History rarely repeats itself. But one thing that can be remarkably consistent is the way power hardens, through rules, obligations, and the institutions that administer them. Today's debates on tariffs and defence spending have echoes of Greece in the fifth century before the Common Era (BCE) – not because our world resembles theirs, but because it shows how a security alliance can acquire a fiscal core, and how that fiscal core can quietly become a source of leverage. In 490

Last December I was debating with some friends who among us swore the most. Naturally, no one accepted any of the accusations thrown their way and the conversation reached no consensus. As a Fathom economist and a data nerd, this got me thinking: there must be a way to answer this question empirically. That’s when I realised that I actually do have a treasure trove of untapped data that I could use to answer this question: our WhatsApp group chat.

One of the interview questions for economists at the Bank of England (years ago, when I was there), went: “Imagine a world with no money. Could there be inflation?” To which the ‘correct’ answer was ‘no’. You could see changes in the relative price of certain goods or services, but not in the general price level. And the inference from that: inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon. At that time, this was a thought experiment designed to illustrate

As the holiday season quickly approaches, and we begin to set our eyes on ringing in the new year, I would like to offer my personal philosophy on New Year’s resolutions. I am a big fan of personal growth and achievement, so yes, I do see merit in setting resolutions. However, I understand why sentiments around New Year’s resolutions are less than stellar these days. From the behavioural economist’s point of view, keeping resolutions can be quite an uphill battle.

UK productivity growth is not what it was. After averaging some 2.2% per annum through the 1970s, 80s and 90s, it took a significant step down around the time of the GFC, averaging just 0.5% a year between 2007–2019. Things have not improved since COVID – in fact, in the four quarters to 2025 Q2 a 0.6% reduction in output per hour took place, according to the latest ONS statistics. Against this depressing backdrop, some are beginning to wonder whether

Having grown up in Galway, a beautiful town on the west coast of Ireland, and lived in cities from Dublin to New York and now London, I can’t help but compare places through familiar lenses: public transport, housing, quality of life, the usual things people debate when they move abroad. But only in the last few years, as I started thinking seriously about long-term saving and building wealth as a retail investor, did I realise there’s another very important difference

It’s always exciting to go somewhere new. China is so different from anywhere I’ve ever been before, as well as being the focus of so much of my work at Fathom, that my recent ten-day trip was more highly anticipated than the average holiday. I am not exactly sure what I expected in advance, aside from good food, of which there was fortunately plenty. I suppose I was hoping to increase my understanding of China, flesh out some of the

At its core, the subject of economics is about how best to use scarce resources. So, when I discovered my name on the roster to write the company blog Thank Fathom It’s Friday (TFIF) earlier this week, I immediately knew that I needed to practise what I preach, and find the time to write a decent TFIF, even though I knew that I had very little time to do so. In the end the solution was obvious: write a TFIF

More than two years ago, my first Thank Fathom it’s Friday explored the question of how Formula One could transition to net zero by 2030. The solution? Optimise the racing calendar to minimise the total distance travelled from race to race. Easy. I even offered a revised schedule. Since then, there have been 53 iterations of fast cars going vroom vroom and Dutch stars going quicker than everyone else because the Red Bull car was the fastest… But has the

All kinds of ideas have been floated on how the government could raise revenue in the UK’s Autumn Budget. From hikes on income tax or a new wealth tax, to spending cuts, income tax/National Insurance ‘two up, two down’, or even changes to the fiscal rules — the list goes on. Less discussed than most has been extending the freeze on personal tax thresholds; but this is perhaps the most effective weapon in a Chancellor’s armoury for increasing the tax