Working in ‘developing’ countries it is important to consider the practical applications and implications of growth. Theoretical discussions about which concept of growth would hypothetically lead to the greatest good, the greatest utility or the greatest profit become impossible without considering where they will be applied. Perhaps the greatest reason for this is the ambiguity of our end: do we aim for the greatest GDP, social justice, the greatest profit, or some other measure of development? Without a clear target, we’re shooting aimlessly – and something, or someone, is going …

The dreaded Christmas shopping period is reaching its peak. Some people have, but last-minute shoppers still need to answer the usual questions: How much to spend, who to give gifts to and, of course, which presents to get them.
Provided that gift-giving aims at making the recipient happy, it might pay to have a look at what economists have to say about gift-giving at Christmas. After all, economics is not about making people rich per se, as often claimed, it’s about making people happy, or in the terms of the discipline, …

With the second issue just published, The Transatlantic concludes its preoccupation with GROWTH for the time being. Instead, we are opening a new chapter – the vast fields of EDUCATION and INNOVATION. Drawing a connection between growth, education and innovation is not a new concept to economics and philosophy (for example John Stuart Mill claims in his Representative Government that democracy and education are conditional for the flourishing of the society). Yet, in light of the current developments in the UK this concept is newly invoked by a range of opponents to the looming cuts in Higher Education.