Tim Harford

Tim Harford writes the Dear Economist column for the Financial Times, in which readers' queries are answered, tongue-in-cheek, with the latest economic theory.

Thomas Schelling: games of enlightenment

"The most important event of the second half of the 20th century is one that didn't happen." With those words, Thomas Schelling marked the "stunning

By Tim Harford

/ 13 Oct 2005

A new strategy for climate change

In 1993 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States faced a familiar dilemma: sulphur emissions from coal-fired power stations were causing acid rain but the cost of cleaning

By Tim Harford

/ 23 May 2005

The real curse of oil

Was Iraq a war for oil? Was Afghanistan a war for oil? Such questions, evoked by the articles by Lutz Kleveman and Rosemary Righter on openDemocracy, imply a grand conspiracy.

By Tim Harford

/ 15 Oct 2003