their summer holidays…
It’s not the Corbynites who are in denial – it’s the Labour moderates
It has become commonplace to remark that there exists in Britain a mainstream political grouping that seems to be dwelling…
Who killed murder?
The mystery of violent crime’s dramatic decline
France can’t build its own new nuclear power stations, let alone ours
Amid all the turmoil in global energy markets, we should not lose sight of the UK power programme that we’re…
The one thing most people think they know about economics is wrong
The one thing most people think they know about economics is wrong
If the world economy crashes again, blame the central bankers
Like the Christmas pudding sampled by Hercule Poirot at Kings Lacey — but six weeks early — our Spectator Money…
John McDonnell’s true economic guru: the emperor Nero
John McDonnell, shadow chancellor in the Corbynite splinter-group, has announced that £120 billion is waiting to be reclaimed from tax…
The good economic news that we forgot in the China panic
Home from the hot Aegean, huddled by the fire as rain ruins the bank holiday weekend, I’m thinking: what gloom…
Sorry, but I can’t join in the China panic (especially not while I’m on a cruise)
MS Queen Victoria, 38°N 19°E I’ll do my best, but I’ve got to be honest: being surrounded by shining Ionian…
Paul Mason's Postcapitalism is proof that the left is out of ideas
The left is always eager to be told that capitalism’s final crisis is upon us – and it is always disappointed
How British universities spread misery around the world
From Greece to Kenya, the worst economic ideas come from alumni of British universities
Osborne’s false prophet: why Jim O’Neill will never deliver a ‘northern powerhouse’
Why Jim O’Neill isn’t fit to run the Northern Powerhouse
A better way to be charitable: just give money
Seven years ago I wrote here about a site called Kiva.org. I had met the co-founder of this charity when…
The dinner where laissez-faire banking died
Last week’s deadline did not allow me to report from ringside at the Mansion House dinner, but there was so…
The trick that makes self-checkouts almost tolerable
I spent the last few days in Deal and Folkestone with Professor Richard Thaler at Nudgestock, Ogilvy’s seaside festival of…
