Time for joined-up thinking to help councils

Universities think. Local authorities do. Let's create a space where the two can meet and come up with better ideas. Both benefit, and ultimately, so will the taxpayer who funds it all.

Austerity, Apple and America: what we all learned this week

It's all about tax havens.

Our €20bn social welfare black hole is a mystery beyond comprehension

Space elevators and social welfare. Connected, I promise you.

Investment in pre-school year needs to add up

Extending a free childcare programme for another year makes sense for society long term. The trick will be paying for it in the short term. But we can fix that, too.

Merkel won't spend money like there's no tomorrow – it's not in her interests

Thinking through some of the implications of Angela getting her spend on for Europe. Lots of positives (hey, I'm a post-Keynesian economist) but a lot of negatives. Considering the political economy of the situation rather than the pure fiscal argument alone, it's not hard to see why the Germans whipping out the cheque book won't be in our futures even after their Autumn elections.

One in Berlin, and one here at UL in August.

There's a lot of momentum around this set of ideas now, these workshops exist to push the field further faster.

We will have to change meaning of 'elderly' to defuse pension time bomb

Why thinking about the future now makes a lot more sense, and why we need national institutions charged with thinking this way.

FF forgiven? So it's back to business as usual

Why we need to focus on the larger issues, not the anecdotal, and personal, stories of the day. We are missing the bigger picture.

At last, the EU's policy worm is beginning to turn

Austerity alone just won't do it. Also: pain cake.