Environmentalists are stepping up their campaign to ban plastic microbeads, which are polluting our seas and killing marine life. These are also entering our food chain. What are plastic microbeads? They are tiny plastic particles which are found in cosmetics — including facial scrubs, exfoliators, shower gels and toothpastes — and household products as well as industrial processes. A …

  The Chancellor is right to keep his powder dry” was George Osborne’s comment on the mini-budget presented this week by Philip Hammond, his successor at the head of the U.K. Treasury. That’s probably correct given the cloud of uncertainty the Brexit vote is casting over the economy. If he waits too long, however, Hammond risks missing an opportunity to …

  Why has so much of the world succumbed to populist demagoguery and xenophobic nationalism? To a non-trivial extent, economists may be responsible. This idea finds some support in a new book, The Econocracy, written by three U.K. economics students — Joe Earle, Cahal Moran and Zach Ward-Perkins. They argue that popular dissatisfaction with government has a lot to do …