News and views from the Blavatnik School of Government community 
When we think of needy people, we usually think of the unemployed. Government systems—and our entire way of thinking—is focussed around joblessness as a marker for needing support. My recent Resolution Foundation research suggests the relationship between unemployment and needing help isn’t so clear cut. Most unemployed people don’t get benefits; while […]
When I first thought about doing a master degree, a big part of the motivation was to give my kids the opportunity to study abroad. The benefits of a full year of new adventures in a foreign country is hard to measure and also tough to visualise. Learning another language […]
This past summer marked the 20th anniversary of my first visit to the United Nations (UN). I remember first walking into the UN complex during a family trip. We promptly joined a tour and were fortunate to be assigned a guide who was deeply knowledgeable about the inner workings of […]
In 1955, a referendum was held in Sweden on whether the country should continue to drive on the left or if there should be a switch to the right. A government committee investigating this issue had recommended such a change, the main argument being that this was the traffic system […]
As the Bratislava summit of the other 27 EU member states nears, shuttle diplomacy has intensified. After Theresa May’s tour of European capitals in late July, Angela Merkel met with fellow leaders last week. Both have had to acknowledge the concerns of Central and Eastern European countries – Slovakia for […]
In developed democracies today, political leadership is increasingly up for grabs. Voters, clearly tired of the status quo, want change at the top, leaving even major parties’ establishments struggling to install leaders of their choosing. In the United Kingdom, Labour Party MPs have been stymied in their efforts to unseat […]
The lead up to the Brexit referendum was marked by widespread confidence that the UK would continue to remain in the EU. Complacency was epidemic, from strong market optimism (which would later suffer a heavy landing) to the unwillingness of businesses and politicians to consider the consequences of a change […]
One important piece of economics has not been discussed enough in the Brexit debate: the Theory of Second Best Sixty years ago, a little paper somewhat revolutionised economics simply by explaining what seems like common sense: If your first best option is not available, the second best option might be […]
Designed by
RSS
Twitter
Facebook