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Thank Fathom it’s Friday

A sideways look at economics

On productivity

6 June 2025|

When preparing for my interview with Fathom, nearly two years ago now, I remember being both impressed and daunted by Thank Fathom it’s Friday. ‘How on earth’ I thought ‘would I (if I got the job) manage to come up with something interesting, well-written and economics-related at semi-regular intervals?!’. As it turns out this has gone reasonably well (at least up to now), not least because of the willingness of Tom, my partner to brainstorm TFiFs with me. However, dear readers, when I saw my initials on the research schedule this time I seemed to hit a wall, where no topic seemed sufficiently interesting, fun or economics related. But as I languished in the dreaded, becalmed waters of ‘no ideas’ this got me thinking about something, what does it actually mean to be unproductive?

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