I am sometimes warned by economist friends that analogies between the economics of a household and the economics of a state are inherently suspect. Politicians may like to say that, like any good housewife, a government needs to balance its books. Economists say that it’s a bit more complicated than that.

The trouble is that while all such analogies may be flawed, they are also inevitable. Economics is complicated and abstract. Voters and politicians inevitably translate these abstractions into everyday terms. There is little point in trying to stop them. Read more