Economics

What is stagflation?

By Alex Hern - 13 March 12:17

We ought to fear the "Spectre of stagflation", says the FT.

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Former council houses, refurbished and made energy-efficient. Photograph: Getty

A council tax isn't a wealth tax

By Alex Hern - 12 March 17:58

How should the government settle the inequalities in property wealth?

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Cars roll off the production line, but fewer than before. Photograph: Getty Imag

Focus on a "triple dip" misses the point

By Duncan Weldon - 12 March 15:30

The economy is stuck and without a change in government policy the slump is set to continue, writes the TUC's Duncan Weldon.

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A young single mother and her child living on a housing estate in Middlesbrough,

Where next for back-to-work support?

By Caroline Davey - 12 March 11:34

Into work support from the work programme and job centre is not delivering for single parents, or for the tax payer.

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The short future of Abenomics

By Alex Hern - 11 March 19:24

Japan's maverick PM might not have his heart in the game.

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BIS and OFT hint at cosmestic changes to payday loan regulations

By Carl Packman - 11 March 14:21

Some positive, but largely symbolic, news.

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The RBS privatisation is set to be Osborne's version of selling off the gold

By VMC Rosario - 11 March 13:49

There needs to be pressure on Osborne to state what success looks like in respect to the £37 billion investment the Government made in two banks, writes VMC Rosario.

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Self-defeating austerity: the false economy of Cameron's Britain

By Jonathan Portes - 11 March 12:53

NIESR's Jonathan Portes examines Cameron's statement of "fact".

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Snappy comebacks to stupid questions: the eternal undeath of the credit-card analogy

By Alex Hern - 11 March 11:21

How to respond when the prime minister says something simplistic and wrong.

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How housing traps people in unemployment

By Rebecca Tunstall - 08 March 13:07

If we're to move away from using housing benefit to prop up a dysfunctional housing market, we desperately need to think much more carefully about rent levels and wages, writes Rebecca Tunstall.

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We don't just have a housing crisis, we have a green housing crisis

By Mark Gaterell - 07 March 16:44

The need for 'low impact building', through both 'retrofitting' older properties with new technologies and new builds, is urgent.

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The Burj Khlaifa. Photograph: Getty Images

"Chavez wasted his money on social programmes when he should have built vanity projects"

By Alex Hern - 07 March 12:27

The skewed priorities of the business press.

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A sign marks a plot for sale on a housing construction site on in Swindon, Engla

Don't leave house building to the house-builders

By VMC Rosario - 07 March 8:51

Give people a driving seat in housing investment, writes VMC Rozario.

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When the facts change, should I change my mind?

By Vince Cable - 06 March 16:27

The long economic stagnation of post-crisis Britain.

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The rise in housing benefit is driven by a rise in need. No more, no less

By Declan Gaffney - 06 March 9:43

It's not greed, it's not fraud, it's just more people needing help to live their lives, writes Declan Gaffney.

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Right-to-buy houses are now just owned by private landlords

By Alex Hern - 05 March 17:03

"In one London borough almost half of ex-council properties are now sub-let to tenants."

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House price "hope"—for whom?

By Alex Hern - 05 March 16:05

The have-nots don't get a word in.

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Dow Jones nearing an all-time high. So what?

By Alex Hern - 05 March 13:18

The Dow is a silly index for silly people. Pay no heed.

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The Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, Mike Thornton. Photograph: Getty Images

Playing house: the Eastleigh by-election and planning control politics

By Preston Byrne - 05 March 11:54

Creating pro-housing planning laws won't be easy, if the Conservatives' defeat in Eastleigh is anything to go by.

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China looks to green economy to hit GDP growth target of 7.5 per cent

By Alex Hern - 05 March 9:41

Country also puts focus on consumers to drive growth.

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The city of Montreux, Switzerland. Photograph: Getty Images

Swiss aim to tackle high pay through shareholder democracy

By Alex Hern - 04 March 10:19

You scratch my back, I'll ask the shareholder remuneration committee to vote to scratch yours.

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Japan's next central banker promises "whatever it takes" to fight deflation

By Alex Hern - 04 March 9:08

Kuroda pulls a Draghi.

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Students at London Metropolitan University protest the Government's decision to

How do you export universities? By bringing students here

By Alex Hern - 01 March 15:31

Cameron isn't just throttling our "cultural" exports — he is throttling our actual exports.

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Don't be too hard on Osborne: the bonus cap is horribly flawed

By Alex Hern - 01 March 11:58

What will happen to bankers pay? Very little. To their risk taking? Very little. To, basically, anything? You guessed it.

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Double dip… a bactrian camel with its newborn calf in Budapest, Hungary. Photogr

Whether or not you include oil, Osborne's economic record is atrocious

By Alex Hern - 28 February 17:57

Double-dip or not, stagnation is here for sure.

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Protesters outside Royal Bank of Scotland HQ in London. Photograph: Getty Images

Stephen Hester's magical misdirection: defending RBS's £5bn losses and £679m bonuses

By Alex Andreou - 28 February 16:26

RBS has announced losses of over £5.1bn and bonuses of £679m, after being bailed out by the taxpayer. Through Stephen Hester's sleight of hand, we are expected to believe that this has been a “chastening year” for the bank.

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