Mark Harrison

Emeritus Prof of Econ, U of Warwick; author, Secret Leviathan: Secrecy and state capacity under Soviet communism

[Mark Harrison @mark4harrison]

With regret, I'm leaving. Please find me and, if you wish, follow me on Bluesky at https://t.co/2zDdjqY02r

[Origin Story @OriginStorycast]

Origin Story will no longer be posting here.

[The Economist @TheEconomist]

Europe’s defence industries are underpowered and fragmented. Even if the continent could find the money to put all this right, it lacks leadership and cohesion https://t.co/rptAuu1iwJ 👇

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Trump spoke with Putin and told him not to escalate the war in Ukraine, highlighting Washington's strong military presence in Europe

This sets up a tense dynamic, as Putin has a vested interest in intensifying the conflict to leverage negotiations before Trump takes office 1/

[Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 @DefenceHQ]

'At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.'

The nation today remembered its fallen at the National Service of #Remembrance at the Cenotaph and across the UK.

[Gérard Araud @GerardAraud]

Sans commentaire. Ce sera pire que vous pouvez l’imaginer.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

I told CNN how Ukraine will adapt to Trump
Q: Do you think Trump will be good for Ukraine?
A: It's a new reality today
Many are anxious about Trump's position about pressure on Ukraine not to join NATO for 20 years. I don't believe that's going to happen. 1/

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

Lesson 1: Do not obey in advance.
Thread of lessons from my book #OnTyranny. Written in 2016.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Today would be a good day for Biden to lift all restrictions on the use of weapons by Ukraine and on the supply of weapons to Ukraine by other countries

[Phillips P. OBrien @PhillipsPOBrien]

This is what should be the final sign of an utterly failed policy. The Russians are attacking civilians throughout Ukraine with weapons armed with thermobaric warheads, whose only purpose is to kill and terrorise. And yet Ukraine can’t strike military targets in Russia.

[Mark Harrison @mark4harrison]

What is the threat from Russia and what will Trump's election mean for the war in Ukraine? I talk to @uainfocus @cage_warwick @warwickecon @BASEES @BritishAcademy_

[John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch]

We’re going to hear lots of stories about which people, policies and rhetoric are to blame for the Democrats’ defeat.

Some of those stories may even be true!

But an underrated factor is that 2024 was an absolutely horrendous year for incumbents around the world 👇

[Tirthankar Roy @RoyHistory1]

Reviewed recently (for Developing Economies) "Breaking the Mold" by Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba (RL). RL examines India's economic growth, addressing what's working, the challenges ahead, and possible responses.

[UAinFocus Platform @uainfocus]

“Russia threatens us all”. Interview with @mark4harrison Emeritus Professor of Economics at @uniofwarwick -https://t.co/ydmE5Pmk17

[Martin Lewis @MartinSLewis]

IMPORTANT PLS SHARE. It's rumoured the English £9,250 tuition fee cap may be raised this pm for the 1st time in 8yrs, as University's finances are strained. As student finance misunderstandings abound, I've bashed out a few notes to help...

1. Higher tuition fees WON'T change what most pay each year. For most, they're paid for you by the student loans company and you repay afterwards only if you earn over the threshold. The amount you repay each year (9% over the threshold) solely depends on what you earn not on what you borrow.

2. Increasing tuition fees will only see those who clear the loan in full over the 40yrs pay more. That is generally mid-high to higher earning university leavers only, so the cost of increasing them will generally be born by the more affluent. Most lower and middle earning university leavers will simply pay 9% extra tax above the threshold for 40yrs (and higher tuition fees won't change that)

3. The rise is tuition fees is likely to be trivial compared to the changes the last govt made for 2023 starters. 2023 starters had their repayment thresholds dropped to £25,000 (from £27,295/yr) and had the time they had to keep repaying for (unless cleared) extended to 40years from 30years.

So these higher annual repayments for longer, increased by over 50% the amount many graduates will eventually have to pay back for going to university. Yet they were almost stealth changes because people can't intuitively feel the seismic impact.

Changing tuition fees is a more obvious rise, but in reality has far less of an impact on the amount most will repay (though combined with the 2023 changes it does certainly up the cost).

4. The biggest practical problem for students isnt tution fees (even if raised) its the fact maintenace loans aren't big enough. English maintenance loans have not kept pace with inflation. I'd urge the govt to couple the tuition fee loans with bigger living loans - if not it is a real risk to social mobility, with those from the poorest backgrounds likely to be worse affected.

I could write more, but will stop here, hopefully this gives an idea the issues are less straightforward than many feel.

[OSINTdefender @sentdefender]

Lebanon and the Lebanese People are slowing beginning to Rise-Up against Hezbollah, and the only reason this is possible is because of Israel. Eventually the Lebanese Army will have to decide where they Stand, either with Lebanon or with Iran.

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

Thread of the most epic moments from SpaceX Starship’s launches 🧵

1. Starship’s 33 Raptor engines in full power

[Economics Observatory @EconObservatory]

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.”

Today’s #ChartOfTheDay recreates and extends a chart from their seminal 2005 paper, showing the economic paths of North and South Korea. The laureates present the case of the two Koreas as a natural experiment between two halves organised in radically different ways.

In 1960, South Korea had a GDP per capita comparable to that of Liberia or Guatemala. Today, it is an economic powerhouse, with a per capita income more than 30 times greater than its northern neighbour.

#NobelPrize

Visit our Data-Hub to explore more interactive charts. https://t.co/siKAVtC6mZ

[Patrick Fox @RealCynicalFox]

Once again, this type of action serves three purposes:
1. It gives PRC forces practice.
2. It normalizes large scale PRC operations near Taiwan, obscuring an actual attack if/when it materializes.
3. It stresses and taxes ROC forces, both in terms of personnel and materiel.

[Simon Nixon @Simon_Nixon]

Even 8 years later, it’s still extraordinary to think that Britain deliberately chose to shrink its domestic market from 450m people to 65m on the recommendation of a bunch of liars, charlatans and fools