The benefits of longevity should not be at the cost of longer working lives www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The wage as a cost, a source of demand and a means to live all evident here www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New paper in which I identify some gaps and problems in the economics of AI. These relate to both the theory and broader vision of economics as it is applied to the topic of AI. Free to read and I'd be very pleased if you read it www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Very sad. Enjoyed listening to the Bridewell Taxis back in the day www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/whats-on/art...

New paper in which I identify some gaps and problems in the economics of AI. These relate to both the theory and broader vision of economics as it is applied to the topic of AI. Free to read and I'd be very pleased if you read it www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

When do profits become excessive? When does profit-making become profiteering? Questions to ponder today and every other day

But AI and robots will take all the jobs... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A shorter working week is surely next -- I seem to recall that in the UK, the move to a 3-day working week during the oil crisis in the early 1970s did not undermine productivity or the economy. Pity that lessons were not learned then www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Maybe we need to concede that monetary policy is an ineffective means to control commodity-price driven inflation? www.theguardian.com/business/202...

They clearly value their happiness over the accumulation of money www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A problem here relates to the well-known supply-side fallacy - firms won't hire more workers unless they expect to sell more output. Depressed demand levels and pessimism about future growth prospects will discourage hiring even with cash incentives like below www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Good editorial though one might ask whether many students of economics know much about Adam Smith's work and legacy www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If one were to identify an ailment linked to darts and one that would not stop people competing in darts, it would be gout www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/...

The opposite of "help out to eat out", according to this headline. Though I guess other drivers are at work than a reduced propensity for eating out www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The meaning of life won’t be found in self-help books www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

Is there a need for an inquiry or is it obvious what the issues are now? An inquiry just seems to delay things unnecessarily www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Profit losses (not AI) fuel job losses. Like old times though with bad outcomes for workers www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Work avoidance is real though channelling Burawoy, we also need to ask why workers work hard as they do when they are not monitored. And employers not trusting workers to work, ironically, might lower the amount of work done www.theguardian.com/money/2026/m...

An illustration of how the move to a four-day working week will be contested (business interests will inevitably clash with those of workers, despite what some might argue) www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Annual royalty statement is again a reminder that most of us write for love, not for money... Lack of readers overshadows the spectre of AI for most authors...

The problem is not the loss of livelihoods (only a small number of authors make money out of authoring books) but the loss of ownership over what authors write. Though in a different world AI would democratise knowledge www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Toads, for me, will always be inextricably linked to work (thanks to Larkin). Though from a non-metaphorical perspective, I probably like toads more than work www.theguardian.com/environment/...

250 years since the publication of the Wealth of Nations - an anniversary that gives me an excuse to post a link to below where I tackle the tradeoff Adam Smith saw between rising economic wealth and lower work quality (Smith's writings remain insightful to this day) academic.oup.com/cpe/article/...

My dad (a sheet metal worker) was made redundant in his 50s & went on to pursue a degree in the history of fine & decorative arts. His life was transformed as a result. Restricting access to HE for those without A-levels would deny others of the same opportunities www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Football has become a useful support for capitalism (though like my fellow Leeds fans in this picture, I know it cannot last and that it will inevitably be replaced with something better, sometime in the future) www.theguardian.com/football/202...

On World Book Day, my thoughts are with all the many authors who have written books that remain unread (and unknown and unloved) www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m...

A reminder here that domestic inflation is largely driven by commodity prices and in that sense it is beyond the direct control of the central bank (despite what they might tell us) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Does AI slop extend to "moneyball" as applied to football? (and maybe VAR too?) www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Powerful speech not least due to its authenticity - who knew that addressing pressing economic concerns like the cost of living crisis would cut through with voters? www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

Work isn't working, nor is training or education, would be one way of viewing this result www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Few workers have the agency to train AI (the examples in this piece are exceptional) - rather, most have little say over what and how AI is used: this explains why it is perceived as a threat both to the quantity and quality of employment www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Television as a threat to survey data (a possible testable hypothesis if only we had reliable statistics) www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Hard to read too much into one month’s data but a fiscal surplus does imply (dare I say it) “headroom“ for more government spending (including to counter higher unemployment) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The nightmare with AI may not be a "world without work" but one where we continue to work the same or more - the AI startups that offer us a glimpse into a future of long working hours and intensive work www.theguardian.com/technology/n...

I anticipate a letter from 365 economists decrying his first budget www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

A lot will be made of supply side factors (like a higher minimum wage, national insurance increases and the effects of AI) but weak demand remains a drag on the economy and a reason for higher unemployment www.theguardian.com/business/202...

If AI generated content is more effective at getting us to buy more stuff will the unintended effect of AI be that we all consume and work more? Forget a work-less future think of one where we remain on the same consumerist treadmill www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...

Interesting appointment - the challenge will be to raise wages while the unemployment rate is rising but good to see advocacy of higher pay and better working conditions at the centre of govt www.theguardian.com/business/202...

He hasn't won the world cup yet... www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

A positive spin on what is a poor outcome - 0.1% growth is consistent with continuing economic stagnation www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Wearing my economist hat, the opportunity cost of the REF remains high and its abolition might actually create more time for research www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Will capitalism outlast the lifetime of the bond? edition.cnn.com/2026/02/10/b...

Some universities (albeit a minority) were rethinking economics before the 2008 crisis (I would count Leeds among them). Whether economics teaching has changed fundamentally since the crisis is a moot point. But good to see this issue discussed www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A reminder that people may not be working for wages but still working very hard in other valuable though unpaid activities outside of the labour market

The irony is that AI is often sold as a way for us to work less in the future. The opposite may be true at least if the profit motive remains in place www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Good to see but when governments around the world are looking to accelerate growth it seems a forlorn warning. The growth fetish remains strong despite and indeed because of stagnant economic growth www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Non-melting snow - the Achilles heal of the Left www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

New blog in which I draw on Keynes to support thinking about futures beyond growth blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

Higher house prices not only add to household debt but also increase the need to work for longer. We can’t imagine a future of less work while housing costs keep on rising www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Very glad to see this paper is now published. I show how ideas shape our understanding of the effects of technology on work and how their reform is important in creating a better future of work and life (I'd be humbled if you read) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...