How Bridget Jones boosted the market for big underwear
The growth in popularity for larger, supportive underwear has, in turn, led to huge amounts of innovation in the sector and a 70,000 mile supply chain.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Analysis and Comment
The UK is sinking deeper into property inequality – here’s why
Property inequality keeps on growing, stopping it will take strong principles and brave politicians.
Are women less likely to become entrepreneurs?
New research shows how women are held back when it comes to starting and growing their own businesses.
Was the Fed right to delay raising interest rates? Two scholars react
The Fed left interest rates unchanged but said improving economic data means it will likely lift them later this year. We asked two scholars – and ex-Fed officials – if it was the right call.
Three ways Sports Direct can rebuild its reputation
Sports Direct is neither the first nor the last company to face a reputation crisis – and it can bounce back.
Corporate bosses could soon take the rap for staff criminality
Proposed laws will put corporate executives in the firing line when the law is broken on their watch.
Why Britain should play the long game with its Brexit strategy
With patience and a degree of moral ambivalence, the UK may find an EU that is increasingly open to the idea of free trade without free movement of people.
Gulf states are torn between economic sense and military ambition
The interventionist foreign policy of the Gulf states is increasingly at odds with their economic security.
Funding devolution: lessons from Germany, the US and the industrial revolution
The industrial revolution wasn't all about the spinning jenny and steam power. Money talked, and it needs to again if power and prosperity are to flow to the UK regions.
Hinkley C must be the first of many new nuclear plants
This is a big opportunity for smaller reactors that can be built quickly and cheaply.
Hinkley C power project offers a lesson in how not to deal with China
The decision to review Hinkley Point C was carried out in a way that quite unnecessarily put Britain’s future relations with China in jeopardy.
Black and white anti-doping fight nears stalemate – here’s how to break it
A new Russian hack has claimed to reveal the details of so-called therapeutic use exemptions. But could transparency in this area be a benchmark for the fight against drugs in sport?
Rio Paralympics have overcome financial adversity to win over local hearts
At one point, it looked like the games could be cancelled. But the carnival spirit has prevailed.
The housing market is looking worryingly like a pyramid sales scam
The UK's obsession with ramping up prices for one of life's essentials could bring the economic roof down.
How universities boost economic growth
The second half of the 20th century saw explosive economic growth and also a huge increase in universities – new research shows the two are related.
How relevant are the TUC and unions today?
A century on from the UK's only ever general strike, the major federation for organised labour in Britain must learn to be more effective.
Gaining even a few kilos makes people less employable – particularly women
Horrors of job discrimination.
Our world is not a pure market economy, and economics can’t explain it
Economists struggle to explain the explosion of gift models at the heart of our online world.
Fifteen years on from 9/11, we calculated the true cost to business
The effects of terrorism on businesses are wide ranging but some are learning how to adapt to risk and use it to their competitive advantage.
Lessons from Argentina for Europe’s newly-impoverished middle class
The ranks of a 'new urban poor' in Europe are swelling.
How personalisation could be changing your identity online
Attempts to model your web experience led to fears of an echo chamber effect, but rather than reinforcing your sense of self, the process might be altering it.
Southern rail strike and the PR battle for hearts and minds
How do you keep the sympathy of people whose lives you are making more difficult?
Apple tax woes won’t tarnish its success
Why the fanfare around Apple's next product launch is already eclipsing its recent tax trouble.
Loss of Fabric nightclub is latest blow to London’s cultural capital
The closure of one of London's most famous clubs is part of a bigger and more worrying trend in the city.
To drive Bond-style classic cars into the future, Britain needs a new generation of Qs
The Goodwood Revival is a celebration of classic cars and the art of keeping them on the road and race track. Sadly, it is a dying art.
Research and News
Is every human voice and fingerprint really unique?
Saying they are is to dangerously misunderstand the limits of scientific enquiry.
Brexit
Frozen like a rabbit in G20 headlights: Britain struggles to deal with Brexit
Britain's prime minister keeps saying 'Brexit means Brexit' but exactly what this looks like is far from clear.
What the stock market tells us about the British economy post-Brexit
The FTSE rebounded after its Brexit shock – but how long will it last?
Britain fails to understand the nature of globalisation at its peril
The Brexiteer's desire to 'take back control' fails to account for the realities of the globalised world we live in.
Four options for UK trade after Brexit
Norway, Switzerland, Canada and a WTO-only trade relationship are are the obvious options for the UK post-Brexit.
Explainer: what a weaker pound means for the British economy
A weak pound might be good for exports but it is bad news for the investment that the economy is based on.
Five business reforms to make Brexit Britain a fairer society
The way that UK businesses are run goes a long way towards explaining Brexit. It's time for reform.
Panama Papers
The new tax laws planned in wake of Panama Papers – and the crucial role of public opinion
Measures to tackle aggressive tax avoidance and evasion have been talked about by the EU and UK for a while. It's beginning to take effect.
Should all politicians publish their tax returns? Here’s what we might find
How transparent other countries are when it comes to publishing details of their leaders' wealth.
Charities
Hard Evidence: which charities get the most money and is it enough?
Some charities get millions and have a large number of assets, but they're also doing more too.
Philanthropic foundations: black boxes that must become more transparent
Their structures and funding give them scope and access that others don't have, but foundations also lack accountability.
Why ethical investing is hard for big charities
Health charities should probably avoid investing in booze – but sometimes it can be hard to tell. So how do charities avoid the pitfalls?
Podcast: The Anthill
Columnists
Research and Expert Database
Editors’ Picks
Why London won’t lose its crown as Europe’s financial capital
Following the Brexit vote, a number of cities are queuing up to take London's place as Europe's financial centre.
Will Theresa May break from Thatcherism and transform business?
May's plans to transform business are more radical than they first appear.
Four options for UK trade after Brexit
Norway, Switzerland, Canada and a WTO-only trade relationship are are the obvious options for the UK post-Brexit.
Are women party leaders set up to fail? What business tells us about the ‘glass cliff’
Are women only selected for leadership when (and only when) there is a high risk of failure?
Lionel’s messy tax affairs are part of a bigger problem in football
Lionel Messi is not the first footballer to break financial laws and he probably won't be the last.
The TTIP trade deal is lost at sea
A landmark trade deal between the US and Europe has been left floundering. So what has killed progress?
EU referendum
Which Brexit forecast should you trust the most? An economist explains
There are three main types of forecast when it comes to the economic effects of Brexit – here's how to tell the difference between them.
Why we shouldn’t dismiss Bilderberg conspiracies so lightly
They may not be the Illuminati but there is a different kind of conspiracy at play at the secretive annual Bilderberg meeting of global elites.
Greece
A false morality tale blocks the resolution of the Greek debt crisis
Economic sense has been largely irrelevant in the unfolding Greek drama. Instead, morality has been at its heart.
Disruption
Uber should take its lead from Thomas Cook’s battle with Victorian Britain
How a cabinet-maker and temperance preacher managed what the ride-sharing company is struggling to pull off.
Tax
The ‘tax aversion’ effect is real, and can sway our opinion on anything
The war of words: why a report on the EU referendum labelled costs a 'Brexit tax'.
Behavioural psychology
The science behind our bargain hunting foolishness
You're no mug right? Think again. We all get fooled by anchoring, and probably use it ourselves as well.
Events
More EventsHow we are different
10 reasons
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- Corporate bosses could soon take the rap for staff criminality
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- The UK is sinking deeper into property inequality – here’s why
- Why Britain should heed Japan’s Brexit warning
- Funding devolution: lessons from Germany, the US and the industrial revolution
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