A Christmas reading list

From the fascinating history of copper to the birth of the "vibecession", Deloitte's Chief Economist recommends eight, free reads.

My annual Christmas reading list includes eight articles (and, despite it being a reading list, one podcast). All are available for free online, although some websites restrict the number of articles that can be accessed without charge each month. I hope these offer a break from the rigours of Christmas.

The spread of American culture has resulted in the incorporation of numerous Americanisms into British English. But the trade in words goes in both directions. This article from The Guardian explores the reciprocal influence of “Britishisms”, including “cheeky” and “early days”, that are changing the way Americans speak.

The US has boomed since the pandemic, yet many Americans feel the economy is in a mess. Nearly half of US voters think that the G7’s fastest-growing country economy is in a “poor” state. In the UK, despite inflation coming down and growth picking up this year, sentiment gauges are at low levels. This disconnect is so striking that a new word, “vibecession”, a composite of vibe and recession, has emerged to describe it. Linda Yueh, economist and broadcaster, and my colleague and fellow Deloitte economist, Tom Simmons, recently tackled the so-called vibecession on an episode of Deloitte’s “The Green Room” podcast. You can listen to it below.

In a similar vein, this VOX article asks whether a negativity-bias in modern-day media may help explain the gloom.

In recent years, China has developed its capacity in high-tech manufacturing, such as high-speed trains and wind turbines, often copying technology and designs from overseas companies. This article discusses why, despite their success in other areas, China has yet to develop commercial aircraft manufacturing capabilities to rival the likes of Boeing and Airbus.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, the US passed the Dodd-Frank Act to reform the finance industry. Under the Act, whistleblowers who reveal financial fraud within companies can receive rewards equal to a proportion of the fines imposed by regulators and the courts. These can be significant, with the highest single payout reaching $279m last year. This article details the emergence of professional whistleblowers in the US, exploring the incentives and consequences for those who make a career from exposing fraud within organisations.

Sports stars like Roger Federer and Tiger Woods give the impression of using their equipment like an extension of their bodies. This phenomenon is not limited to elite athletes; we all rely on machines and tools whose value increases with use and familiarity. This article examines the various theories behind the so-called human embodiment of tools, from tennis rackets to computers to cars.

Copper is the vital, unsung material on which a vast array of modern technologies depends. This article, by Sky’s economics editor, Ed Conway, looks into the history of copper, including the way in which innovation and new technology have enabled production to keep pace with population growth. In Roman times, the price of a tonne of pure copper was equivalent to roughly 40 years of the average wage. By 1800, this had fallen to six years. Today it stands at just 21 days.

Economists use models and tools to provide digestible explanations of the world’s most complex economic issues. One of the most revolutionary examples was the “Phillips Machine”, developed in the 1940s by the New Zealander Alban Phillips. The machine represented an early form of a computer and consisted of water flowing through a series of pipes to model how money flowed through the economy. This piece by broadcaster and economist Tim Harford describes the fascinating life of Phillips and his unorthodox education that led to the creation of the Phillips Machine.

This article charts the growth of the cruise industry and the remarkable increase in the size of cruise ships. Unconstrained by the complexities of land-based infrastructure projects of a similar scale, cruise ships have just kept on growing. In January of this year, the world’s largest passenger ship ever built set sail on her maiden voyage. The Icon of the Seas is five times the size of the Titanic, carries nearly 10,000 people and contains 40 bars and restaurants, several theatres and seven swimming pools.

A personal view from Ian Stewart, Deloitte's Chief Economist in the UK. Subscribe and/or view previous editions of the Deloitte Monday Briefing here.