Moving Beyond “Capitalism”
I wish we would stop using the word Capitalism. It is a 19th-century term, derived from 19th-century economic philosophy. But today people who would run
I Am Scottish, British And European And Happy To Remain So
I am Scottish, British and European and happy to remain so. I am, mostly, proud of all these things. I left Scotland more than 40
Simple Arithmetic Shows Why Basic Income Schemes Cannot Work
Swiss voters decided in a referendum on June 5 whether to introduce a “basic income”. In proposed reforms to the social welfare system, all residents
Helicopter Money: A Disguise For debt Financing Funded By Short-Term Borrowing
The term “helicopter money” is derived from a vivid image created by the US economist Milton Friedman in which a central banker showers notes on
Political Instability Stems From The Diminished Importance Of The Left-right Spectrum
Gordon Brown’s exchange with Gillian Duffy on the streets of Rochdale was a defining moment in the UK’s 2010 general election. It also revealed much
The Central Problem With Banks Is “Too Complex To Fail” Not “Too Big To Fail”
Poor Bernie Sanders. How can you expect to become US president if you are not familiar with the relative spheres of competence of the Federal
Time For Common Sense On Negative Interest Rates
This was to have been the year of exit from quantitative easing. Instead, 2016 is going to be the year of negative interest rates. For
A Liberal Education Is Now More Useful Than Job-specific Skills
It is hard to imagine life without digital search and the internet. This is as true for me as for anyone else: the greater ease
Is It Meaningful To Talk About The Ownership Of Companies?
Shareholders own the corporation, and the duty of the directors to maximise shareholder value follows from that. I have lost count of the number of
Liquidity Helps Financial Market Participants, Not Businesses And Households
Nothing illustrates more starkly the difference between the preoccupations of financial market participants and the needs of businesses and households than the subject of liquidity.
Why The Move Towards A Cashless Society Is Bad News For Criminals
Last week I left home without my wallet. I soon realised it did not really matter. I could even manage without a plastic card. My
We Were Better Served By Old-fashioned Relationship-focused Bank Managers
When I was a schoolboy in Edinburgh in the 1960s, the head office of the Bank of Scotland was an imposing building on the Mound,
What Is The Good Company?
Okay John, thank you very much for joining us today to discuss the concept that you recently put forward in a column in the Financial
Has The EU Pushed Integration Too Far And Too Fast?
A few years ago, I heard an after-dinner speech from a European statesman, a person who has played a leading role not only in the
Labour Party’s Economic Rethink Should Focus On Good Corporations
“We will cut spending but not as fast or as nastily as the Conservatives; we believe in a market economy but not very strongly.” These
The Bumpy Road Ahead Will Most Likely Lead To Scottish Independence
David Cameron anticipated that a referendum on independence for Scotland would produce a decisive No vote, damaging the Scottish National Party and burying the issue