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John Kay

Economics & Business Commentator

John Kay has been writing a column on economics and business since 1995. He is currently a visiting professor at the London School of Economics. He also had a career in the policy world which established the Institute for Fiscal Studies as one of the most respected think tanks, and a business career.

Email John Kay
  • Thursday, 5 September, 2024
    Capitalism
    We are all capitalists now

    The corporation has changed significantly over the past century — so has the consumer

    Illustration of a present day woman checking financial details on her phone, in the background are Elon Musk, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie and Jeff Bezos
  • Wednesday, 21 August, 2024
    ReviewNon-Fiction
    The Corporation in the 21st Century — catching the next wave of management theory

    John Kay takes a brilliantly erudite look at shifts in business thinking and the battle for consumer trust

    A man in a hoodie sits on a sofa, working on his laptop. In the foreground is a black board with a drawing of a man and a speech bubble saying ‘You guys!!!!’
  • Wednesday, 1 June, 2022
    UK financial regulation
    Why competitiveness should not become a goal for the FCA

    A regulatory race to the bottom harms everyone except those who have something to keep from public scrutiny

    A scene from the film ‘The Big Short’,  which showed the public that credit default swaps were at the heart of the 2008 financial crisis
  • Wednesday, 13 January, 2021
    ReviewNon-Fiction
    Mission Economy by Mariana Mazzucato — could moonshot thinking help fix the planet?

    The economist looks to the Apollo programme for inspiration for the challenges confronting us on Earth

  • Friday, 28 August, 2020
    Investment trusts
    John Kay: a lifetime in investment trusts

    The veteran economist sets out his compelling reasons for investing in the sector

  • Thursday, 6 August, 2020
    ReviewEconomics books
    Greed Is Dead — the problematic rise of the individual

    Collier and Kay’s scathing account of economic self-interest warns of harm to communities

  • Monday, 16 March, 2020
    ReviewBooks
    Radical Uncertainty: Decision-Making Beyond the Numbers, by John Kay and Mervyn King

    An eloquent rant against the faux-precision of mathematical models

    WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 1: (EDITORS NOTE: Please be advised that a classified document visible in this photo was obscured by The White House) In this handout image provided by The White House, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC. Obama later announced that the United States had killed Bin Laden in an operation led by U.S. Special Forces at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)
  • Monday, 24 February, 2020
    Impact investing
    Companies must include environmental and social performance measures

    Harvard Business School finds 56 companies already use impact-weighted accounts

  • Friday, 31 August, 2018
    ObituaryWorld
    James Mirrlees, economist, 1936-2018

    Nobel Prize winner best known for analysis of properties of income tax schedules

    BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 30: (CHINA OUT; PHOTOCOME OUT) Nobel prize laureate James A. Mirrlees of Britain delivers a speech during the Nobel Laureates Beijing Forum 2005 held at the Great Hall of the People on May 30, 2005 in Beijing, China. 12 Nobel Prize economic laureates are discussing issues of currency, longevity, politics and economic growth during the three-day event. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
  • Wednesday, 25 July, 2018
    ReviewLife & Arts
    Is there more to Adam Smith than free markets?

    He championed laissez-faire economics but also recognised the need for strong social institutions

    E9NA1B Statue of Adam Smith, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
  • Friday, 6 July, 2018
    Retail & Consumer industry
    Britain’s retailers are too quick to blame business rates

    Shopkeepers railing against the levy should look a bit closer to home

    Artwork for FTWeekend Comment - issue dated 07.07.18
  • Friday, 1 June, 2018
    Brexit
    Scottish nationalists build their economic muscle to fight again for independence

    SNP ditches its wishlist in favour of credible plans for life outside the UK

    Artwork fro FTWeekend Comment - issue dated 02.06.18
  • Monday, 12 March, 2018
    FTfmProperty sector
    Equity markets are thriving but are they relevant?

    Capital withdrawn via takeovers and buybacks exceeds sums raised in rights issues and IPOs

    KYBMT6 Navvies at Nybro-Savsjostrom railway Sweden
  • Friday, 19 January, 2018
    Investments
    Risk, the retail investor and disastrous new rules

    Legislation designed to improve transparency is bewildering, says John Kay

  • Monday, 15 January, 2018
    FTfmFund management
    I Kid you not, new European rules rely on a bent coin

    An annual return of more than 30% over 5 years? Really?

    Hand throws a coin. ROYALTY-FREE STOCK PHOTO Download Hand throws a coin. stock image. Image of fate, movement - 105544933 Hand throws a coin. The concept of decision-making. coin,concept,hand,bit,toss,sign,tails,gesture,fortune,problem,fate,gambling,gamble,choosing,thumb,deal,icon,fist,flipping,decision More ID 105544933 © Nataliia Mysik | Dreamstime.com 1 2 0
  • Wednesday, 8 November, 2017
    Life & Arts
    How to solve the UK housing crisis

    John Kay says tackling the issue requires building homes to rebalance supply and demand

  • Friday, 1 September, 2017
    Tax
    A lesson for Trump: the best tax reforms are the stealthiest

    All politicians begin with the goal of a simpler system with lower rates

    Americans Seeking Reward Money Inform IRS On Others...A man enters the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, May 7, 2010. Americans seeking reward money are turning in neighbors, clients and employers they suspect of cheating on taxes to the IRS at a rate of nearly eight per day, the director of the agency's whistleblower program said. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
  • Wednesday, 26 July, 2017
    FT AlphavilleDavid Keohane
    Further reading
  • Friday, 30 June, 2017
    FTfmFund management
    Asset management lies between brain surgery and estate agency

    Fund houses should differentiate themselves through philosophy and style, says John Kay

    Somewhere between brain surgery and estate agency
  • Friday, 19 May, 2017
    Corporate culture
    How British politicians fell out of love with the market

    We are paying the price for failing to make a nuanced case for free enterprise

    Artwork for FTWeekend Comment - issue dated 20.05.17
  • Thursday, 26 January, 2017
    Personal Finance
    How to get rich slowly — FT Money readers meet John Kay

    Mimic the portfolios of some of the world’s biggest investors

    John Kay speaks at an event for FT Money readers in the FT tonight.
  • Friday, 20 January, 2017
    European companies
    Justice has settled for second best in the Rolls-Royce scandal

    In too many cases, executives pay out to avoid personal liability

    Rolls-Royce plc; H1 profit up...Trent 700.
  • Friday, 2 December, 2016
    Leonora Walters
    What funds to pick for a £10,000 investment portfolio

    DIY investors have many potential tools to consider

    Leonora Walters
  • Friday, 2 December, 2016
    Investment research
    How to be your own investment manager

    Build your own portfolio with as little as £10,000

  • Friday, 11 November, 2016
    US presidential election
    Donald Trump’s victory is our post-crisis political reckoning

    The post-cold war settlement sowed the seeds of its own demise

    WATERBURY, CT - MAY 20: A woman walks by a closed factory on May 20, 2013 in Waterbury, Connecticut. Waterbury, once a thriving industrial city with one of the largest brass manufacturing bases in the world, has suffered economically in recent decades as manufacturing jobs have left the area. According to recent census data, 20.6%. of the city's residents are living below the poverty level.  (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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