My big decision

November 6th, 2009 1:43pm

Grant Thornton did a photo-shoot and audio interview with me a few months ago about “My Big Decision”. I told them I don’t believe in big decisions, but for all three die-hard Tim Harford fans out there, here’s the interview.

Cass Talks - me on Dear Undercover Economist

October 30th, 2009 10:23am

Alex Ritson of Cass Business School interviews me about Dear Undercover Economist.

Buy my book or the hedgehog gets it…

October 18th, 2009 10:39am

Here’s the hedgehog. Here’s the book. Thanks to NPR and Planet Money for inviting me on!

Talk on Thursday at One Alfred Place

October 13th, 2009 12:33pm

For those who haven’t been able to get tickets to my talks at LSE last week or Cass Business School tomorrow, here’s yet another chance! I’m speaking about the ideas in Dear Undercover Economist at One Alfred Place on Thursday, 6.30pm for 7pm.

One Alfred Place is normally members only, but they have agreed to open the talk to non-members.

Green innovation

July 6th, 2009 9:49am

I’m presenting Radio 4’s Analysis this week, and asking: “Given that so many people think the government should encourage low-carbon technologies, what should the government actually do?” We talk to Professor Sir David King, Suzanne Scotchmer, Eric Beinhocker, James Cameron, Mark Williamson, David Rooney and Cameron Hepburn. Also, there are Spitfires and John Harrison’s clock. I learned a few things…

The program is tonight on BBC Radio 4 at 8.30pm BST, repeated on Sunday evening, and should also be downloadable here for a week.

NPR Podcast: The economics of cheating on your wife

July 2nd, 2009 9:11am

I did an interview with NPR’s “Planet Money” about what economics can tell you about infidelity. We also covered speed dating, domestic violence and changes in economic methods from Gary Becker to Stevenson and Wolfers. You can listen on the Planet Money site.

Book talk in Pages of Hackney

June 3rd, 2009 7:23pm

Next Wednesday, 10 June, at 7pm, I’ll be on home turf in Hackney, talking about “The Logic of Life” and perhaps a little about my forthcoming book too. Pages of Hackney is an intimate venue, which would be a big attraction if I were Mick Jagger. But it should be fun: I understand that if you buy a book, the wine and the talk are free. Otherwise, the wine and the talk are £3. Can’t be bad.

How to be a smarter saver

May 18th, 2009 8:04am

Not very long ago, Americans were terrible savers. In 2007, the average person put aside 60 cents of every $100, or .6% per paycheck. However, the current economic downturn has shocked us into depositing more at the bank. As of February, the personal savings rate was more than 4%. That’s a big improvement, but it’s still half of 1980s levels, when Americans routinely socked away 10% of their paychecks. Why is saving so hard? And how can we be smarter savers?

Behavioral economists—researchers who mix psychology and economics—have uncovered three reasons why people find it so difficult to save. The first is temptation: Although we often later regret it, we just can’t resist spending. The second is lack of understanding: Our brains can’t quite grasp the profitability of saving. The third is optimism: We believe that everything will work out, even if we don’t save…

That is me over at Parade magazine, by all means read it all.

TimTracker

April 26th, 2009 3:16pm

Here.

Forbes: Trial, error, and the elite

April 24th, 2009 2:28pm

For years, we were told that Wall Street attracted the very best. That was why American investment banks were the envy of the world; that was why stratospheric salaries and bonuses were essential. Other financial centers, such as London, fought tooth and nail to attract the same elite. They were worth it, we were told: If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
That argument seems hollow now, but it was always a misunderstanding of the way financial markets work–indeed, the way the whole growth miracle of capitalism works. It’s not that financial markets themselves are a sham: There are indeed very smart investment bankers in the world, and some of them help to make us all richer by providing a bridge between those who could use money and those who have money. It’s just that this is not the whole story.
The fact of the matter is: The market system does not work because of the incredibly smart people in charge. (The Soviets had some pretty smart people.) The market system works because nobody is in charge.
Even when markets surround us, we prefer to forget this. It is easier to focus on personalities, so the financial press like to talk about the leadership of great CEOs. When things go wrong, we search for fools and frauds: a Dick Fuld or worse, a Bernie Madoff. We think that the elite betrayed us or that the elite wasn’t as smart as everyone thought. Politicians–temperamentally inclined to believe in the “great man” theory of everything–tend to agree…

Continued at Forbes.com