Tim Leunig
@timleunig
Policy thoughts: http://www.timleunig.substack.com Chief Economist Nesta, Director Econ PublicFirst, Vis Prof LSE Sch Public Policy, Vis Fellow Inst for Govt
Wrote for Observer about London housing crisis and the choices for politicians (1/2) observer.co.uk/news/opinion-a…
NEW: Did raising the participation age lead to increased post-16 participation? To mark ten years since the participation age was raised in England, we evaluate its impact. vist.ly/3yue5
And proof that no government - rightly - seeks to maximise growth, come what may!
Quite a good example why "growth" may not be a sensible overall objective function for a country.
Outstanding, even by the high standards of @CentreforCities . Business rates are NOT killing the High Street
Characteristically great article from @timleunig on the postitive impact that a summer jobs scheme could have for Britain. Strikes me as an idea worth trialling!
And I thought I was an out of the box thinker...
How can the UK solve its productivity problem? ⚖️ Legalise Polyagmous Marriage ⚖️ ✅️ Larger households can take advantage of economies of scale ✅️ More people = more specialisation in household tasks ✅️ Greater insurance against negative shocks via varied income sources
Nothing there to upset me!
How to get growth? Reassure the markets re the sustainability of the public finances; stop driving away the wealthy; build houses & infrastructure in London & Ox-Cam; get closer to the EU. A @NewStatesman piece with something to upset almost everyone. newstatesman.com/politics/uk-po…
Justament el gran @timleunig ha tret un article sobre aquest tema
The US has higher productivity than the UK. Here is one transport lesson I think we can learn from them. timleunig.substack.com/p/productivity… (£/free trial)
My favourite economist/politician ever! UofC prof, top marine at 50, original egghead, fiercely independent senator before Stevenson. Highly recommend his memoirs. See the review. What a life! (Had his pic in my EP office!) nytimes.com/1972/07/16/arc…
I was aware that Paul Douglas, who co invented the Douglas-Cobb production function was a Senator — I did _not_ know that he enlisted in the Marines at age 50 in WW2, requested combat duty, and won two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star
The US has higher productivity than the UK. Here is one transport lesson I think we can learn from them. timleunig.substack.com/p/productivity… (£/free trial)
The fact that the US is weird in many respects - and that I would not want to live there - doesn't mean we can't learn from some of the things they do. We should look at all countries with higher productivity than the UK
My @ft letter from January 2016 is, I believe, the first ever suggestion of "higher pay, lower pensions" for doctors & others in the public sector. It now seems to be on @wesstreeting 's agenda, with @TheBMA screaming blue-murder!
I have done some bits and bobs for various companies, and they all say they have to ring me to verify my bank details. Anyone know if this is a stupid bit of new red tape, or a stupid bit of new gold plating?
On Thursday night, we heard that government was making big concessions on its planning bill, putting lots more controls on its nature recovery plans. I find this disappointing. And to explain why, I have to tell a story I’ve been holding off from sharing.
Amazon has reduced the general price level - so, of all goods and services - by 2-4% in the last couple of decades. That has a capital value of $12 - 24 trillion (Saez Zucman method) for consumers. @JeffBezos has $200 billion. Greatest bargain in all of human history, capitalism.
The case made by Zohran Mamdani against billionaires isn’t moral — it’s structural. Their wealth is built on public goods, privatized gains, and policies that entrench inequality at every level. jacobin.com/2025/07/billio…
Fantastic column. The unspoken truth about the baby bust via @FT on.ft.com/4kLRMYA
Yes, some manufacturing will use little energy relative to value, but as a whole countries like the UK that are service oriented will do better than countries like Germany if solar proves cheaper than wind.
how much of different industrial sectors' cost-base is energy? (Genuine question but surely computer chips and jet engines are less energy-intensive to make than their component materials are to refine?)
Brilliant idea from the ever brilliant @MuftiPatel and @StarAcademies Bacup school pupils to be taught maths by teacher 300 miles away - BBC News bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…
So much for the governments commitment to"build baby build", eh?
Labour Yimby are disappointed by the Government’s decision to concede to the Nimby lobby on the planning reforms this country so desperately needs. For the first time the Labour Government is backing the blockers, not the builders. 1/