Category Archives: Economics

In Praise of Premium Bonds

Posted on January 16, 2015 by odeboyz

Britain’s unique state lottery is called ‘Premium Bonds’. Although it is a lottery, the bondholders can get their money, in full, on demand : the antidote of true lotteries. A further unique feature is that numbers have a recurring opportunity … Continue reading →

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How Economists Think: Victor Echevarria*

Posted on December 30, 2014 by odeboyz

“…. whilst we don’t expect deflation, we do think inflation will remain in negative territory in the coming months.” *Spanish economist quoted in Wall Street Journal 30th July 2014 (Chris)

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Ebola, Malaria and TB*: Competing Horrors

Posted on November 28, 2014 by odeboyz

At the time of writing, (November 2014) ebola is still an incurable disease causing fewer than 6,000 deaths from about 14,000 infections. It is a gruesome disease. Potentially, but not certainly, it may mutate into a mega-disease. Mega-diseases, such as … Continue reading →

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Disruptive Events and Unknown Unknowns

Posted on November 14, 2014 by odeboyz

“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t … Continue reading →

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Disruptive Technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Posted on October 31, 2014 by odeboyz

An ultra- modern householder in 1914 probably purchased recently invented gadgets powered by electricity like toasters, vacuum cleaners, ovens and telephones. These, and subsequent, inventions are the disruptive technology of our era. For example by 1954, 1.75 million domestic servant … Continue reading →

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Availability Bias

Posted on October 28, 2014 by odeboyz

Jim thinks that petrol is expensive because he doesn’t get a weekly depreciation/insurance/maintenance bill for his car. (Chris)

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(I can’t get no ) Satisfaction

Posted on September 9, 2014 by odeboyz

I’m just a heap of years A mountain of wearisome time; My wealth is piling high, ever increasing; Too much to spend, too much to give away Wealth growing year by year, drawling sarcastically “Money doesn’t talk, it swears.” A heap … Continue reading →

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A Very Unusual Charity: Eton College

Posted on August 29, 2014 by odeboyz

Eton College is the principal fee paying school in Britain. Surprisingly, it’s also a charity. As a result, those who attend Eton are subsidised by the taxpayer.  Charities in Britain have a number of finanacial advantages reflecting their charitable work: … Continue reading →

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Overseas Aid: Britain 1948

Posted on August 15, 2014 by odeboyz

David Cameron’s coalition government set a target for overseas aid in 2010, which is the central motif of his government’s humanitarian policy. His plan is to budget 0.7% of GDP annually and maintain that in a growing economy. Consequently the … Continue reading →

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Fluid National Identities, 1919- 2014

Posted on July 18, 2014 by odeboyz

Because of the stunning success of the Act of Union, 1801, British people have had 213 years of relative national stability. Britain has been stable whilst the rest of Europe has been a cauldron of fluid national identities. This stability … Continue reading →

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