Tim Harford | Financial Times

Friday, 18 September, 2020

Undercover EconomistEconomy

Can you put a number on it? How to understand the world

‘If we are willing to go with our brains rather than our guts, any of us can think clearly about things’

Friday, 11 September, 2020

Coronavirus treatment

How quick and dirty Covid tests can help end the weariness

A mass programme is needed because we cannot wait for an effective vaccine

Thursday, 10 September, 2020

FT Magazine

Statistics, lies and the virus: Tim Harford’s five lessons from a pandemic

In an age of disinformation, the value of rigorous data has never been more evident

Friday, 4 September, 2020

Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics

Live events are back, but new rules make for thin performances

Lockdowns called for ingenuity to meet the challenge of staging in a post-Covid world

Friday, 28 August, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic

A bluffer’s guide to surviving Covid-19

Simply existing in a country where the virus is suppressed but circulating is not so risky

Friday, 21 August, 2020

Education

Don’t rely on algorithms to make life-changing decisions

The shambles of UK exam grading caused distress to pupils and has a lesson to be learnt

Friday, 14 August, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic

We won’t remember much of what we did in the pandemic

There is good reason that we have such vivid memories of our holidays

Friday, 24 July, 2020

Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics

We fall in love with the new but not everything old is obsolete

Cutting edge technology can blind us to the enduring value of workhorses like the 747

Friday, 17 July, 2020

Behavioural economics

Self-fulfilling prophecies can be harnessed for good

But some predictions are false, no matter how much we wish they were true

Promoted Content

Friday, 10 July, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic

‘Young pessimists’ and ‘old optimists’ differ on virus risks

Vivid stories swamp probabilities of Covid-19 infection — and young and old have different views

Friday, 3 July, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic

Covid-19 scars may fade faster than we think

We do learn from bitter experience, of course. But we also have a great talent for forgetting

Friday, 26 June, 2020

Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics

The risk of harm and the greater good

Randomised trials can be a danger but even when innocuous they can make us uneasy. Why?

Friday, 19 June, 2020

Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics

What countries can — and can’t — learn from each other

The lack of co-ordination on the response to Covid-19 has cost lives

Friday, 12 June, 2020

Undercover EconomistEducation

The cost of keeping schools closed will be dreadful

Reversing lockdown is perilous, but we cannot sacrifice our children’s education indefinitely

Thursday, 11 June, 2020

FT Magazine

Tim Harford: can the pandemic help us fix our technology problem?

The history of innovation has plenty of lessons on how to fight the corona crisis and transform our future

Friday, 5 June, 2020

Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics

The economy won’t snap back after Covid-19

Activities that were already marginal are likely to struggle to return

Friday, 29 May, 2020

Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics

The case for libertarian lockdowns — ‘don’t be a dickhead’

Laws cannot cover every situation but common sense is not always enough

Friday, 22 May, 2020

Undercover EconomistCoronavirus pandemic

Reopening the economy will divide societies

The virus picks us off unevenly, and an effective response must recognise that

Friday, 15 May, 2020

Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics

No one walks by the injured, despite the virus

A bloody if minor accident in the middle of the pandemic provides valuable lessons

Friday, 8 May, 2020

Undercover EconomistEconomic statistics

The detective work required to ease lockdown

We need more and better surveys from across the globe to help us take the right course

Friday, 1 May, 2020

Undercover EconomistClimate change

Saving the planet demands sacrifices just as Covid-19 does

We could crush livelihoods to prevent ecosystem collapse — but that would be a last resort

Friday, 24 April, 2020

Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics

How to stop economies falling like Humpty Dumpty

Economic distress is contagious too and we need a plan to stop its uncontrolled spread

Friday, 17 April, 2020

Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics

In a crisis we mainly keep calm and are kinder than ever

In truth, most people act in the public interest during difficult times

Thursday, 16 April, 2020

FT Magazine

Tim Harford: why we fail to prepare for disasters

Catastrophes such as coronavirus are all too predictable. What makes us do nothing in the face of danger?

Friday, 10 April, 2020

Undercover EconomistPersonal productivity

For peace of mind, let go of impossible to-do lists

The blessed release of forgetting comes when you know a task is complete

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