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The Productivity Puzzle

Productivity growth in the UK economy has lagged behind that of our major trading partners. We will examine a number of possible explanations ranging from the role of finance to the employment of physical and human capital.

The Policy Responses

We need to think of economic policy as some path co-ordinating monetary, financial and fiscal policy. The economic landscape that has been outlined implies some new cyclical and structural economic policy options facing the UK. These concepts will be discussed in this final lecture of the year.

Nice Work If You Can Get It: Life as a Children's Heart Surgeon

Few people are lucky enough to save lives or change them for the better. Few also experience the horror of losing lives or worsening them. In this lecture I want to share some of the astonishing experiences of a paediatric heart surgeon.

The External Financing Position

For most of the period since we have had records, the UK has held a positive net international investment positions versus the rest of the world. But the UK is now a net debtor. What are the reasons for this extraordinary reversal and what does it mean for the exchange rate?

Is Humanity Naturally Good?

Can we give a purely scientific account of human nature in terms of its physical, chemical and biological components. Richard Dawnkins' 'The Selfish Gene' is considered to see how a scientific narrative about selfish genes might correlate with a theological narrative about sin.