John Kay

Some economists believe there is a deep underlying structure from which laws of economic behaviour that are universal in time and space can be deduced. I think that search is a wild goose chase.

Economic crystal ball-gazing remains unscientific. We project current preoccupations with exaggerated speed and to an exaggerated degree and forget that our preoccupations change.

The blunt truth is that free markets are not a particularly efficient system for allocating resources. They are just – like democracy – more efficient than other systems and – unlike democracy – more innovative than other systems.

Pluralism is the mark of intellectual seriousness: recognition of the force of a wide range of arguments with which one does not agree.

John describes the vital role that pain – the gift no-one wants – plays in the evolution of business and finance.

If we are persistently irrational, perhaps the behaviour is not irrational.

Starting from a flawed productivity comparison, John highlights the difficulties in interpreting economic statistics.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of our successful escape from extinction by the Tunguska meteorite, John examines the economics of the end of the world.

On 25 June, John offered a bottle of champagne for the best word for the opposite of a market bubble. This week, he reviews readers’ many entries and announces the winner

Bubbles can be downward as well as up. A new term is required.