Of ants and omelettes
David Beckham would find it hard to explain the physics behind his free-kicks. It can be equally difficult to analyse the reasons why some firms are more successful than others
Citizen Keynes
Looking for a lesson in economic behaviour? Put down your textbooks, and head off to the cinema or video store.
Perpetually unsettled
The seeds of Argentina’s economic downfall were sewn early in the nation’s history. The distribution of land rights caused political and economic problems that would eventually cripple the country
On John Kay’s Bookshelf – Archive page
Books that John has reviewed in the past...
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
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
Waldfogel’s unwanted gift
Can conventional economic theory be extended to understanding Christmas gifts? Maybe it can, but this would require a more subtle understanding of human behavour than the idea of rational economic man. This article shows that we do not simply value gifts in terms of the cost of the purchase.
All hands to the pumps
Raising prices may seem an effective way to resolve a fuel shortage. But economists should learn to value solidarity.
Clusters, connectivity and Kevin Bacon
Building a monopoly on the back of network externalities is possible, but only by ignoring the complex reality of human relations.