Why mortgages went up even though interest rates didn't
One of the clearest explanations of monetary policy transmission you’ll find in a real life context. Taylor starts from a puzzle (mortgage rates rising while the base rate holds at 3.75 per cent) and works through how the Bank of England only sets the base rate, how banks pass changes on slowly, and how expectations and interest rate swaps feed straight into mortgage pricing. There is a lovely point that the more markets expect hikes, the less likely they become, because anti
Does hosting the World Cup pay off?
The economics of sporting mega-events, and a useful counter to the assumption that hosting must be good for growth. Taylor sets out the hoped-for boost to spending and 'animal spirits', then marshals research showing host cities usually lose money: $9.3bn of losses around USA 1994, no lasting employment effect from Germany 1974, and $13,000 of stadium cost per tourist for South Africa 2010. The twist is Marco Mello's finding that winning, not hosting, delivers the real boost,
The Toy Story Inflation Index
Modelled on The Cut's Devil Wears Prada Inflation Index, this compares 1996 Argos toy prices with today's and finds several have actually fallen. Taylor uses it to explain why measured inflation is tricky: cheap overseas manufacturing (China now makes 86 per cent of the world's toys) has pushed prices down, while quality has risen so much that like-for-like comparisons mislead. The standout is a clear, student-friendly explanation of hedonic (quality) adjustment, which rarely