Duncan Weldon
@duncanweldon.bsky.social
20K followers 1.5K following 3.5K posts
Economics writer. Author. Expect history, economics, finance and other stuff. Wrote Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through. Blood and Treasure, on the economics of war, out now.
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duncanweldon.bsky.social
Time for a new pinned post. Out now in the UK, coming January 6th in the US.
Reposted by Duncan Weldon
Reposted by Duncan Weldon
flipchartrick.bsky.social
We have a society which still holds late 20th century assumptions about what the state should do, how living standards should improve, when people should retire, when they should buy a house and so on.

Alas, we don’t have late 20th century growth.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
“Even though Mr Rimmington started to feel unwell after day one, he continued to feast on the chewy treats”.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
I haven’t but now am going to have to read this.
Reposted by Duncan Weldon
adambell.bsky.social
I actually think the idea of a 'Technology Readiness level', originally developed by NASA with a set of specific definitions for spaceflight, has become the grown-up version of a technology tree, inasmuch as it assumes linear progression in technology development. /1
duncanweldon.bsky.social
Genuinely think the concept of the tech tree has done a lot of damage.
edutecheditor.bsky.social
“Since 1991, the video game Civilization, now in its seventh installment, has become one of the most successful game franchises ever. That means millions of kids have grown up with Civ as one of their formative ways of thinking about history.” (via @jstor.bsky.social) #AcademicSky
duncanweldon.bsky.social
Excellent article. With a very grim chart.

on.ft.com/4odeaMH UK consumers curb spending more than anywhere else in G7
duncanweldon.bsky.social
I played this an awful lot as a teenager.
Again the politics are rather suspect. But it was great fun with 6 or 7 people.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junta_(...
Junta (game) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
duncanweldon.bsky.social
Yeah. A lot of people seem to have assimilated it as a linear - and predictable- model of tech development.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
A lot of policy adjacent people have assimilated it as a model for how the actual world works.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
Genuinely think the concept of the tech tree has done a lot of damage.
edutecheditor.bsky.social
“Since 1991, the video game Civilization, now in its seventh installment, has become one of the most successful game franchises ever. That means millions of kids have grown up with Civ as one of their formative ways of thinking about history.” (via @jstor.bsky.social) #AcademicSky
History and Civilization - JSTOR Daily
The Civilization video games may not convey actual history very well, but they’ve encouraged generations of young people to learn more about the past.
buff.ly
Reposted by Duncan Weldon
jim.londoncentric.media
You might have heard of 'dark kitchens' when a row of sheds in a car park churn out food for Deliveroo. They're unpopular and low margin. So the next big thing in London food is 'host kitchens' where local pubs, restaurants and kebab shops cook for big brands. www.londoncentric.media/p/host-kitch...
Why your next upmarket Deliveroo might be made by your local kebab shop
"On one hand, it’s a lifeline... But on the other hand, it’s a harbinger of doom.”
www.londoncentric.media
duncanweldon.bsky.social
First time flying to/from Heathrow in ages.
Presume the Elizabeth Line has absolutely murdered the Heathrow Express business model?
duncanweldon.bsky.social
Charm reserves exhausted.
Success.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
“Lovely” used ironically.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
Lovely bit of jeopardy. On a stand-by list. Will I be allowed to fly home or not?
Who can say!
duncanweldon.bsky.social
Right. Heading the airport. And finally - sorry - getting around to reading @birdyword.bsky.social’s rather interesting looking book.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
Although both my most successful ever political bet & the bet I closed far too early was French politics related.
Met Macron when he was economy minister in early 2015. Stuck £50 on him as next President at about 100/1 as was super impressed. Closed it out when the odds came in to circa 30/1. Oops.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
First time at an academic conference in the US.
I’d say the catering is a major step above what you’d expect at a British conference but still some way behind what you’d get in Italy or France.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
I think my understanding of French politics is similar to my understanding of rugby.
I don’t really know the rules or the game but I can follow the drama of a big match.
duncanweldon.bsky.social
Two days of going full ‘sponging up ideas’ for me.
Super useful conference.
econromesh.bsky.social
Economic statistics, war/sanctions, inflation, trade/protectionism, Big Tech, climate change/energy & challenges for media covering contentious stories in a polarised environment - on the agenda @kentclarkcenter.bsky.social economic experts conference this week www.chicagobooth.edu/research/Cla...
Clark Center Economic Experts Conference 2025
Teaser Data: Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s
www.chicagobooth.edu