A message from Macbeth, and Adam Smith
The invisible hand is the most widely used metaphor in economics. What did Adam Smith (or William Shakespeare, who coined the phrase) really mean?
Vodafone triumphs, Britain picks up the bill
So farewell, Sir Chris. The imminent departure of Sir Christopher Gent calls for an examination of the rise of Vodafone.
Big egos inflate executive pay, not markets
When genuine market operations are absent executive pay is seen as a measure of value rather than just a financial reward
The real culprits in Europe’s pensions crisis
The problem of the European pension gap cannot be tackled by the kind of financial engineering proposed by the European Financial Services Round Table. This is not the moment in history to argue that private pension funding is necessarily superior to state provision.
Profits without honour
The bullish 1990's market lead companies like Enron and WorldCom to strive for unrealistic earnings growth - eventually by any means necessary. Their stories show that shareholder value should be an end, and not the aim of good businesses.
Taming the public sector hybrid
There is too much inconsistency in the way the UK's privatised industries are managed and financed. A new and comprehensive plan is needed.
Stakeholding misconceived
Encouraging employee share ownership doesn't create a "stakeholder society". Instead, it can lead to disasters like Enron, where workers have too much riding on the success of one firm.
On John Kay’s Bookshelf – Archive page
Books that John has reviewed in the past...
Get back on the rails
Whilst both the government and the market plays ever closer attention to the dismal performance of Railtrack it is worth asking why a separate track authority was needed in the first place. Given that the financial case is so compelling, how might Railtrack now be renationalised so as to achieve autonomy with real accountability?
The customer knows best
The management of public services is a key issue for the next five years. The process of re-appointing Tony Blair as Britain's CEO gives some pointers to how it should be done.