Nice piece on Burnham’s agenda in the New York Times includes some stellar names like @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social and, er, me www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/b...

This would extend the cliff edge problem and incentivise gaming/appeals - why not just bite the bullet and move to a simple % rate which is simple, fair, and much more in line with almost every other advanced economy? Why do we have to make things difficult for ourselves?

Happy to share that I've (re)joined @aleininger.bsky.social at @uni-hamburg.de as a postdoc! I'll continue my research on party organizations, building on my dissertation @princeton.edu. My first dissertation spin-off examines how far-right parties tap into rural communities. 1/5

New Acemoglu and Autor paper finds that lower birth rates are associated with higher GDP per capita growth and falling fertility doesn't reduce economic wellbeing.

📢 We're hiring! Join us and work with ‪@neillee.bsky.social on a funded project exploring how public green lending shapes private investment and local growth. A great opportunity for aspiring PhD students interested in green finance, data and applied research. 🍃 zurl.co/70mkq

Conceptualizing private military and security companies doi.org/10.1177/0738... Paper in @conflictmanagement.bsky.social by @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social student Thomas Brailey

Some important research on “Manchesterism” here:

Devolution isn't a complete growth strategy, but: 1. Greater regional variety creates more chance of evolution/learning; we'll find out better what works & doesn't. 2. Local people should know better than Whitehall how to spend money - eg what type of transport links etc need to be improved.

London is no longer the growth driver of the UK Since 2016 the capital has lost a lot of ground relative to other UK cities This underperformance has been one of the key factors holding back the UK economy Please update your takes (doesn't mean devolution isn't still a great idea)

Amazing work from Oxford Westgate Library

'Growth in every postcode'. That's what Andy #Burnham will promise today. Here's why this thinking will sink his agenda.

I’m getting increasingly grumpy about coverage of regional inequality High but by no means the highest and by many measures falling More helpful to think about stagnation across the board not London vs the rest, although I am obviously not a politician

Should #England fail to win against #Panama & end up second or third in the group, their chances of getting to the #WorldCup2026 quarterfinals would be much reduced For more, see @econ-observatory.bsky.social @jjreade.bsky.social www.economicsobservatory.com/world-cup-20...

I'm recruiting for a pre-doc to work on Green Investment Banks - details here, please share: jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

Some personal news: I have set up an office in my cellar

We regret that our event on Extreme Heat: Improving governance and strengthening action around the world has been cancelled due to the red extreme heat warning issued by the UK Met Office. Our apologies to everyone who was planning to attend the event.

Happy 12th birthday to the Northern Powerhouse - an anniversary now celebrated by me, alone

A fully funded 2-year postdoc for my ERC project on climate politics, comparative politics and political economy. Deadline: 29 July 2026, 10am CET Starting date: Jan 2027 (flexible) Feel free to reach out next week at EPSS if you’d like to discuss the position www.sciencespo.fr/centre-etude...

🚨 👩‍🎓 👨‍🎓 📚 PHD OPPORTUNITY! Fully-funded 3 year UCL PhD at @casaucl.bsky.social. Start in October 2026 or February 2027. Deadline to apply is Weds 1 July 23:59 BST. Please share widely! www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/cas...

Everyone has a pet theory of growth. The YIMBYs say we just need to build more. Climate orgs say we just need to get off fossil fuels. Etc. They’re all sort of right. That's the problem. We need to figure out what *maximises* growth. And that's what I do in my Substack.

It's really important this. Not just because I'm a smug cyclist. Huge health effects.

Surely the target is commercialisation and growth? Already doing very well at publications and patents with limited economic impact

Some of you who followed me on the other place may remember I used to do long threads discussing books I read and food I ate. I'm rebooting that on Substack, but let me post the top line here. My first Read/Watched/Listened/Ate of 2026 aveekbhattacharya.substack.com/p/readwatche...

The future Prime Minister is speaking at @lseinequalities.bsky.social You can also see the Mayor of Greater Manchester

One interesting thing about this piece is that it has dropped (incorrect) statements about rising inequality for more grounded ones about falling living standards and life getting harder since the crash. 1/2 www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Andy Burnham is speaking at @lseinequalities.bsky.social in July www.lse.ac.uk/internationa...

In a new paper with Luke Milsom and Ferdinand Rauch, we use gravity-based simulations to quantify the potential consequences of closures of the Panama Canal (pictured), Suez Canal, and the Strait of Malacca for trade.

Why can't we all get along & isn't that what we need to do to save the planet? Nish Kumar, Nick Couldry & @denisebaron.bsky.social join @neillee.bsky.social at final event of #LSEFestival on Sat 20 June to discuss polarisation, cooperation & overcoming difference, followed by 🍷 Book FREE tickets 👇

Regional inequality is lower now than in 2013

Helpful primer on UK inequality and income trends for any Prime Ministerial candidates pitching to the left of their party

If nothing else, Blair’s intervention has made bluesky briefly interesting again

Blair wrote an essay. Like you, I read it immediately. It's a serious bit of work, and deserves a serious response. Here are my takes - the Rights, Wrongs, and Maybes. jeevunsandher.substack.com/p/blairs-ess...

Blair putting on full display what is in many ways his special ability - to lay out a political argument grounded in his own view of global trends (globalisation in the 2000s, tech in the 2020s). But… institute.global/insights/pol...

I think this is bang right by Blair - though I disagree on what is the right answer. institute.global/insights/pol...

Apropos of all this 'why isn't Labour doing any intellectual renewal' debate Two years ago, @aveek18.bsky.social and I got 13 leading economists to look for an economic worldview in Labour's plans - they found precious little Still, sadly, relevant today www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/u...

Economic geographer? Come work with us. @lsegeography.bsky.social is hiring a Fellow in Economic #Geography: 2-year post, starts Sept 2026. Recent or soon-to-be PhDs in econ geography, #economics or related fields. £43,277–£55,497 inc. London allowance. Closes 31 May. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRM347/l...

⏰ CALL FOR PAPERS - EPSS PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP ON PLACE, POLITICS AND EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY ⏰ Submit by Weds 20 May! For all those interested in politics of geographic divides and keen to explore impact potential of their work. More info/submit here: shorturl.at/xS0iS @twanhuijsmans.bsky.social

As I said last week, I'm starting a substack focused on social affairs, public services, policymaking etc - and I'll be launching it soon I've given it the unglamorous but self-explanatory name Policy Matters. Free for now, and for a while yet I imagine Sign up here! chamindajayanetti.substack.com

Looking forward to the launch of my book, Tribal Politics, with James Tilley, this evening at LSE Huge thanks to @anandmenon.bsky.social and Sir John Curtice who will be sharing their insights on how Brexit is still shaping politics and the future of UK-EU relations www.lse.ac.uk/government/e...

NEW - Skills, Spatial Polarization, and the Politics of the Knowledge Economy: Introducing the Regional Human Capital Database - https://cup.org/42ztudJ - Jane Gingrich, Daniel McArthur & Mihnea Cuibus #OpenAccess

This is a fascinating, novel, and increasingly widespread policy tool - our project on them is reporting next month blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2024/12/...

Last week, @charlottekuberka.bsky.social and I hosted our ECR Conference on the Political Dimensions of Place-Based Inequalities in Urban & Rural Life at the LSE. Thanks to all participants, @neillee.bsky.social, @msands.bsky.social, @lseinequalities.bsky.social & @lsegovernment.bsky.social 🎉

One week left to apply:

Just four cities —#NewYork, #Boston, #London and the #SanFrancisco Bay Area— command 12% of the world's star scientists. In TIBG, Xiang, @neillee.bsky.social & I map the narrowing #geography of frontier #knowledge and what it means for places left outside the gates. doi.org/10.1111/tran...

This is excellent - and painful giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

My scorching hot take on this (at least in the uk) is that a bunch of more public-sector-ish jobs: teaching, universities, media, civil servant had been relatively downwards mobile in this time and it’s actually falling inequality that is making people mad.

One of the best jobs in UK social science, research & policy.

Obviously I have no idea what this is saying, but I am excited to be visiting Berlin later this month

Am Vorabend verleihen wir den Hans-Matthöfer-Preis für wegweisende Ideen zu Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft & Demokratie – dieses Jahr an Clara E. Mattei und Exploring Economics. 🗓️ 21.4. | ab 18.30 Uhr im #Liveblog 💻#ProgressiveWirtschaft 2/5 👉 www.fes.de/tag-der-prog...

In Zeiten des Umbruchs: Wie können wir unsere Wirtschaft mutig, solidarisch und zukunftsgerichtet gestalten? Diskutiert mit uns beim Tag der Progressiven Wirtschaftspolitik! #ProgressiveWirtschaft 🗓️ 22.4. | 9-17 Uhr in Berlin & im Livestream! #tpw26 1/5 👉 www.fes.de/tag-der-prog...