Martin McGrath
Welcome to my website. I intend to use this space to hold forth on things like politics, books, technology, films and anything else that interests or irritates me.
You can also use this site to see examples of some of the work I've done as journalist, writer and designer. I'm available for freelance work and my rates are competitive and negotiable for good causes.
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Tag Archives: economics
REVIEW: CAPITAL IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY BY THOMAS PIKETTY
I was just reminded of this after a random comment on Twitter (hi @redrichie). I wrote this review back in 2014 for an editor who, in the end, never used it. The row over inequality hasn’t moved on much and, … Continue reading
MARK FERGUSON IS BEING WRONG ABOUT KEYNES AND BUDGET SURPLUSES
Mark Ferguson seemed like a decent, thoughtful bloke who did good work as editor of LabourList, so I was disappointed when he announced he was going to work for Liz Kendall’s campaign. I was even more disappointed today when he … Continue reading
FRIDAY’S WORDS OF WISDOM: THE NEW FEW BY FERDINAND MOUNT
The blurb in the back of The New Few (or a Very British Oligarchy) by Ferdinand Mount (Simon & Schuster, 2012) rather modestly describes the author as a former columnist for The Spectator, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Times, editor of … Continue reading
Posted in Friday Words of Wisdom
Tagged books, economics, friday wisdom, Politics
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FRIDAY’S WORDS OF WISDOM: THE UPSIDE OF IRRATIONALITY BY DAN ARIELY
Dan Ariely is probably the best known voice in the popularization of behavioural economics. Behavioural economics represents the most significant challenge to the ideas of classical economic theorists built around notions of more-or-less perfectly rational individuals who calculate and diligently … Continue reading
Posted in Friday Words of Wisdom
Tagged economics, friday wisdom, Politics, review
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FRIDAY’S WORDS OF WISDOM: WHAT MONEY CAN’T BUY BY MICHAEL J SANDEL
Michael J Sandel opens What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2012) with a list (3-5) of some novel items that can be bought: In California prisoners can pay $82 a night for better, … Continue reading
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Tagged books, economics, friday wisdom, philosophy, Politics, review, reviews
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FRIDAY’S WORDS OF WISDOM: BEYOND OUTRAGE BY ROBERT REICH
Robert Reich has been banging on about the risks to advanced economies of increasing levels of inequality for longer than most. The Work of Nations (published in 1991 and the book that got him headhunted by Bill Clinton’s campaign and, … Continue reading
Posted in Blog reviews, Blogging, Friday Words of Wisdom
Tagged books, economics, friday wisdom, Politics
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FRIDAY’S WORDS OF WISDOM: END THIS DEPRESSION NOW! BY PAUL KRUGMAN
I am slightly worried, given the brightly coloured cover of this book and the snappy title (screaming exclamation mark and all), that Paul Krugman’s End This Depression Now! (Melrose Road Partners, 2012) is going to end up in the hands … Continue reading
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Tagged books, economics, friday wisdom, Politics
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FRIDAY’S WORDS OF WISDOM: A COUNTRY IS NOT A COMPANY BY PAUL KRUGMAN

A Country is Not a Company by Paul Krugman, (Harvard Business School Classics, 2009) is a brief essay that highlights the fallacy behind the notion that success in business automatically provides individuals with the insight necessary contribute advice towards the … Continue reading
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Tagged books, economics, friday wisdom, Politics
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FRIDAY’S WORDS OF WISDOM: WHY SOME THINGS SHOULD NOT BE FOR SALE BY DEBRA SATZ
Why Some Things Should Not Be For Sale by Debra Satz is a work of political philosophy that critiques the assumptions that underlie much modern economic theory and the implications of those assumptions in the application of markets to real … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Friday Words of Wisdom
Tagged books, economics, friday wisdom, philosophy, Politics
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FRIDAY’S WORDS OF WISDOM: ZOMBIE ECONOMICS BY JOHN QUIGGIN
Despite the garish cover and silly title, John Quiggin’s Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk Among Us (Princeton University Press, 2010) is a book with a serious and timely intent – to rescue our societies from the disastrous effects … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Friday Words of Wisdom
Tagged books, economics, friday wisdom, Politics
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