"The advice was biased towards biomedical advice and did not include socio-economic advice from comparable experts." Has the Hallett Covid-19 review redeemed economists' reputation? And is this a role for the new council of economic advisers? covid19.public-inquiry.uk/wp-content/upl… #CovidInquiry

A happiness recession is a cute idea, but according to Understanding Society what we really have is a happiness trend among young people, who are now as happy (or as unhappy) as the middle aged: theguardian.com/society/articl… #happiness

Listen to me and my colleagues talk about research taking place at University of Bradford School of Management and why Arthur Lydiard is my management hero: audioboom.com/posts/8562541-…

📢 A new policy brief by Joanna Clifton-Sprigg (Joanna CliftonSprigg), Eleonora Fichera (@EllieFichera), Melanie Jones and Ezgi Kaya (Ezgi Kaya) examines the impact of the Shared Parental Leave policy. 🧵 Read the policy brief 👉 bath.ac.uk/publications/s…

How much does higher pay shorten the time needed to fill a vacancy? A lot, I find in my new working paper with Charles Carter and Judith Delaney looking at @NHS vacancies on either side of the London pay bonus border. Read it here: iza.org/publications/d… #pay #hiring

Is there a pre-budget slowdown in UK hiring? Not according to data from one job ad platform, although hiring rates have been stagnant for over six months: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… #hiring #Budget2024

How do firms choose which prices to raise when the minimum wage goes up? We examine the entire menu at a fast-food chain and find that prices increase most for items that involve more steps to prepare. Read my new research with Michael R. Strain: iza.org/publications/d… #minwage

An interesting article about my new research on the effects of the minimum wage on fast food prices with Michael R. Strain, highlighting the importance of trade-offs in the policy debate: reason.com/2025/01/13/whe… #minwage #costofliving

How do minimum wage adjustments affect menu prices? A new IZA working paper from American Enterprise Institute's Michael R. Strain & Kerry Papps finds that a $1 minimum wage rise increased average prices by 7 cents, with prices increasing more for items that involve more labor to prepare.

Bad maths? As far as I can tell, the equation behind Trump’s tariffs gives the percentage - not percentage point - increase in tariffs. For example, China should get a 34% increase, not a 34 percentage point increase (which is a lot bigger): ustr.gov/issue-areas/re… #tariffs

The problem facing England's nurseries in one figure: government funding falls faster as a child ages than do variable costs, so nurseries have to rely on younger children to cover their fixed costs: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… #childcare

Pay rates may soon be going up in the NHS: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…. My research suggests that this might make it much easier to fill vacancies: iza.org/publications/d… #vacancies #nhs

How has restaurant price inflation varied across the UK over the past 6 years? Looking at the menu prices at one large pub chain I found that price increases were strongly linked to the income of an area. #inflation #food

A nice quote from my co-author Michael R. Strain in The New York Times: nytimes.com/2025/05/20/bus…. If employers can't or won't increase prices, they might cut their workforce instead, so it's a matter of who the burden of a policy ultimately falls on. #inflation

Listen to my co-author Joanna Clifton-Sprigg from University of Bath talk about why extending paid leave for fathers is needed on BBC Woman's Hour: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0… #paternityleave IPR

Why do higher wages lead to more crime? Because people seem to spend some of their extra money on recreational drugs. Read my new paper looking at the effects of the UK minimum wage on street crime here: iza.org/publications/d… #crime #minwage

How $30 is the new $15. Plus "Dueling Economists" (is there any other sort?): nytimes.com/2025/08/04/bus… #minwage

When is free not free? My research on childcare costs with Joanna Clifton-Sprigg at IPR was in the news today: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… #childcare

Listen to me talk about why the introduction of "free" childcare in England might be risky on BBC Radio 5 Live (fast forward to 33:51): bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0… #childcare

A study co-authored by Kerry Papps has warned the Government's free childcare expansion could see parents facing higher costs. The University of Bradford and University of Bath have tracked nursery prices over 18 months, finding 'childcare deserts' face fast rising fees. bradford.ac.uk/news/archive/2…