Peter Dixon

A nice article by @DAaronovitch, a journalist I respect, on the latest row to engulf the BBC. It is also, I suspect, too nuanced to make an impact in a world where hyperbole is the easiest way to get noticed observer.co.uk/news/opinion-a…

"The UK needs to do an awful lot more to get closer to the pre-Brexit arrangements." Economist @EomicsUK on the Bank of England and the British economy

@TiggyWalker @piratejw @BBCRadio2 @DorsetMag Thank you for everything you have done and for keeping the show on the road for so long. Thanks to Johnnie for bringing us the music for all these years - the final show marked the end of an era. May we indeed walk into the future with our heads held high

My tribute to ⁦@piratejw⁩ and his final show on ⁦@BBCRadio2⁩ in my latest monthly column for ⁦@DorsetMag⁩. Thanks to all of you who sent him/us such wonderful cards and letters. I’m so relieved he had this time to read them all and soak up the love ❤️❤️🙏🙏

@asentance @JumanaSaleheen @flacqua @KING @MMF_research @bankofengland @benbernanke @kingsbschool Usually first advertised around early September, so worth looking around then

@JumanaSaleheen @flacqua @KING @MMF_research @bankofengland @benbernanke @kingsbschool I must admit I was not aware of that - not very well advertised but thanks for letting me know.

Excited to be at the #BoEWatchers conference today. First up an excellent speech by deputy governor Clare Lombardelli and Q&A by @flacqua @king sbschool @MMF_research @bankofengland Sharing my thoughts through the day here. A thread 🧵 @benbernanke bankofengland.co.uk/speech/2024/no…

@jagjit_chadha @NIESRorg @TPIProductivity @ESRC @NuffieldFound @EconObservatory @UK_2070 @OBR_UK @hmtreasury @BoE_Research @CamEcon @AcadSocSci @BritishAcademy_ @econromesh @UofGVC @MMF_research @CUPAcademic @CFMUK @LeverhulmeTrust @RoyalEconSoc @cepr_org @CEP_LSE Good luck Jagjit. Thanks for keeping NIESR at the forefront of the debate. Big shoes to fill

Time to step back. @NIESRorg @TPIProductivity @ESRC @NuffieldFound @EconObservatory @UK_2070 @OBR_UK @hmtreasury @BoE_Research @CamEcon @AcadSocSci @BritishAcademy_ @econromesh @UofGVC @MMF_research @CUPAcademic @CFMUK @LeverhulmeTrust @RoyalEconSoc @cepr_org @CEP_LSE

Fair comment

As England look forward to the Euro semi-final on Wednesday, it is worth noting that the national team has historically performed better under a Labour government (can't vouch for quality, though)

In many ways the UK general election won't be a good one to win given the economic inheritance. Tackling the productivity challenge & meeting competing fiscal needs requires exploring a range of previously unthinkable policy options. Some blog thoughts: eomics.blogspot.com/2024/05/light-…

@t0nyyates True, it will do the calculations/estimation but is it worth slogging through the foothills to get there? The data wrangling alone is a mighty slog. R is better (I think) but even data scientists tell me they spend ages putting the data together before doing anything interesting

@EomicsUK It's falling down before we are doing econometrics. I guess 'this thing will fail to function for multiple reasons that you need to be hyper expert to spot and fix' is the issue. Econometrics, once it's working; I guess it's as good as anything else given the code libraries.

Another 3 hours consumed trying to figure out why Python can't find numpy the linear algebra package [staple for economists using matrices] loaded by Anaconda. Some weird path location thing. Ungoogleable because everyone's problem is different.

@dsmitheconomics Thanks David. Thought-provoking as ever. You make a good point re Bernanke Review: why indeed did it take an external review to highlight known process shortcomings? Maybe to circumvent internal resistance to change?

My Sunday Times piece: Will the government’s ‘retail offers’ to voters and an improving economy ever lift terrible Tory poll ratings? Plus Ben Bernanke’s savaging of the Bank of England: Will Tory tax cuts ever start shifting the political dial? thetimes.co.uk/article/154329…

@ErikBritton @EconSteveM @NIESRorg @jagjit_chadha In this instance I have sympathy for the BoE which was caught out by an inflation spike that nobody else expected either, and it had limited room for manoeuvre, given we had just experienced the biggest output collapse in 300 years, the fuller consequences of which were unknown

@ErikBritton @EconSteveM @NIESRorg @jagjit_chadha Indeed. We have have these reviews every 10 years or so which conclude that the forecasting system needs a revamp and that we will do better in future when (a) no model will ever predict the future anyway & (b) it's the policy errors not the forecast that are the problem

Perhaps the main recommendations revolved around the need to drop the fan chart, which had never really permeated into the general public’s conscious, and move to carrying out scenario analysis. 6/n @NIESRorg @jagjit_chadha

@jagjit_chadha Sorry to hear this, Jagjit. May he rest in peace.

My father, Manmohan, has left the stage. He led a wonderfully inspiring life. There is so much to be thankful for but I still wanted more. Our family will forever be in his debt. theguardian.com/business/2024/…

WATCH: Protecting our democracy.

@JeremyWarnerUK I also assume the UK govt expended a considerable amount of political capital to get her the OECD job and she is off after just a year. These things tend to be remembered so might count against a Brit seeking support for a similar high profile international position in future

Clare Lombardelli is no doubt a very accomplished economist, but her appointment reinforces the impression of revolving doors between the Treasury and the Bank of England ft.com/content/838e76…

@AaronJStokes Sums up much of the last 3 months. The team has looked slow and ponderous for a while (Gordon apart). Tiredness and injuries may be a factor but something is lacking

Every Blackburn player knows their role without the ball and Newcastle just don't look like they know how to break them down. Seen plenty of the ball in the opening half hour but this hasn't been pretty... #NUFC chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football…

@Gloscricket Sad news indeed. Quite simply one of my favourite all-time cricketers and the reason I still follow the fortunes of @Gloscricket. RIP Mike, we have lost one of the greats

Gloucestershire Cricket is devastated to learn of the passing of former player and Club legend, Mike Procter, aged 77. Everyone at Gloucestershire Cricket would like to send their best wishes to Mike’s family during this terribly sad time.

@neheritagelib Levelling up is going well, then

This country does not work example 74738284 chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-eas…

@D_Blanchflower Welcome back. All been very quiet here. Not like there is much going on