The Brexit vote and others highlight the strength of the ‘desirability bias’

In a democracy you just have to take the majority view on the chin. Or do you?

Neither leader has shown reason to believe they are fit to run the country

Well-run countries should expect to see frequent changes of direction

Dominant corporate players thrive but such efficiency has a high cost for workers

We often scrutinise numbers with a forensic eye without asking what they represent

What most consumer finance needs is for key information to be made simple and salient

We Brits scoff at the French work ethic, but they get more done in less time

Statistical quirks mean outstanding performances tend to be shortlived

Ironically workers move jobs and home less frequently than before

If we imagine restrictive migration policies apply to our lives, we see their flaws

There is certainly a deal to be done, but wishful thinking will not deliver it

In the hunt for productivity, the revolutionary long shot is worth the cost and risk

On any piece of policy, the typical voter does not understand what is at stake

‘Can a society really want anything coherent? Arrow’s impossibility theorem drives a stake through the very idea’

‘This feels like an important moment. Fake news is not prevalent, but it could become so’

‘The simplest economies tend to be the most unequal; the more sophisticated ones are more equal’

‘In the case of VW, transparency was the enemy: regulators should have been vaguer about the emissions test to prevent cheating’

‘If I’m cruising along in a complacent bubble, I badly need someone to explain what I’m doing wrong’

‘Trade’s winners may take their good fortune for granted while the losers are acutely aware of what they’ve lost’

What if, as you hurl your own steering wheel out of the window, you notice your rival has done exactly the same?

‘After the system has been installed, both plumber and economist must tinker with it as leaks and blockages become apparent’

‘Noticing the good news as well as the bad is not just reassuring — it’s also essential for making reasoned policies’

‘When you’re trying to find an email needle in your archive haystack, search works at least as well’

‘Christmas, like life, is full of rituals that seem to make our lives richer and more enjoyable’