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CEP in the News 2005
The New York Times
According to the economist Richard Layard, author of "Happiness: Lessons From a New Science", humans cling to the notion that happiness and money are linked. One quotation in Professor Layard's book is credited to Woody Allen: "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." Professor Layard points out that the research on this topic suggests that we would all be a lot happier if we understood the true effect of money on our psyches.
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| Date: | Tuesday 5 July 2005 |
| Time: | 6:30 pm |
| Venue: | Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE - See Map |
| Speakers: | Professor Lord Layard and Dr Raj Persaud |
A debate at the London School of Economics between one of Britain's leading economists, Lord Layard, and one of the country's foremost psychiatrist, Dr Raj Persaud.
Related Links
See the CEP Special Events pages for further details
BBC Radio World Service
Europe Today
Augustin De Coulon spoke on immigration discussing migrant workers in Europe. How do they benefit the economy and what does the future look like?
This broadcast took place on June 30, 2005.
Link to broadcast
Related Publications
Immigrants at Retirement: Stay/Return or 'Va-et-Vient'
Francois-Charles Wolff, Augustin de Coulon, May 2005
Paper No' CEPDP0691
Self-Selection and the Performance of Return Migrants: the Source Country Perspective.
Matloob Piracha, Augustin de Coulon, July 2003
Paper No' CEPDP0576
I.O.L.
New Study Highlights Trend of 'Mamma's Boys'
News article discussing 'Why Do Most Italian Young Men Live with their Parents? Intergenerational Transfers and Household Structure' by Marco Manacorda and Enrico Moretti
This article appeared in the South African I.O.L Online on 28 June, 2005
Link to article.
Related Publications
Paper No' CEPRDP05116, June 2005
Previously published as CEP Discussion Paper No 536 in June 2002
The Times
The 60-second business book
Succint, "Pass Notes" style look at Richard Layard's book Happiness - Lessons from a new science
This article appeared in The Times
on June 23, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Links:
The Happiness research programme website.
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
Cordis News
Outsourcing can be good for Europe, finds report
The EU drive to stop outsourcing and encourage companies to locate their research laboratories in Europe could be counterproductive, according to a new UK report. According to researchers from the LSE's Centre for Economic Performance, outsourcing research and development activities to overseas locations can boost innovation and productivity.
This article appeared in Cordis News
on June 23, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications:
'Boffins in the USA: the boost to UK productivity'in CentrePiece Spring 2005
The Times
A Good Week
An article which refers to research by Nick Bloom and John Van Reenen of the CEP plus Stephen Dorgan, John Dowdy, Tom Rippin of McKinsey & Company which suggests that US firms are on average the world's best managed while the UK's are the worst.
This article appeared in The Times
on June 23, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications:
'Management Practices Across Firms and Nations' by Nick Bloom, Stephen Dorgan, John Dowdy, Tom Rippin and John Van Reenen
LSE Research Laboratory
Research Lab Workshop Day
This year, the annual Research Lab Workshop Day will take place on Wednesday, June 22nd, and will be followed by a Summer Party.
This will be a good opportunity for everyone to hear a variety of short paper sessions throughout the day and to find out about the work going on in other research centres and programmes in the Lab. There will be plenary and parallel sessions.
The programme is now available, with papers (in Adobe PDF format) ready to download, where available.
See The Research Lab Workshop page for further details.
The Daily Mail
Mugging the middle classes
Reference to research by Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Steve Machin that reveals that the ending of educational selection has actually reduced opportunities for the poor and widened the class gulf. The LSE report shows conclusively that the 11-plus was an "escape route" and removing it has undermined social mobility.
This article appeared in The Daily Mail
on June 21, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications:
'Social Mobility in Britain: low and falling'in CentrePiece Spring 2005
Read the Report: Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America, by Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin.
The Guardian
Wheels come off the onion economy
Professor Richard Layard of the London School of Economics says France needs to reform its labour market to encourage the unemployed back to work as quickly as possible with a carrot-and-stick approach, rather than paying them a lot to do nothing for a long time.
This article appeared in The Guardian
on June 20, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications:
'Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market' by Richard Layard, Stephen Nickell and Richard Jackman.
'Tackling Unemployment: Europe’s successes and failures' in CentrePiece Spring 2005
CentrePiece
Poor children ''now less likely to fulfil their potential''
Social mobility in Britain has fallen over recent decades to levels well below those of Canada, Germany and the Nordic countries, according to research published today by LSE. "Children born to poor families are now less likely to break free of their background and fulfil their potential than they were in the past," according to Jo Blanden, LSE's Centre for Economic Performance.
The economists concluded that the strong relationship between family income and educational attainment was a key to understanding Britain's low levels of social mobility.
Countries with high levels of inequality tend to have higher rates of inflation, according to research by Chris Crowe published by the CEP today.
Related Publications:
'Social Mobility in Britain: low and falling'in CentrePiece Spring 2005
'More inequality means higher inflation 'in CentrePiece Spring 2005
The Financial Times
Warning on EU drive to locate R&D labs in Europe
The drive by European Union policymakers to persuade companies to locate their research laboratories in Europe could be counterproductive, according to new research. Outsourcing R&D to overseas locations can boost innovation and productivity. John Van Reenen, director of LSE's Centre for Economic Performance, said the economy received a big boost from the US-based research laboratories of British companies during the 1990s.
This article appeared in The Financial Times
on June 20, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications:
'Boffins in the USA: the boost to UK productivity'in CentrePiece Spring 2005
CEP Special Event
Management Practices across Firms & Nations
New research from the Centre for Economic Performance (LSE) and McKinsey & Company uses an innovative new approach to survey management practices in more than 700 manufacturing firms in France, Germany, the UK and the United States. The research finds that:
Management practices across countries
US firms are on average the best managed, with the Germans second, the French third and the UK worst.
US multinational subsidiaries based in the UK, France and Germany are also better managed than either domestic firms or other non-US multinational subsidiaries.
Superior US management performance seems to be driven by more product market competition, higher levels of worker and management skills, and lower levels of labour regulation.
The differences in management practices between the UK and the United States can explain 10-15 per cent of the productivity gap between the two countries.
Countries have distinct management 'cultures' - with Germans firms excelling at shopfloor management and US firms excelling at people management.
Management practices across firms
There is a huge spread of management practices across firms in every country. Some UK firms use world-class management practices while others are among the worst in the whole sample.
Well-managed firms do perform significantly better, with higher levels of productivity, profitability, growth rates and market values.
Competition appears to be a primary driver of good management practices. It seems to act by driving badly managed firms out of the market, but it does not appear to make managers work harder.
A firm's age also seems to matter with very old firms having the lowest average scores for quality of management practices, particularly those in uncompetitive industries where competition does not weed out underperformers.
Related Links:
Nick Bloom, Stephen Dorgan, John Dowdy, Tom Rippin and John Van Reenen Management Practices across Firms & Nations
FinFacts, Ireland
How Western manufacturers can better compete with China, India and low cost countries
Government intervention to protect manufacturers against competition might not be the remedy for Western economies losing industries and jobs to China, India and other low-cost countries. Corporate performance in manufacturing is strongly linked to the quality of management techniques - and competitive intensity is needed to stimulate the spread of best practice, according to new research from McKinsey and the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE.
This article appeared on FinFacts, Ireland June 12, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Links:
Nick Bloom, Stephen Dorgan, John Dowdy, Tom Rippin and John Van Reenen Management Practices across Firms & Nations
The Economist
A Question of Management
Why do so many badly run companies survive?If economists are to explain company performance in terms of management practices, these must somehow be quantified. But how do you measure the "quality" of the layout of a shop floor, communication with workers or incentives for employees? An intriguing new study by Nick Bloom and John Van Reenen, of the London School of Economics, and Stephen Dorgan, John Dowdy and Tom Rippin, all consultants at McKinsey, attempts to do just that, and goes on to examine why badly run firms survive.
This article appeared in The Economist, June 09, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Links:
Nick Bloom, Stephen Dorgan, John Dowdy, Tom Rippin and John Van Reenen Management Practices across Firms & Nations
The Globalist
Richard Freeman
Profile of Richard Freeman, director of labour studies at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and senior research fellow in Labour Markets at LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance, and visiting professor at LSE.
This article appeared on The Globalist June 06, 2005. Link to article.
International Herald Tribune
Vote taken in stride outside Continent
Professor Richard Layard, economist from LSE, has recently published a book in which he examines the effects of government tax, employment and other policies on the personal happiness of ordinary people. No link
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
academics.de
Konsequenzen fur Unternehmen aus der Einfuhrung des Bachelors
Die Einführung des sechssemestrigen Bachelors als Regelabschluß könnte erhebliche Umwälzungen im deutschen Ausbildungs- und Wirtschaftssystem zur Folge haben. Diese Schlußfolgerung legt jedenfalls eine deutsch-britische Studie nahe.
This article appeared in the academics.de on June 01, 2005
Link to article.
The Financial Times
Well-paid career is no longer simply a matter of course
Research by Stephen Machin and Anna Vignoles,
LSE, concludes that increased education supply has not resulted in falling wage
differentials between more- and less-educated people.With reference to the book "What's the Good of Education? The Economics of Education in the UK" , edited by Stephen Machin and Anna Vignoles, published by Princeton University Press. The book launch on Wednesday 8th June 2005.
This article appeared in The Financial Times May 31, 2005.
Link to article
Related Links
Centre for the Economics of Education
The Times Educational Supplement
Esteem will drive the merits of vocation
Despite the disappointment of the educational world with the previous Government's response to Tomlinson, in the vocational field there is an important job to do.
Hilary Steedman and John West on how esteem for vocational courses has to be earned, not just conferred.
This article appeared on The Times Educational Supplement May 27, 2005.
Link to article.
The Press Association
Public school is still key for legal high-fliers
The legal profession is still dominated by people who went to public school, according to a report published today. Education charity the Sutton Trust said the situation had not significantly improved in the last 15 years. Research by LSE published last month showed that social mobility has declined in Britain over the last 30 years and Britain, together with the US, has the lowest mobility of the eight industrial countries surveyed.
With reference to work by Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin.
This article appeared in The Press Association
on May 24, 2005.
No Link
Related Publications
Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin, Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America
The Scotsman
Labour has unleashed the dogs of class war
Recent research from LSE demonstrates that the annihilation of the grammar schools severely reduced the opportunities for the poorest in society to work their way up. As a result, Britain now has lower social mobility than comparable western countries.
With reference to work by Jo Blanden, Alissa Goodman, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin.
This article appeared in The Scotsman
on May 24, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin, Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America
The Sunday Times
Relax, there is no need to be gloomy about jobs
According to a research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the labour market might be starting to slow down after over a decade of prosperity. A rise in unemployment would have devastating consequences, especially after such a long phase of sustained growth, as pointed out by Richard Layard, Stephen Nickell and Richard Jackman in their latest book 'Unemployment' (Oxford University Press).
This article appeared in The Sunday Times
on May 22, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Links
Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market by Richard Layard, Stephen Nickell, and Richard Jackman.
The Observer
Let''s work to make Britain sane
As stated in a paper by LSE Professor Richard Layard for a seminar at No. 10, 16 per cent of adults of working age have a mental illness.
If the state wants to cut the huge numbers on incapacity benefit it must first change our stressful working culture.
This article appeared in The Observer
on May 22, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Links
Richard Layard: Happiness
Associated Press/Forbes.Com
IBM Shares Fall on Job Cut Announcement
International Business Machines Corp. said Thursday it will be cutting jobs in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and France as part of a restructuring that will slash between 10,000 and 13,000 positions, mostly in Europe.
Linda Yueh, a former lawyer and an economics fellow at the London School of Economics, said the job cuts in Europe will be more involved because of the required negotiations.
"In Europe, people have rights to continue working - in other words, they are more protected and they can't be fired without a just cause," she said.
This article appeared in Forbes.Com May 10, 2005
Link to article
New York Review of Books
A Mind of His Own
In this illuminating review of 'John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics' by
Richard Parker, review author Jeff Madrick cites Richard Layard's new book, 'Happiness' as an example of expanding psychological research within economics which demonstrates higher GDP does not yield more happiness - a view central to Galbraith's 'The Affluent Society.'
This article appeared in The New York Review of Books May 05, 2005
Link to article
Related Links
Happiness - Lessons from a new science by Richard Layard
John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics by Richard Parker
BBC News Online
Challenge of 'Hidden Unemployed'
Inactivity is one of the biggest problems the Welsh economy faces, yet it has not become a major issue in this general election campaign.
Giulia Faggio of the Centre for Economic Performance, LSE comments.
This article appeared in BBC News Online
on May 03, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Giulia Faggio and Stephen Nickell, Inactivity Among Prime Age Men in the UK, CEP Discussion Paper No' 673, February 2005.
The Western Mail
Education, education, education - what rubbish!
"According to research by the London School of Economics, Britain and the United States have the worst social inequality in a sample of eight rich nations."
Letter published in The Western Mail, with reference to Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America, by Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin.
This Letter appeared in The Western Mail May 02, 2005.
Link to letter.
Read the Report: Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America
BBC News Online
Is increased choice any good?
The issue of choice is now at the centre of the political debate, with Labour and Conservatives both proclaiming their commitment to increasing choice in health and education.
Professor Steve Machin of the London School of Economics warns that there is relatively little evidence that competition improves performance in state education.
This article appeared in BBC News Online May 02, 2005.
Link to article.
CNN
Giant aspires to superpower status
While the United States still sets the pace for global markets, there is a growing awareness that, as China's economy expands rapidly, the balance of power is shifting in its direction.
Dr Linda Yueh of the London School of Economics (LSE), says the rising influence of the Chinese economy is causing a fundamental rethink of the implications for the world, and for China's neighbours.
This article appeared on CNN April 29, 2005.
Link to article
Related Links
CNN Eye on China
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
''Bachelor senkt Qualifikationsniveau''; Vergleichende Studie über verkürzten Hochschulabschluß in Großbritannien und Deutschland
Ein Vergleich mit Großbritannien zeigt, daß die Einführung des Bachelorabschlusses das Qualifikationsniveau der Hochschulabsolventen verringert. Gemeinsam mit der "London School of Economics" hat die Fachhochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft in Berlin 90 Unternehmen in Großbritannien und Deutschland befragt. Darunter waren Banken, Handel, Automobilindustrie und Softwareentwicklung. Grundlage der Befragungen war ein strukturierter Fragebogen - für den Vergleich der Hochschulbildung wurden die Informatikstudiengänge gewählt.
With reference to 'The Impact on Firms of ICT Skill-Supply Strategies: An Anglo-German Comparison' by Jim Foreman, Hilary Steedman, Karin Wagner, June 2003
This article appeared in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung April 25, 2005.
No direct link to article
Related Links
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Online Paper
Related Publications
The Impact on Firms of ICT Skill-Supply Strategies: An Anglo-German Comparison, CEP DP 0575
The Boston Business Journal
MIT's Daron Acemoglu wins 2005 Clark medal
Professor Daron Acemoglu of the Department of Economics, MIT has received the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal, awarded every two years to an American economist under the age of 40 for making a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge.
Professor Acemoglu gained his PhD from The London School of Economics and was associate member of the CEP.
This article appeared in The Boston Business Journal April 25, 2005.
Link to article.
LoWER Publications
Low-Wage Employment in Europe: Perspectives for Improvement - edited by I. Marx and W. Salverda
Employment in Europe is rising, but not fast enough. Yet, it would appear that there remains an enormous potential for job growth. Europe is known to have a massive employment deficit relative to the United States. It is often said that this is because economic activiy in the United states is more geared towards labourintensive services than in Europe. Americans are thought to buy far more financial and personal care services, as well as more domestic support and gardening. but is this perception entirely correct? How far is the greater service orientation of the US economy really a source of its higher employment rate? And would such service jobs be desirable jobs? Many service workers in the United States are said to be "working poor". The concern in much of Europe is that the opening up of low-paid service jobs could undermine Europe's social model, as well as do little to enhance social inclusion and gender equality.
Includes "Measuring Labour Market Performance on Jobs and Pay at the Individual and Household Level" by Paul Gregg and Jonathan Wadsworth.
Related links
AIAS Publications
The Guardian
Has Labour brought us German efficiency?
Gordon Brown has made raising Britain's productivity a central aim of Labour's economic policy since 1997, following a long tradition of chancellors who have fretted that the average British worker seems less productive than his or her foreign counterpart. Britain has a problem. The average German works two months less a year than us, but produces nearly as much, according to a new report out today from the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.
"There has been some improvement ... and this has been going on for some time," says CEP head John van Reenen. He says during the late 1990s Britain even managed to keep up with the US. But the gap with the US remains large.
This article appeared in The Guardian, April 25 2005
Link to article
Sutton Trust News Release
Social Mobility In Britain Lower Than Other Advanced Countries and Declining
In a study sponsored by the Sutton Trust, researchers from Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics have compared the life chances of British children with those in other advanced countries, and the results are disturbing.
They have found that social mobility in Britain - the way in which someone's adult outcomes are related to their circumstances as a child - is lower than in Canada, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. And while the gap in opportunities between the rich and poor is similar in Britain and the US, in the US it is at least static, while in Britain it is getting wider.
See the full news release
on April 25, 2005.
Read the Report: Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America, by Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin.
Related articles appeared in:
The Times
on April 25, 2005.
Link to article: Demise of grammar schools leaves poor facing uphill battle
The Daily Telegraph
on April 25, 2005.
Link to article: Poorest pay for failures of state schools
The Guardian
on April 25, 2005.
Link to article: UK low in social mobility league, says charity
The Independent
on April 25, 2005.
Link to article: Britain the land of least opportunity
The Daily Mail
on April 25, 2005.
Link to article: End of grammar schools has helped widen class divisions
The Sun
on April 25, 2005.
Link to article: Rich/poor gap gets wider
The Financial Times
on April 25, 2005.
Link to article:University expansion fails to help the poor, says study
Belfast Telegraph
on April 25,2005.
Education class gap 'is growing'
No Link
Lidove noviny
on April 25,2005
Land of opportunity
No Link Coverage on TV & Radio: Channel 4 News
on April 24, 2005.
Link to special report: Life Changes
The Today Programme, BBC Radio 4
on April 25, 2005.
Link to The Today Programme Website
The Scotsman
Immigration "boosts the UK economy"
The Conservatives' election attack over immigration was further undermined yesterday by an independent study arguing that immigration is beneficial to the UK economy. The study, by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, was critical of all the main parties for pledging to curb the free movement of labour into Britain.
This article appeared in The Scotsman
on April 21, 2005.
Link to article
Related Publications
Jonathan Wadsworth, Immigration: The Evidence from Economic Research, part of the CEP Election Analysis series
ESRC Tender
RLAB wins tender to run ESRC Review of International Data Resources and Needs.
The Review of International Data Resources and Needs is a major, new ESRC project, the findings from which will form the basis for a range of potential new initiatives to support and encourage international and comparative research.
The scope of the review is wide ranging, assessing the international data needs of the research community from all disciplines and institutions from academic bodies and government departments to charities and private consultancies.
The 8 month project will focus upon the nature of the resources required to undertake international and comparative research, in terms of the resources currently available, the quality of such resources and their accessibility.
Winning the tender for the review is a significant recognition of the very high level of international data expertise within the RLAB, its excellence in collaborative research and the quality of the joint research centres' overseas contacts.
The Observer
Happiness? Who needs it?
Happiness, not GDP, still less competitiveness, should be the overriding principle of economic policy, Professor Lord Richard Layard maintains, backing up his proposition with some fascinating statistics from the 'new science'.
Money really can't buy happiness: although Western countries are at least twice as well off as they were 50 years ago, they are no more content.
This article appeared in The Observer April 11, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
The Financial Times
Bail-outs just a way of delaying the inevitable
John Van Reenen, director of the Centre for Economics Performance at LSE, is against the idea of a government helping out a struggling company, like in the case of MG Rover. "Survival is for consumers to decide, not politicians," he says.
This article appeared in The Financial Times April 08, 2005.
Link to article.
BBC Radio 4
The World Tonight
The Economy:The cabinet has met for the last time before the expected general election as newspaper headlines said average incomes have fallen for the first time under Labour - but what does the statistic actually show?
Richard Layard talks about the economy on The World Tonight.
This interview was broadcast on BBC Radio 4
on March 31, 2005.
Listen to the interview (Real Audio needed).
Related Links
The World Tonight, on the BBC website.
The New Statesman
Britain's rich kids do better than ever
Reference to research by Jo Blanden, LSE, Stephen Machin of University College London and Paul Gregg of Bristol University. They compared children to their parents generation.
This article appeared in New Statesman March 21, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Jo Blanden, Alissa Goodman, Paul Gregg, Stephen Machin, Changes in Intergenerational Mobility in Britain Paper No' CEPDP0517, January 2002
The Independent
Education investment fails poorest pupils
A new report by the London School of Economics shows that the government has failed to stop young people from Britain's most deprived boroughs from leaving school with no GCSE passes. The report - "Tackling the Poverty of Opportunity: Developing 'RBS Enterprise Works' for The Prince's Trust" - by Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Shankar Rajagopalan says
millions of pounds worth of government money has failed to stop a new generation of teenagers from the poorest homes leaving school with nothing to show for 11 years of compulsory schooling.
This article appeared in The Independent March 21, 2005.
Link to article.
Also in New Zealand Online.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Download the report from The Prince's Trust website.
Daily Express
Some things money can't buy - do we still know what they are?
Richard Layard of the London School of Economics has written a book entitled: Happiness: Lessons From A New Science, in which he argues that once poverty and discomfort have been eliminated, extra income is much less important than human relationships.
Related Publications Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005
The Observer
Middle classes fill best state school
According to Sir Peter Lampl, a key government adviser on working-class access to independent and leading state schools, the government is to blame for the failure of a four-year project he devised to get more state school pupils into private schools. He also claims that, according to a study by researchers of the London School of Economics, social mobility has declined significantly over the last 30 years and this trend is set to continue.
This article appeared in The Observer March 20, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Jo Blanden, Alissa Goodman, Paul Gregg, Stephen Machin, Changes in Intergenerational Mobility in Britain Paper No' CEPDP0517, January 2002
The Independent
Education Quandary
Are we losing sight of what schools are for? The Government tells them to teach children to be nice to each other. Professor Richard Layard, of the LSE, says they should teach children how to be happy. Is this just more mumbo-jumbo?
Reference to the work of Professor Richard Layard, LSE, that despite growing prosperity, we are no happier than we were 50 years ago. He argues that schools have a role in building individual self-advancement at an early age in people.
This article appeared in The Independent - Education section March 17, 2005.
Link to article.
The Financial Times
Winners and Losers in the Happiness Stakes
The fascinating new book by Richard Layard, the British economist, argues that we should make happiness, not growth, the object of our economic policies. At first sight, there is not a lot of difference - the countries with the highest productivity are also the happiest. But on closer inspection, there are interesting differences.
This article appeared in The Financial Times March 15 2005.
No Direct Link
Progress Seminars
Social Mobility - are some still more equal than others?
Wednesday 16 March 2005, 6.00pmCommittee Room 8, The House of Commons
Ruth Kelly is among the high profile speakers who will address the Progress seminar 'social mobility - are some still more equal than others?' Mike Dixon from the IPPR, Professor Stephen Machin from the Centre of Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, and Barbara Roche MP, will join her in the debate. Parmjit Dhanda MP, vice chair of Progress, will chair the seminar.
Related Links:
The Progress website.
The Guardian
Students of the revolution thriving in France
Eric Maurin, of Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques and Sandra McNally, LSE, investigate the long term effects of 1968 revolutions. Dr McNally and Dr Maurin conclude: "Our study suggests very positive effects of the '1968 events' for affected cohorts and is of contemporary relevance given the current debate in many countries about widening access to higher education."
This article appeared in The Guardian March 09, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Eric Maurin and Sandra McNally, Vive la Révolution! Long Term Effects of 1968 to the Angry Students , Centre for the Economics of Education (CEE) Seminar Paper to be presented on Friday 11 March at the DfES.
For further details see the CEE Seminars page.
Eastern Daily Express
So how happy are we really?
Review of 'Happiness: Lessons From A New Science', the book by LSE Professor Richard Layard in which he argues that, in spite of higher levels of income, we are no happier than we were 50 years ago.
This article appeared in the Eastern Daily Press March 08 2005.
Norfork Eastern Daily Press
So how happy are we really?
Happiness, happiness, the greatest gift that I possess, sang Ken Dodd. And soon you will be able to go and find it. Forget having to go over the rainbow; by 2010 the Government will be able to tell you where the happy places are.
A series of maps of England is to be produced - a so-called happiness index - telling you which areas enjoy the best quality of life, probably based on factors such as employment, marriage, commuting times, environmental quality and stress.
With reference to Richard Layard's new book Happiness: Lessons from a new Science
This article appeared in The Norfork Eastern Daily Press March 08, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
Book Launch
Can We Become Happier?
Wednesday 9th March 2005, 6.30pmOld Theatre, Old Building, LSE
Richard Layard answers tough questions about his new book Happiness: lessons from a new science (Penguin). This offers a vision of a better life, based on the insights of psychology, economics and social philosophy.
Richard Layard was founder-director of the LSE Centre for Economic Performance and intellectual architect of the New Deal for the unemployed.
The event will be chaired by Andrew Marr, the BBC's political editor and author of My Trade: a short history of British journalism.
This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first serve basis.
Related Links:
The Happiness research programme website.
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
The Guardian
Blair''s Green antidote to beating the blues
The Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is planning to compile a wellbeing index, which includes a number of factors other than income (neighbourhood, mental health, access to green areas etc.) A book recently published by LSE professor Richard Layard argues that we are no happier now than 50 years ago.
This article appeared on The Guardian March 08, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
BBC Radio 4
The Today Programme
Richard Layard, talking about his latest book, Happiness: Lessons on a new science.
This interview appeared on The Today Programme March 05, 2005.
Link to programme.
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
The Guardian
Life, Labour and the pursuit of happiness
Happiness is all the rage. The year kicked off with a big conference in the United States on the subject, then Professor Richard Layard, LSE, published a book on it and now the government is getting into it. Professor Layard thinks happiness should become the biggest goal for the government. He suggests things such as compulsory parenting classes and lessons in emotional intelligence from the age of five onwards.
This article appeared on The Guardian March 07, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
The Denver Post
"Happy" as public policy
"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" - Luke 9:25. Or, as Richard Layard puts it in secular, supranational terms in "Happiness: Lessons From a New Science," what good is it if Western societies get richer and richer but their populations become no happier?
Layard, a highly regarded British economist and pioneer in the new field of happiness studies, proves both halves of his equation quite satisfactorily in this engaging if inevitably controversial work. Standards of living in the United States, Britain, Western Europe and Japan have more than doubled in 50 years, bringing us improved health and shorter work weeks and allowing us to accumulate more and more stuff.
This article appeared on The Denver Post March 06, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
Western Daily Press
Make life smiles better instead of just making miserable money
Review of 'Happiness: Lessons From A New Science', the book by LSE Professor Richard Layard in which he argues that, in spite of higher levels of income, we are no happier than we were 50 years ago.
The Financial Times
Joy divisions
Review of the book by leading economist Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons on a new science on the relation between increasing wealth and decreasing happiness in the Western World. The article's author interviewed Mr Layard in his LSE office.
This article appeared on The Financial Times March 05, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a new Science, Penguin Press, March 2005.
Daily Telegraph
Family gap years 'no help to children'
Leaving gaps between children to spare more time for each of them does not result in better educational achievement, the largest study of its kind shows today. The study by the Centre for the Economics of Education says that this is the case whether the first-born is a member of a family of two or 10. Comments from Stephen Machin,director of the Centre.
This article appeared in the Daily Telegraph, March 01, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Sandra E. Black, Paul J. Devereux and Kjell G. Salvanes, The more the merrier? The effect of family composition on children's outcomes, CEE seminar paper presented 25 February 2005.
Radio Free Europe
World: Signs Grow Of Dollar Losing Favor As World''s Reserve Currency
Gianluca Benigno, LSE, states "The euro is an alternative reserve currency that the central banks are considering is becoming more liquid and important"
This article appeared on the Radio Free Europe website, February 24, 2005.
Link to article.
Related Publications
Gianluca Benigno and Pierpaolo Benigno, Designing Target Rules for International Monetary Policy Cooperation, Paper No' CEPDP0666, December 2004.
Times Educational Supplement
Wanted: Boffins with business balls
Why does the commercial world turn a blind eye to the demands of academics? Small firms are often too stretched, but there is also the problem of a common language. Hilary Steedman, senior research fellow at LSE, who interviewed 90 firms in Britain and Germany to compare information and communication technology skills, says the ways of publishing research are deficient
This article appeared in The Times Educational Supplement, February 18, 2005.
No direct link.
Related Publications
Hilary Steedman, Karin Wagner and Jim Foreman, The Impact on Firms of ICT Skill-Supply Strategies: An Anglo-German Comparison, Paper No' CEPDP0575, June 2003.
The Guardian
Why the culture of failure has been hard to break
Assessing Labour's promises for education. Reference to research published in July 2004 by the Institute of Education and LSE on educational opportunity expanding.
This article appeared in The Guardian, February 01, 2005.
Link to article
Related news articles
Class gap widens under Blair
The class divide in UK higher education widened during Tony Blair's first term in office as the children of Middle England reaped the benefits of university expansion, new research reveals. Anna Vignoles of the IoE, who conducted the research with Fernando Galindo-Rueda and Oscar Marcenaro-Gutierrez of the LSE, said: 'The message is that things are getting better, everybody is more likely to go into higher education, but the gap between rich and poor is widening.'
This article appeared in THES July 2, 2004.
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This article appeared in The Times July 2, 2004.
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This article appeared in BBC News Online July 3, 2004.
Link to article
Related publications
Fernando Galindo-Rueda, Oscar Marcenaro-Gutierrez and Anna Vignoles, The Widening Socio-economic Gap in UK Higher Education in the National Institute Economic Review, No' 190, October 2004
Fernando Galindo-Rueda, Anna Vignoles, Class Ridden or Meritocratic? An Economic Analysis of Recent Changes in Britain, Paper No' CEEDP0032, May 2003
BBC Radio 5 Live/Radio 4 The Today Programme
Work Foundation Report
David Marsden on Radio 5 Live
David Metcalf on the Today Programme
Press notice regarding 'British Unions, Resurgence or Perdition' by David Metcalf can be viewed at The Work Foundation website.
This is the first in a series of provocations exploring key issues for work in UK in the coming years. A hard copy of the paper is available to photocopy from the Admin team in zones 1 and 2 in CEP.
The interviews took place at the BBC - Radio 5 Live and Radio 4 on January 31, 2005.
No link.
Related Publications
David Metcalf, 'British Unions, Resurgence or Perdition', CEP Working Paper, No' 1347
LSE News and Views
Richard Layard awarded WW Leontief Medal
The Russian Academy of Science has awarded Professor Richard Layard, emeritus professor of economics and founder of the Centre for Economic Performance, the WW Leontief for contributions to progress in economics.
See the latest edition of the LSE's News and Views
Related Publications
Richard Layard, George Lucas, Investment Prospects In Russia, Paper No' CEPSP04, February 1997, available as hard copy only. Richard Layard, Can Russia Control Inflation?, Paper No' CEPDP0170, September 1993 available as hard copy only.
Richard Layard, Ansgar Richter, How Much Unemployment is Needed for Restructuring?: The Russian Experience, Paper No' CEPDP0238, April 1995 available as hard copy only.
Richard Layard, Ansgar Richter, Who Gains and Who Loses from Russian Credit Expansion, Paper No' CEPDP0200, July 1994 available as hard copy only.
The Times: Economic Outlook:
Sun shines on UK prospects
Why the 2005 is possibly good to win - new research suggests that, short-term worries aside, Britain is very well placed in economic terms.
Professor Steve Nickell of the London School of Economics and the Bank of England's monetary policy committee, has written a paper with two colleagues for the Economic Journal. Called Explaining the Rise in Unemployment in Europe Since the 1960s, it does what he says in the title.
This article appeared in The Times
on January 23, 2005.
Link to article
Related Publications
Stephen Nickell, Luca Nunziata, Wolfgang Ochel, Glenda Quintini The Beveridge Curve, Unemployment and Wages in the OECD from the 1960s to the 1990s - Preliminary Version, Paper No' CEPDP0502, July 2001
Sun Herald, Mississippi, US
Unlike tsunamis, some disasters are man-made
Reference to research by Peter Boone, LSE, on the experience of some 100 nations that received long-term foreign aid. He found that it typically benefited political elites - and that it did nothing to alleviate poverty. Because, as he rightly points out, "poverty is not caused by capital shortage."
This article appeared in The Sun Herald
on January 18, 2005.
Link to article
Related Publications
CEP Working Paper No 677, 'The Impact of Foreign Aid on Savings and Growth' by Peter Boone (hard copy available only).
CEP Working Paper No 678, 'Politics and the Effectiveness of Foreign Aid' by Peter Boone. 'Multilateral Aid, Politics and Poverty: Past Failures and Future Challenges', chapter 2 Peter Boone and Jean-Paul Faguet in R. Grant and J. Nijman (eds.). The Global Crisis in Foreign Aid, Syracuse University Press: Syracuse, New York, 1998.
'Foreign Aid and International Crises' published in The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty, December 1996 Link to article
The Guardian: Office Hours
The inside track: Welfare benefits
It is a widespread orthodoxy that Europe lags behind the US in job creation because workers in the Eurozone are featherbedded with social welfare benefits. Even German and French trade unions are beginning to accept this belief, introducing longer working weeks to defend jobs. Yet some economists are starting to wonder if the apparently freewheeling US economy might actually be rather less good at job creation than has previously been thought. True, the unemployment rate in the US is half that of Germany's, but fewer jobs are being produced than expected, given the recent economic recovery.
This is according to two prominent US economists, Richard Freeman and William Rodgers, writing in CentrePiece, the magazine for job-market anoraks, produced by the LSE's Centre for Economic Performance. Like other economists, Freeman and Rodgers brush aside the US Government's excuse that job growth is weak because productivity is strong. Instead they turn their attention to, among other things, health insurance. In the US, private health insurance is principally an employment perk. This means that not only are the jobless without health cover, but that the most expensive health system in the world is financed almost entirely by employers. The costs of health insurance are a powerful incentive not to take on new workers. They are also a handicap in international competition. The US dollar would have to fall to the value of Monopoly money before US exporters could achieve a level playing field, and nobody is going to allow this to happen. Obviously the US is going to have to rethink its social model. Conversely German and French workers should be slower to concede social benefits and perhaps consider the possibility that the single currency, and its inflexible interest-rate policy, is the cause of sluggish job growth and high unemployment.
This article appeared in The Guardian
on January 17, 2005.
Link to article
Related Publications
Freeman, R and Rodgers, W (2004), 'Jobless recovery: whatever happened to the great American jobs machine?', published in CentrePiece Autumn 2004, in PDF format (272Kb)
The Observer
Class divisions bar students from university
Fifteen years after John Major promised to turn modern Britain into a 'classless society', research commissioned by an educational charity, the Sutton Trust, from experts at LSE reveals the barriers holding back children who start at the bottom. Comments from Paul Gregg, CEP, one of the authors of the report.
This article appeared in The Observer
on January 16, 2005.
Link to article
Related Publications
Jo Blanden, Alissa Goodman, Paul Gregg, Stephen Machin Changes in Intergenerational Mobility in Britain, Paper No' CEPDP0517, January 2002
The Times
Another revolution in teaching
How do you keep hold of teachers once you've recruited them? With some difficulty, it would seem, as more than 40 per cent of teachers leaving the profession say that nothing could have made them stay, according to a report in CentrePiece (Autumn 2004).
Even calculating the level of shortage is not straightforward, the magazine of the Centre for Economic Performance suggests. Demand for teachers has fluctuated considerably over the past 30 years and estimating the need for teachers is further complicated by the fact that teaching is an ageing profession: "Within the next ten years, nearly 50 per cent of the current workforce will have retired," the report authors note.
Current financial administration arrangements for education also make the calculations difficult. Although the Government sets spending limits and determines pay, it does not have control over how many teachers individual education authorities employ.
Despite "golden hellos" of £4,000 for new teachers in shortage subjects, retention in maths, English and modern languages is a problem because career options outside the profession offer better financial rewards. So assessing the flow of newly qualified teachers does not truly indicate the actual level of those available to teach.
The quality of teaching staff is also a concern. Quite aside from debates regarding what kind of qualifications make someone a better teacher, the report suggests that "we need to be concerned about recruiting from the lower end of the ability distribution".
Creating a pay package that would guarantee high-quality teachers remains a problem. The report notes, too, that performance-related pay schemes elsewhere in the world have not been entirely successful and have a limited role in motivating staff.
This article appeared in The Times on January 11, 2005.
Link to article
Related Publications
Arnaud Chevalier and Peter Dolton Teacher shortage: another impending crisis?, CentrePiece, Autumn 2004
The Scotsman
Can the route to happiness lie in higher taxes?
Is there a link between GDP and happiness? Greater economic growth may not lead to contentment. The happiness derived from chasing possessions such as bigger homes, 4x4 cars and electronic gadgets
is so transitory, argues Richard Layard that there should be increased taxation on spending to offset this outcome.
This article appeared in The Scotsman on January 10, 2005.
Link to article
See also:
Link to Financial Times article
In March 2003 Lord Richard Layard, delivered three lectures at LSE on the theme of the pursuit of Happiness. A forthcoming book titled Happiness: Lessons from a New Science by Richard Layard will be published by Penguin Press in the US in February 2005 and in the UK during March 2005.
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