-
Recent Posts
Latest Tweets
- IMF: UK shld bring forward infrastructure investment. @SMFthinktank shows how to do this and maintain fiscal plan smf.co.uk/research/econo… 1 day ago
- RT @IMFNews: #IMF: UK should bring forward planned infrastructure investment to offset growth drag from fiscal tightening http://t.co/UpbD… 1 day ago
- IMF still concerned that capital investment is at a postwar low - as SMF has argued we need more growth-boosting infrastructure spending 1 day ago
- RT @IMFNews: #IMF: UK govt made sweeping reforms in face of severe crisis, yet still long way from strong, sustainable recovery http://t.co… 1 day ago
- RT @SMFthinktank: Acclaim for SMF analysis of welfare by @johnvanreenen of CEP/LSE - institutions which wrote the book on unemployment http… 2 days ago
Top Posts
Tag Archives: health
Don’t tell me ’cause it hurts
It is often taken for granted that more information – or at least more well-designed, easily understandable information – will always be welcome. So in the UK, traffic light diagrams representing nasty sugars and fats is increasingly plastered across food products. But … Continue reading
Tall and handsome
By now, we know that because of some biological reason or other, being tall gives you an advantage, especially if you’re a man. In fact if you’re a short man, you no doubt deal with “humourous” comments every day – … Continue reading
Speak German to save
In these troubled, deficit laden times, those countries that spent the last decade consuming less and saving more have been denouncing the spendthrift ways of the US and UK, who spent all summer singing instead of storing away food. Of … Continue reading
Fair pay is good for your heart
It isn’t how much you’re paid. It’s how fair you think your pay is that matters. That might depend on how much other people are paid, or how much effort you have put in, or how well your company is … Continue reading
Does Walmart make you fat?
Why might people in developed countries be eating more today than they used to? One plausible factor is the fall in the cost of obtaining food. Hunting and gathering is such a hassle in comparison with going to the supermarket. … Continue reading
Markets where the drugs don’t work
Yesterday I found a good excuse to post a quote from Frasier in discussing how high price increases the placebo effect – because people use it as a signal of high quality in choosing particular health treatments. The problem is that price … Continue reading
Frasier and Niles and placebos
… or a good excuse for Five Minute Economist to dig out some quotes from a comedy classic. Healthcare works differently from most markets in many ways. Apart from anything else, it’s an experience good, which means that it’s hard … Continue reading
Don’t diet (or be obese) and drive?
A paper by scientists at UCL suggests that the risks we take are linked to how hungry we are. The interesting part aspect of the study is that it suggests that how hungry we are affects our general decision-making – … Continue reading
BBC Three’s misguided attempt to slim people down
In amongst the various Doctor Who spin-offs and teen entertainment, BBC Three occasionally also tries to lend a helping hand. Usually as part of a reality programme – because clearly people with problems are very entertaining. One of BBC Three’s … Continue reading
Posted in Comment on the news
Tagged BBC Three, health, obesity, social norms, television
Leave a comment
What’s the difference between a banker and a GP?
This week the Financial Services Authority issued a “wake-up call” to the financial services market to re-think the way staff are rewarded. Consumer trust in financial services providers is in tatters. The market has been hit by a spate of … Continue reading →