#Centralisation spreads responsibility thin; #autonomy concentrates it. In the European Journal of Political Economy, Ferraresi, Herrmann, Loiacono, Rizzo & Secomandi find that where town halls keep and manage most #tax the result is higher #income. doi.org/10.1016/j.ej...

This, from Ada Palmer as part of The Chronicle's survey of 11 scholars on the future of higher ed, is what I needed to end the week.

A slightly longer write-up about the chart above is here: www.linkedin.com/posts/teraal...

“If this feels like a contradiction, it’s because the concept of real GDP is often misunderstood.” 🙂

If you're in Cambrudge and free on 12th March, I'm talking about my book at Churchill College - free but tix needed: www.tickettailor.com/events/churc...

Good morning from me and #sophiefromromania - who wants to know why we aren’t yet out for a walk. It is, after all, 06.14 already.

open.substack.com/pub/rorycell... Just after learning I’d been accepted onto a major Parkinson’s drug trial I learned at a fascinating Cambridge conference that AI could one day replace humans in clinical trials

#SophiefromRomania always thinks it’s a good idea to position herself in the kitchen while the prof and I prepare breakfast - despite the fact that her bowl is already full of delicacies which she ignores

#sophiefromromania almost got her paws on a naughty cat this morning

New @productivity.bsky.social paper by @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social, Ioannis Bournakis & Jen-Chung Mei. For more on intangible assets, read this recent ESCoE blog by @joshmartinecon.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/9rnyshmw

Looks a v interesting paper - and results def in line with my priors.

Our PopGov project is live! 📣 We’re recruiting 3 Postdocs at @UCLouvain! 🌍 Help us to disseminate the call! 🙏

A glorious morning out there but #sophiefromromania is not to be distracted from her rubbish inspection duties

24 hours in Paris on a glorious summer day in February

New research shows that when tangible & intangible capital investments are treated separately, slowdown in Total Factor Productivity in UK manufacturing is smaller than standard estimates suggest: www.productivity.ac.uk/research/het... 📝 @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social, Ioannis Bournakis & Jen-Chung Mei

Interesting take on AI's implications for the business landscape more broadly from ESCoE Leadership Executive member/ @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk's @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social ⬇️

Applications for our MPhil in Public Policy (2026/27 cohort) close on Thursday 26 February 2026. Course Director @terzibus.bsky.social highlights what makes studying at the Bennett School unique & how the programme can accelerate your career in public policy & beyond. Apply now: bit.ly/4afkXBg

Today, Skimpy has hit 500 stars on GitHub! 🎉 Skimpy summarises info about datasets quickly and efficiently, either in Python or on the command line (for CSVs). Cool new features: - export summary table to text, html, or svg - cli tool now sniffs csv files Docs here: aeturrell.github.io/skimpy/

Two university cities. Two different trajectories. This blog examines why Cambridge has pulled ahead on key economic indicators👇 buff.ly/I5fsz6C

Many people fear that AI could cause a “job-pocalypse.” But AI’s implications for the business landscape more broadly have not received nearly enough attention, argues @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social. bit.ly/4aTORdL

It was one of those neighbourhood watch walks with #sophiefromromania this morning

Early start off & to Paris later for www.iaseai.org/iaseai26 - I’ll make up for all the travel to #sophiefromromania and @rorycj.bsky.social later in the week

This via @alphaville.ft.com is a staggering tale - a prelude to much more of this? www.themediastack.co.uk/p/the-ai-tha...

A great time to buy the copy of Underground Empire I just signed in Books Inc in SFO. But depressingly, _every_ time these days is a great time to buy the copy i just signed &c &c

The Epstein files document what many women researchers have long experienced but rarely seen laid bare so starkly: exclusion operating behind closed doors, shaping who gets funded, invited, mentored, and taken seriously. How many of these networks, norms, and gatekeepers remain in place?

Join us virtually this Thursday for the UK WEN Annual Networking Event, hosted by the @bankofengland. Featuring a keynote from Diane Coyle & panels chaired by Clare Lombardelli & Anna Leach. Book your virtual place: bit.ly/4aTcjb5 #UKWEN #WomenInEconomics #EconSky @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social

Just landed and looking forward to seeing #sophiefromromania (and @rorycj.bsky.social )

With the prof away #sophiefromromania was a bit nervous about the Sunday trip to the park. But she got over it and had a decent walk in the end

Adam Ferguson, Scottish Enlightenment historian & philosopher at Edinburgh University, died #OTD 1816; a pioneer of sociology, who contributed to our understanding of civil society, democracy, political partisanship & conflict. Portrait by Henry Raeburn, c. 1790, Edinburgh University

The World of Yesterday: Stefan Zweig, great Austrian writer, poet & translator, witness to collapse of Habsburg Empire & horrifying rise of Nazism; died in despair #OTD 1942. His memoir Die Welt von Gestern was published just after his death. The best English translation is by Anthea Bell (2013).

Out at 6:50 with #sophiefromromania as without the Prof we had a vast amount to do if I was to get to the #BrentfordFC game. At halftime wishing I’d had lie-in

One of the great videos m.youtube.com/watch?v=4-43...

This new Santa Fe press volume 4 of 'The Economy as an Emerging Complex System' has some enticing (& free to read) chapters. (One chapter is by me.) www.sfipress.org/books/eecs-iv

To understand what is happening in UK science policy you need to understand a bit of history. Which also helps understand why people are making arguments in particular directions. A little thread.

Very exciting! @gavinfreeguard.com, who has set this up, is amazing so I’m sure they will be producing some must read/watch/engage with work

in which I write many things which will look ironic when I am starving in the gutter begging for a few hours work tagging images for my robot overlords. backofmind.substack.com/p/finally-we...

At the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, one question dominates: who will shape the rules of the AI? The answer is not just tech giants—it's digital policy leaders. Cambridge's MPhil in Digital Policy prepares graduates to design AI regulation, advise govts, & lead global tech governance. bit.ly/4a8sSR2

Had to keep a good distance between #sophiefromromania and other dogs this morning after a little over exuberance

This essay by Dan Kagan Kans (via my dear colleague @jjn1.bsky.social ) is interesting on attitudes to AI open.substack.com/pub/transfor...

#Sophiefromromania has a busy morning schedule. 0700 out of bed, a few stretches, harness on. 0705 Out for walk with occasional barking at other dogs “come over ‘ere if you think you’re. ‘ard enough” 0745 after disdainful sniff at luxury breakfast, back to bed

The #CamFest programme is now live & we're excited to be a part of it: 🌍 From Cambridge to the World: AI & Digital Policy 📅 16/03/2026 ⏰ 17:30 — 18:45 📍 The Glasshouse, Hills Road, CB2 1LQ 🔗 bit.ly/4aRpbiW With @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social @jenitennison.com Kathryn Chapman & @alturobov.bsky.social

Last week @michaelkenny.bsky.social attended a royal audience with King Felipe VI in Madrid aimed at fostering collaboration with heads of some of the World’s leading public policy schools. He also met Prime Minster Pedro Sánchez, to discuss some of Spain’s pressing policy challenges. bit.ly/3MBiUP8

The Republic of Ireland is often hailed as an economic success story. But as Natalie Morningstar @fitzwilliamcollege.bsky.social argues, it’s also a case study in the political risks of growth — and how dominant economic metrics can seriously distort reality. Blog: bit.ly/4rWyeEP

Come on #sophiefromromania - the prof is away proffing in California so we’ve got to show we can cope without her. Sourdough for breakfast?

AI will transform work, as many now expect. But it will also rearrange the business landscape - By @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social tomorrowsaffairs.com/ai-affects-b... @projectsyndicate.bsky.social #AI

Tune in to this month’s Crossing Channels podcast as Dr @terzibus.bsky.social (Bennett Institute for Public Policy) and Prof Christian Gollier (@tse-fr.eu) debate — and at times disagree — on whether climate policy can truly deliver in the real world. Listen: pod.fo/e/3837de

Q. What makes climate policy stick? A. Institutions A new literature review by @terzibus.bsky.social et al. explores a fundamental question in climate policy: What role do institutions play in making climate policies effective and durable? Read paper: www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/publications...

Our #CamFest event is now live From Cambridge to the World: AI and digital policy 📅 16/03/2026 🕠 17:30 — 18:45 📍 The Glasshouse, Innovate Cambridge Hear Cambridge experts explore how AI & digital research & policymaking can drive inclusive & sustainable growth. 🎟️https://bit.ly/4aRpbiW

With application deadlines fast approaching for the next cohort of students joining our two MPhil programmes in October 2026, Course Director Alessio Terzi shares his top three tips on what makes an outstanding application. For details of the courses visit: www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/study/

Jesse Jackson, the Baptist minister and civil rights leader who mounted two groundbreaking but unsuccessful bids for the Democratic presidential nomination, has died aged 84. ft.trib.al/jlMv97E