Economics & Marginalia

Economics and Marginalia is an attempt to keep ahead of the avalanche of content published every week – the writing on economics, politics, development and pop culture that keeps my brain occupied. In it, I pick between 5 and 10 of my favourite pieces of -mainly- popular economics and political commentary every week and briefly summarise what I liked about it, or what it taught me, in an accessible way.

The guiding spirit behind this blog is that the world is complicated but comprehensible, and I look to showcase writing that doesn’t dumb down the complexity, but puts a premium on clarity.

More from the Series

Blog Post

Economics & Marginalia: August 11, 2023

August 11, 2023
I have to open by apologising for the very patchy appearance of the Links this summer: its been a combination of last-minute leave plans, technical snafus with our emailing system and a pile-up of deadlines that means the different demands on my time have been fighting like they’re on a dock in Mont...
Blog Post

Economics & Marginalia: July 21, 2023

July 24, 2023
First things first: I am extremely pleased to report that University Challenge is still brilliant with Amol Rajan as its host. All of the important things are still there: the questions are great, the students are amazing and Rajan, like Paxman, ends the show with “and it’s goodbye from me; goodbye....
Blog Post

Economics & Marginalia: July 14, 2023

July 14, 2023
One of the joys of being a cricket fan is following the Guardian’s Over-by-Over (OBO) commentary on the day’s cricket. I discovered it while working Malawi and trying to surreptitiously keep track of the Sri Lanka tour of England in 2006 (this was the tour in which Murali took the first 8 wickets to...
Blog Post

Economics & Marginalia: July 7, 2023

July 07, 2023
The ‘British summer’ used to be an oxymoron—it meant umbrellas, packing a jumper and a light raincoat as well as your sunglasses and, every four years, getting thrashed by the Australians in the cricket. Things have changed: the Aussies are still giving us a hammering (though England look like they ...