Alex Edmans

1. My new book, May Contain Lies: How Stories, Statistics, and Studies Exploit Our Biases – And What We Can Do About It, will be published by Penguin in April. lnkd.in/eDbujwUd

Traffic fatalities increase by 15% on the day major music albums are released. The effect is stronger in single-occupant vehicles where you don't have a passenger to unlock the phone and scroll through a new track list. Prior evidence found more crashes on Tax Day due to stress.

@liebauda @PenguinUKBooks @CrownPublishing Thanks so much for your interest!

@aedmans @PenguinUKBooks @CrownPublishing pre-ordered!

The Madness of Markets is now available for pre-order. How hype, sentiment, and even World Cup defeats move markets – and how to profit from the chaos. Think Freakonomics meets investing: wacky patterns, surprising insights, and practical tips. @PenguinUKBooks @CrownPublishing

@desireefixler He certainly acts like a rock star; his primary goal is self-publicity. Interesting that Lagarde describes him as a "rock star" rather than effective, formidable, capable, standout, leading - or any other adjective that suggests results rather than bluster.

Mark Carney, "rock star" central banker? Please. He's Mr. Easy Money for the elites, who distracted everyone with climate panic and DEI BS while ordinary people watched their purchasing power evaporate.

@MerrynSW Spot on. Better WiFi on trains does not get you home earlier to spend time with your kids, cook dinner, help out around the house, or exercise.

No. We need faster trains.

"Do Carbon Offsets Offset Carbon?" has won the 2026 Best Paper Award for American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. The answer is No. At least 52% of carbon offsets were allocated to projects that would have been built anyway. aeaweb.org/articles?id=10…

A communist manifesto - no growth just more welfare spending.

“Executive-pay packages are notoriously complex, stuffed with performance measures and all-or-nothing targets,” laments Alex Edmans. The real question, he argues, is whether it is earned economist.com/by-invitation/…

@hwallop Yesterday I came across a typically inflated LinkedIn profile: "June Sarpong OBE is one of the world’s leading speaker’s, educator’s ...". But not one of the world's leading speller's or writer's.

BAFTA is advertising a head of communications job to join “it’s” team. Pay = £55k. Proof-reading skills obviously not necessary. Could the v poor handling of this week’s crisis be because it doesn’t pay important staff very well?

Executive-pay packages “can lead bosses to focus on what is measurable rather than what matters”, argues Alex Edmans. The finance professor offers a simple solution—and it’s not just paying CEOs less economist.com/by-invitation/…

The real question is not whether CEO pay is high. It is whether it is earned. "By Invitation" article for @TheEconomist economist.com/by-invitation/…

@florianederer Sadly, most schools don't take teaching ratings seriously for any faculty, tenured or untenured.

If anybody took teaching ratings for tenured faculty seriously, David Gelernter would long have been relieved of his teaching duties.

This paper critiques the current practice of #diversity, equity, & inclusion in business, arguing that its reduction to demographic representation has led to polarization & failed to achieve #DEI’s true objectives. Read: spkl.io/6011AUmZT Subscribe: spkl.io/6015AUmZX

In 2021 I did a @GreshamCollege public lecture series called "The Principles of Finance", on basic financial literacy. Yesterday I recorded shorter versions for A-level students. I set about updating my slides .... and realised I didn't have to. The personal allowance was £12,570 back in 2021. And it's still £12,570 now – and will be £12,570 at least until 2031. But I did have to update: ⬇️Dividend allowance (down from £2,000 to £500) ⬆️Dividend tax rates (all up) ⬇️Capital gains allowance (down from £12,300 to £3,000) All of this is bad news for savers (and, for the personal allowance, workers). Yes the public finances need repairing – but there are widespread inefficiencies that could be tackled first.

@Starcourse Thank you! September

@aedmans Looks amazing. When’s it coming out?

Handed in the final draft of my next book, "The Madness of Markets: Why Smart Investors Make Crazy Decisions – And How to Exploit Them". It's about the psychology of financial markets – what causes booms, busts, and bubbles; why the market overreacts to irrelevant information but ignores what truly matters; and how we can avoid common investing errors and turn others' mistakes to our advantage. Out of everything I’ve ever written, this is the one piece I’ve had the most fun writing and am most excited to share when it comes out – because of the really cool research by leading scholars in behavioral finance that it covers. This research was inspired by innovative ideas, draws from creative data sources, meets the highest standards of scientific rigour – yet remains practical for everyday investors. @PenguinUKBooks @CrownPublishing

Academia is a calling; it's not just a job. And viewing it as a calling and a privilege helps address the burnout and pressure that the article correctly highlights. See my essay "The Purpose of a Finance Professor" (which applies to all fields). onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fi…

No, 75% of the revenues of the FTSE 100 are from overseas. In 2025, the domestically-focused FTSE 250 significantly underperformed the FTSE 100. The rise of the FTSE 100 is not due to the strong performance of the UK, but you like to claim credit where it's not due.

@leecrawfurd Thanks for your comment. I think both are serious. British Champion is a major title and lifetime achievement, not a slight misrepresentation. If you play football in the Championship you can't claim to play in the Champions League.

@aedmans fully inventing a qualification isn't the same thing as the slight misrepresentation Reeves did.

Dame Ann Limb, recently appointed to the House of Lords, refers to herself as Dr and claims to hold a PhD. This claim appears on her CV, her website, in public talks, and after her name on the members’ roll at the Athenaeum. But she has no such qualification. This matters. A cardiologist claiming to have won a junior hockey tournament may suggest only imperfect character, but misrepresenting core professional credentials is serious. An education specialist awarded an OBE for “services to education” should not repeatedly misstate her educational qualifications. Likewise, one should not falsely claim to be British Girls’ Chess Champion to imply strategic ability, use Dr as a title when holding only an honorary doctorate, or claim to be a bestselling author without appearing on any recognised bestseller list. Credentials aren't everything. None of my guest speakers have PhDs, play chess, or write books, yet they have tremendous expertise gained elsewhere. But you cannot claim a title or qualification without earning it. Doing so makes a mockery of all those who worked hard to achieve them, or worked hard but didn't become British Champion – and didn't claim it. It also erodes trust in expertise. If anyone can claim to be an expert, who can we believe? And it is a serious concern when such misrepresentation is overlooked in the awarding of a Damehood and an appointment to the House of Lords. thetimes.com/uk/royal-famil…