Monthly Archives: August 2015

The healthy ageing challenge

The difference between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy might sound like something that is only of interest to healthcare professionals but it actually lies at the heart  of much of our political debate. Questions about the sustainability of public finances, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Gender equity and the demographic time-bomb

Another of those memes that refuses to die is the ageing society as an exclusively European or western problem. Demographic change is a global phenomenon. It may be at its most advanced in Europe but the rest of the world is … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Bank bailouts: Why the US made a profit and the UK won’t

At the end of last year the US government announced that it had made a profit from its bank bailouts. The UK, on the other hand, probably won’t. So what did the Americans do right and we do wrong? As Leonid Bershidsky … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

British beer – better than it has ever been

London is recovering from a week of beer festivals. The long-standing Great British Beer Festival has been joined in recent years by the Craft Beer Festival and London Beer City, a programme of mini-festivals taking place in pubs across the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Another tsar we don’t need

The government has appointed Michelle Mone as its start-up tsar. Presumably that’s different from a self-employment tsar because we’ve already got one of those. The government thinks we need more startups and it has asked Ms Mone to help and encourage more people to start businesses, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

The fattening of the rush hour

Five years ago I asked whether people were starting work earlier. Based on my own observations and anecdotes from others, it seemed to me that roads and railways were packed with commuters at times of the morning when they used … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

Why a richer Africa means more migrants

Britain’s Home Secretary Theresa May and France’s Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve say that the only long-term solution to Europe’s migration problem is to stop so many Africans wanting to come here in the first place: Ultimately, the long-term answer to … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments