Food for thought
Have you ever wondered why kangaroo burgers don't feature widely on British menus? The answer is that just as countries’ economies have developed differently, so have their national cuisines
A poor view of poverty
Many people wish there was a nicer model of economic development than captalism. In reality, the best thing they can do is encourage Western firms to raise their standards.
Peak performance
The idea of rational profit- and utility maximisation is prominent in economics, but was challenged by Herbert Simon, a winner of the Nobel Prize in economics who died in February. Instead Simon emphasised the idea of bounded rationality in economics. This article explains why that approach deserves to survive its author.
Relativism rules
Seemingly conflicting theories about economics and business may in fact just illustrate different aspects of an issue. It is often pointless to look for a single explanation of a successful business operation or economic behaviour in general. The post-modernist idea that scientific truths are not objective facts captures something very important about the nature of social science
An object lesson in prevarication: Oxford University
Oxford University is still one the world's greatest academic institutions. To rise to fresh challenges in the twenty first century it must begin to address the ineffectiveness of its proceedings.
The Management of the University of Oxford…. Facing the Future
John resigned as Director of Oxford University's Said Business School in July 2000. A year and half later, he breaks his silence to talk about some of the frustrations of attempting to help the university face up to the challenges of the twenty first century.
Dr Clarendon
Dr Clarendon, an expert on the Management of Decline, provides a more light-hearted account of John's views on the state of Oxford University.
David Howell book review: Prospect magazine
The Edge of Now: David Howell, Macmillan 2000, Prospect Magazine.
One of the problems faced by economists is that everyone knows about...
Stretching the figures
“Do the math” has become the mantra of a generation of consultants and investment bankers. The new economy, they claim, requires new principles of valuation. But the rules of logic hold even in cyberspace, and so do the principles of economics. Profits are hard to earn in competitive businesses, and markets that are not competitive are usually regulated.
Omens brightening in India and China
A brief history of business in the 21st Century