Perspectives (London Publishing Partnership)

The difficult economic climate in Europe and the United States since the financial crisis is set to continue as the New Normal, despite frantic efforts to stimulate growth. The long phase of expansion that lasted from the 1980s until 2008 was driven by easy money, cheap imports and confidence — all gone. And the shift of geopolitical power to Asia is permanent. This does not mean that Western economies are inevitably condemned to 'lost decades' ahead. They can rediscover productivity and growth — but governments face formidable political obstacles to the reforms this would require.

Travel is central to our lives. The transport system brings us the goods and services that we need and allows us to access the experiences and opportunities that we seek. Yet our transport system has many problems: congestion and overcrowding, noise, air pollution and carbon emissions, deaths and injuries, and the intrusion of vehicles into unsuitable locations. Much effort and money has been devoted to tackling these problems, over many years, but progress is slow. Recognition of the urgent need to respond to climate change is prompting major transport developments — particularly a switch to electric vehicles — and it is also argued that the amount of travel we undertake will need to be reduced. The coronavirus pandemic caused a great shock to our travel patterns, showing us that we could manage with much less movement if we had to. But as the pandemic recedes, our travel behaviour is largely reverting to what it was before, albeit with less commuting to work and less shopping in person. This book offers a comprehensive overview of the transport system. It looks at how it has developed, at how it will need to evolve to meet our need for travel — sustainably and economically — and at what our options are for meeting those needs.

The aim of this book is to inspire a better politics: one that will enable future generations to be happier. Greater well-being and better health should be the goals, rather than wealth maximization. We need to value healthcare more than hedge funds, caring above careers, relationships more than real estate. The book is about what makes most of us happier, but it is also about the collective good. We cannot truly be happy if those around us are not happy. The evidence for a successful politics that would promote happiness and health is examined, and policies that take account of this evidence are suggested. Government can and should work to make us happier.

This book argues that identity and money are both changing profoundly. Because of technological change, the two trends are converging, so that all that we need for transacting will be our identities captured in the unique record of our online social contacts. Social networks and mobile phones are the key technologies. They will enable the building of an identity infrastructure that can enhance both privacy and security — there is no trade-off. The long-term consequences of these changes are impossible to predict, partly because how they take shape, will depend on how companies take advantage of business opportunities to deliver transaction services. But, one prediction made here is that cash will soon be redundant — and a good thing too. In its place, we will see a proliferation of new digital currencies.

Poverty, and calls to end it, date back centuries. Even in prosperous modern times, despite the huge transformation of society, poverty has persisted. This book looks back at the struggle to end poverty and asks if it is worth it.

It seems that just about every new technology that we bring to bear on improving our lives brings with it some downside, side effect or unintended consequence. These issues can pose very real and growing ethical problems for all of us. For example, automated facial recognition can make life easier and safer for us — but it also poses huge issues with regard to privacy, ownership of data and even identity theft. How do we understand and frame these debates, and work out strategies at personal and governmental levels? Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics addresses one of today's most pressing problems: how to create and use tools and technologies to maximize benefits and minimize harms? Drawing on the author's experience as a technologist, political risk analyst and historian, the book offers a practical and cross-disciplinary approach that will inspire anyone creating, investing in or regulating technology, and it will empower all readers to better hold technology to account.

London has enjoyed an extraordinary period of growth in the past generation, symbolized by the towers of Canary Wharf built on the skeleton of the old docks. Finance was at the heart of this, so how can London's economy be reinvented after the financial crisis? Success will depend on several factors that must go together: growing service sectors in addition to finance, making it possible for the people who work in London to live there in pleasant and affordable surroundings, and investing in communications and transport links. This must include an early decision on airport investment to improve global links, given that the capital's main airport is full to capacity — where the extra capacity is located is less important than starting work on expansion as soon as possible.

The idea that Brazil, Russia, India and China (the "BRICs") are the rising stars of the world economy is now widely accepted. However, the "old" developed nations have not adjusted to the new world order, as they struggle with the legacy of the financial crisis. The BRICs and others (especially Korea) have already 'emerged' as economic powers. This requires rapid adjustment in economic policies and especially global economic institutions. This book makes a strong case for a radical overhaul of global economic governance to put these powerful new economies at the heart of decision-making. The author argues that, while the new growth economies still have significant policy adjustments to make, it is also essential for old-world economies to learn from them too and to accept the new order. He looks at the roles of China, Korea and Africa and at the scale of South-South trade. What does all this mean for the EU and for the UK in particular? How should the world engage with the new economic powerhouses?

Consumers in Britain face a curious mix of taxes and duties that are messy, opaque and out of date. They are also unfair: the poorer you are, the more of your income goes on paying these taxes. At the same time, we are ceaselessly bombarded by marketing information that is very one-sided. The foods that make us fat, for example, are promoted a great deal more than the foods that could keep us healthy — and again it is mainly the poor who bear the brunt. This book draws on insights from behavioural economics, participative decision-making and the author's twenty-five-year research career to take a fresh look at these issues. It concludes that there is a fair, inclusive, adaptable, affordable and resilient way of enabling us to eat healthily and to tackle the obesity crisis. The author proposes that negative VAT should be charged on healthy foods and high VAT should be charged on unhealthy foods. The book sets out a four-step process to actually implement this new regime, each step of which depends on mechanisms that have already been used by government. It is a bold yet practical proposition for tackling one of the most costly and damaging challenges we face.

Housing is a fundamental necessity, and yet it is generally acknowledged that we have a 'housing crisis' in the UK. The housing market has worked well for many people (who have enjoyed the steeply rising values of their homes), which is why change, especially new building, is resisted. But, for increasing numbers it now works less well, as home ownership is out of reach. Government finds it easier to introduce short-term policies that are not really effective, meaning that the long-term issues are never really resolved. Reforms are urgently needed. There are many national policy aims, including decent homes for all, protection of the green belt, better design of buildings and places, avoidance of price volatility, and intergenerational fairness. We also have an existing housing stock that is wrongly located, and some of the housing we do have is of poor quality. With so many conflicting views, strong local feelings and a balance to be struck between growth and conservation, what housing market outcomes might be regarded as a success for policymakers? This book dispels some common myths, and provides answers in the form of policy recommendations.

Engineers plan transport systems, people use them. But, the ways in which an engineer measures success — speed, journey time, efficiency — are often not the way that passengers think about a good trip. We are not cargo. We choose how and when to travel, influenced not only by speed and time but by habit, status, comfort, variety — and many other factors that engineering equations don't capture at all. As we near the practical, physical limits of speed, capacity and punctuality, the greatest hope for a brighter future lies in adapting transport to more human wants and needs. Behavioral science has immense potential to improve the design of roads, railways, planes and pavements — as well as the ways in which we use them — but only, when we embrace the messier reality of transport for humans. This is the moment. Climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and changing work—life priorities are shaking up long-held assumptions. There is a new way forward. This book maps out how to design transport for humans.