Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through: The surprising story of Britain's economy from boom to bust and back again

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The size of the government's deficit has dominated politics since 2010 but fretting about the scale of the national debt was almost a national pastime during Victoria's reign. The importance of politics in economic history was also a convincing theme (although I did not need much convincing of it). Finally, the authors opinions are nuanced and balanced and driven by analysis rather than prior balance - very good all round. But this is an excellent book to keep on hand when for when other authors claim to have all the answers.

Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through - Hachette UK Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through - Hachette UK

The result was an already low growth/low demand economy fell into recession at the worst possible time, the global great depression in 1929.It also shows the various examples of terrible policy decisions, from the 1920s to the bad responses to supply-side shocks in the 1970s as well as the austerity programme under Chancellor Osborne. After reading this book I feel like I have a decent handle on these concepts, and I at least understand what the major arguments in economics are about. I found the book to be knowledgeable (because the author knows his stuff) and informative (because he keeps to the point).

Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through | Book reviews | SPE

This is an amazing book of economic history, drawing on the best mainstream works and explanations, written by a journalist, so it is engaging and easily understandable. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Alys Denby or their podcast platform partner.

Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through by Duncan Weldon Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through by Duncan Weldon

I wish there were more books like this, that create not just a useful framework for thinking about history, but also for understanding choices in economic policy in our age. The UK is, at the same time, both one of the world’s most successful economies and one of Europe’s laggards. For the latest CapX Podcast, Duncan joined our editor John Ashmore and Tom Clougherty, Head of Tax at our parent organisation, the Centre for Policy Studies, to chat about the book and analyse where the British economy may be heading as we recover from the Covid cataclysm. The debates about the balance between economic openness and sovereignty that re-emerged after Brexit would have been familiar to Peel and Cobden in the 1840s.There are some very interesting snippets on parts of British economic history that may surprise even well informed readers.

200 years of muddling through - Player FM Duncan Weldon on 200 years of muddling through - Player FM

Put simply, to limit starvation and masses of poor people, the best way to restrict population growth. A central theme to the book is how the role and shape of the state has changed and adapted over time - not often for purely ‘ideological’ reasons, but more in response to economic developments and challenges, as well as the need to cope with huge global events (WW1 and WW2 loom large).Examples from history include the QUERTY keyboard which despite its current drawbacks is still the industry standard. A terrific achievement, covering clearly but with subtlety everything from the spinning jenny to Covid-19. Nonetheless, after hearing an interview with him on Patrick Wyman's podcast, Tides of History, I figured I'd give his book a shot.