Thomas Sampson
@thomsampson.bsky.social
11K followers 600 following 300 posts
International Trade. Brexit. Associate Professor, LSE Economics.
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Reposted by Thomas Sampson
jdportes.bsky.social
Wilful ignorance of how trade and migration actually work in a globalised economy.

The idea that the (short and long-term) movement of people -especially between India and the UK - has nothing to do with trade and investment is (obviously) wrong.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
sathnam.bsky.social
Everything is horrible, and politics is nothing but a cauldron of despair, but even within this Robert Jenrick sticks out for his unrelenting vileness.
gabrielmilland.bsky.social
I don't think Robert Jenrick realises that the people clapping along to him when he talks about Handsworth would clap along if he said the same about Stamford Hill. I'd hope that would give him pause for thought.
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
thomsampson.bsky.social
Well I for one welcome immigration to the UK and am grateful for everything immigrants have contributed to our culture, society and economy. Not a novel thought, but feels like it needs reiterating this morning.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_35...
The Hamilton Mixtape: Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)
YouTube video by Hamilton
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
bengoldsborough.bsky.social
Legal migration 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 the UK, ensures we can 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲, 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 properly and strengthen our power overseas.

Feel it is important to reshare my speech on immigration today.

Watch in full here: youtube.com/watch?v=TnEV...
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
sundersays.bsky.social
The most useful UK intervention is to Make X Lawful Again on all fronts.

Both Ofcom (illegal content) and the EHRC (the platform's proactive defence of unlawful abuse & harassment - racism & rape threats - in breach of Equality Act duties) need to intervene on their core responsibilities
eddavey.libdems.org.uk
Elon Musk is no friend of our United Kingdom. He should be held to account for allowing truly vile and illegal child abuse content on his platform.
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
lsepress.bsky.social
"This impressive and stimulating book features a powerhouse line-up of authors.” — Jeffrey Frankel, Professor, @harvardeducation.bsky.social

The London Consensus is out #OpenAccess 16th October.

🖇️ http://doi.org/10.31389/lsepress.tlc @lsepublicpolicy.bsky.social @lse-sticerd-case.bsky.social
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
adambienkov.bsky.social
Shame on Downing Street for going along with this. So much for being committed to a free press
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
sambowman.co
Works in Progress is now available as a print magazine. I think it's the most beautiful and readable magazine I've ever seen.

Subscribe today for $100/£75 to receive six beautiful, 120-page issues a year.

worksinprogress.co/print
Print - Works in Progress Magazine
worksinprogress.co
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
profzeke.bsky.social
*** NEW RESEARCH ALERT ***

How do firms respond in the face of increased restrictions to hiring skilled immigrant workers?

[THREAD]
thomsampson.bsky.social
Oh I agree with your main point. I just don't think it's impossible to raise potential output with the right policy mix
thomsampson.bsky.social
Hard to measure, but maybe 10-15% less productive per hour worked than France or Germany
thomsampson.bsky.social
But Gordon's point is about frontier growth. UK could generate short to medium term growth by shrinking the gap to the frontier - which i think is the reasoning behind the Industrial Strategy
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
jdportes.bsky.social
Personal note: went to (some) of the countermarch yesterday, and then watched TV coverage of both.

@sundersays.bsky.social is right that the far-right/racists on the main march are a (small) minority whose numbers are not growing.

It's the apparent paralysis of the majority that scares me. [1/n]
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
anandmenon.bsky.social
The problem is that ‘this is not who we are’ is coming to feel a little empirically unconvincing. It might help if the PM actually stood up and made the case for a liberal, tolerant and inclusive country.
allymcgovern.bsky.social
It didn't work out for me in the race to be deputy leader, but given events today, am sharing this again.

We in Labour are uniquely placed to bring our diverse country together against the forces of hate. When we stand up for each other, we all win.

labourlist.org/2025/09/alis...
'We win when we fight together – that's the story Labour needs to tell' - LabourList
We can never give in to the forces that would divide us and send us backwards.  The answer is the Labour winning over a broad coalition for our future.
labourlist.org
thomsampson.bsky.social
That the UK government continues to post on X is not only a moral failure, but strategically incompetent.

As is not blocking foreign funding of UK politics
paleofuture.bsky.social
Elon Musk spoke by video to Tommy Robinson's anti-immigrant rally in the UK today.

"You're in a fundamental situation here where, whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you," said Musk. "You either fight back or you die."
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
drjennings.bsky.social
There has been far too much 'understanding' and far too little condemnation on the part of politicians and media of the flag movement. It is a far right campaign of vandalism and criminal damage. It is not a patriotic movement.
petergeoghegan.bsky.social
First I heard about it was when welders came home saying ‘there’s people painting white crosses on black people’s doors on our street’.

Fucking disgusting. That’s what it is. And that’s what politicians need to call it
thomsampson.bsky.social
Early evidence that US tariffs are hitting UK exports

And welcome back Sophie
sophiehale.bsky.social
But the impact of US tariffs seems to be materialising. UK exports to the US since April (when new tariffs were initially applied to UK goods) were 14% below their level over the same period last year (compared to just 4% lower with the world).
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
ryanenos.bsky.social
Texas A&M should be ashamed of itself. It is encouraging cultural revolution-type snitching that is completely inconsistent with free inquiry and, frankly, being a grown-up that can be exposed to stuff that makes you uncomfortable.

It's not only violating academic freedom, it's making kids dumb.
mbkplus.bsky.social
Update on the Texas A&M professor / cell phone video situation: the professor has been fired by the A&M president
president.tamu.edu/messages/an-...
This afternoon, following full consideration of the facts related to this situation, I directed the Provost to terminate the professor involved, effective immediately. Please understand that these decisions were mine alone and were not
made lightly. While I cannot provide all the details at this time, I will share the following facts.
Reposted by Thomas Sampson
jintlecon.bsky.social
Using distance to the Irish border of UK firms that have not changed their location since 2016 Referendum to isolate the effects of Brexit at the firm level, authors find that Brexit caused exposed firms to cut workforce by up to 15.7% on average relative to non-exposed firms.