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Tim Harford

Undercover Economist

Tim Harford writes the Undercover Economist column, and was previously an economics leader writer for the FT. He first joined the newspaper as Peter Martin Fellow in 2003.

Tim is the author of seven books, including the million-selling The Undercover Economist and most recently Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy. He is also a regular presenter for BBC radio.

He was made an OBE in the 2019 new year honours list “for services to improving economic understanding”.

Email Tim Harford @TimHarford (link opens in a new browser window)
Email Tim Harford @TimHarford (link opens in a new browser window)

Add to myFT Digest

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  • Friday, 3 January, 2020
    Undercover EconomistAI and jobs
    Robots will not be coming for our jobs just yet

    Machines encroach on tasks, and we reorganise in response, becoming more productive

  • Friday, 27 December, 2019
    Undercover EconomistSocial Media
    Ten years of social media have left us all worse off

    It is hard to make the case that Facebook and Twitter have led to more thoughtful, rigorous or compassionate discourse

  • Friday, 20 December, 2019
    Undercover EconomistRetail sector
    The long history of commercialising Christmas

    A crucial shift happened when the festival became a domestic occasion

  • Thursday, 19 December, 2019
    FT Magazine
    The changing face of economics

    Mariana Cook’s portraits of economists chart a field that is evolving, but slowly, says Tim Harford

  • Friday, 13 December, 2019
    Undercover EconomistSocial affairs
    Would you send a Christmas card to a stranger?

    Three generations of social science show how the reciprocity loop has faltered

  • Friday, 6 December, 2019
    ReviewEconomics books
    Extreme Economies — lessons from disaster zones

    What refugee camps and tsunami victims can teach us about the workings of an economy

  • Friday, 6 December, 2019
    Undercover EconomistLeonardo Da Vinci
    ‘Salvator Mundi’ and the limits of certainty

    One response to fuzziness is to demand sharpness. But the world defies our attempts to confine it

  • Friday, 29 November, 2019
    Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics
    Exit has lost its power as a protest weapon in the UK election

    Quitting seems no threat to the dominant parties, so moderate voices are being lost

  • Friday, 22 November, 2019
    Undercover EconomistArtificial intelligence
    Algorithms judge us so know their rules

    As we aren’t aware which ones are bad, stories about famous brands such as Apple Card are believed

  • Promoted Content
  • Friday, 15 November, 2019
    Undercover EconomistUK politics & policy
    How to survive an election with your sanity intact

    Five tips for keeping cool amid the cacophony and casting your vote wisely

  • Thursday, 14 November, 2019
    FT Magazine
    Tim Harford: why we fall for cons

    Get the clothes right, assume an air of authority, make your victims complicit: inside the art of the scam

  • Friday, 8 November, 2019
    Undercover EconomistEducation
    Sesame Street’s gold standard for education

    Did the show help children learn? Or was it attractive to children who were already flourishing?

  • Friday, 1 November, 2019
    Undercover EconomistGaming
    The games that smart people play

    Gaming creates moments of enchantment to rival the finest music or theatre

  • Friday, 25 October, 2019
    Undercover EconomistUK business & economy
    How uncertainty hits business investment

    One theory is that there is something deeply unsettling about ambiguity

  • Friday, 18 October, 2019
    Undercover EconomistMichael Kremer
    Weakest link theory provides strong claim to the economics Nobel

    Once you start to think about O-ring problems, you see them everywhere

  • Friday, 11 October, 2019
    Undercover EconomistBrexit
    Hug your enemy rather than wrestle the pig

    Sneering at someone’s ignorance is a missed opportunity to discuss an issue together

  • Friday, 4 October, 2019
    Undercover EconomistMinimum-Living wage
    The triple risk of raising the US and UK minimum wage

    Politicians are blundering into territory that has proved best left to the technocrats

  • Friday, 27 September, 2019
    Undercover EconomistUK politics & policy
    Beware of simple ideas that become serious pains

    Politicians should remember that a £2tn economy is not a toy

  • Friday, 20 September, 2019
    Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics
    We need to be better at predicting bad outcomes

    If we changed the way risks are calculated then worst case scenarios could be avoided

  • Friday, 13 September, 2019
    Undercover EconomistClimate change
    Why this climate change economist rocked my world

    Martin Weitzman’s powerful logic showed that we must take action now

  • Friday, 6 September, 2019
    Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics
    Productivity hacks: are you an Arnie or an Elon?

    Some believe every minute must be planned, others prefer to keep commitments minimal

  • Friday, 30 August, 2019
    Undercover EconomistBehavioural economics
    Why hidden holiday charges make us so angry

    Whether it’s extra car hire fees or hotel WiFi, we’re often left feeling ripped off

  • Friday, 16 August, 2019
    Undercover EconomistTravel & leisure industry
    Reasons to take a holiday — especially a short one

    There’s something fractal about rest: we need it daily, weekly and yearly

  • Friday, 2 August, 2019
    Lunch with the FT
    Richard Thaler: ‘If you want people to do something, make it easy’

    The master of behavioural economics on the power of the nudge — and why Remain was destined to lose

  • Friday, 26 July, 2019
    Undercover EconomistOffice life
    Learn to love meetings by making them better

    Everyone should arrive with a brisk update and leave with a crisp to-do list

Previous You are on page 1 Next

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