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Eoin McLaughlin

@eoinaldo.substack.com
1.3K followers 957 following 301 posts

Econ Prof at Heriot-Watt University, interested in #econhist, #landreform, #microfinance, #sustainabledevelopment, #health, #nufc & #Seinfeld (not necessarily in that order) www.eoinmclaughlin.ie

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Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
Graham Brownlow, FREcon @grahambrownlow.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Piece with Eoin McLaughlin on the relationship between the NI economy and long-run British relative decline. watttheecon.substack.com/p/northern-i...
watttheecon.substack.com
Northern Ireland’s Economy
A Case of the British Disease?
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 03/09/2026
Short piece on the British Disease (Britain's relative decline) www.economicsobservatory.com/british_dise...
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 23/08/2026
The US is being run by amateurs, why threaten one of the largest holders of Treasuries? Mark Carney says Canada ‘at war’ with US over trade - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
giftarticle.ft.com
Mark Carney says Canada ‘at war’ with US over trade
Prime Minister tells country Donald Trump ‘miscalculated’ by escalating tariff attack
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Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
Mike Hall @handle.invalid · 19/08/2026
Great lecture by @eoinaldo.substack.com at the @libraryofmistakes.bsky.social tonight. I'm definitely going to pick up his book tomorrow.
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Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 17/08/2026
Annual US defense expenditures now approach $1 trillion—and could head toward $1.5 trillion in the coming fiscal year. How did we get here? One factor is the stream of national service officials who take positions at private military contractors and lobbying firms, writes John Mecklin @meckdevil.
thebulletin.org
The defense revolving-door, Silicon Valley edition
An eye-opening glimpse at the links between two congressional committees and more than 100 defense contractors, consultants, and lobbyists.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/08/2026
www.libraryofmistakes.com/lectures/eoi...
libraryofmistakes.com
Eoin McLaughlin on The Inclusive Wealth of Nations - The Library of Mistakes
We are welcoming Eoin McLaughlin to the library this summer to celebrate the launch of his book – The Inclusive Wealth of Nations. We’re in a hole in Britain and we’re still digging, going through ano...
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/08/2026
Economics at the Fringe! I’ll be at the Library of Mistakes this Wednesday, talking about The Inclusive Wealth of Nations with Robbie Mochrie. If you’re in Edinburgh, come along 👇
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 14/08/2026
So, what is The Inclusive Wealth of Nations actually about? A week after publication, I’ve written a short piece on where the idea came from, what I mean by inclusive wealth, and why we need to look beyond GDP when thinking about economic progress. Link here: eoinaldo.substack.com/p/what-is-th...
eoinaldo.substack.com
What is The Inclusive Wealth of Nations actually about?
My book, The Inclusive Wealth of Nations, was published last week. Here I explain where the idea came from, what I mean by inclusive wealth, and why I think we need to look beyond GDP when thinking ab...
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 08/08/2026
NWO: "Economists and analysts have also speculated that Washington joined Japan in intervening to keep Tokyo from selling Treasuries at a time when long-term American borrowing costs are running near 19-year highs." US euro sale to prop up yen blindsided ECB - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
US euro sale to prop up yen blindsided ECB
Christine Lagarde and Scott Bessent spoke only after Washington’s historic intervention
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 06/08/2026
Available at Bloomsbury www.bloomsbury.com/uk/inclusive... Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Inclusive-We... Waterstones: www.waterstones.com/book/the-inc... Barnes & Nobel: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-inclus... Target: www.target.com/p/the-inclus...
bloomsbury.com
The Inclusive Wealth of Nations
This book argues for a reassessment of the way a nation's wealth is measured that goes beyond the simple measurement of GDP to include on all capital - produced…
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 06/08/2026
Not quite an airport book but it does fit on the ferry 🛳 The Inclusive Wealth of Nations is out today.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 24/07/2026
After several years of research and writing, today I finally got to hold the first copy of "The Inclusive Wealth of Nations". Grateful to everyone who helped shape the book along the way. And a special thought for David Greasley and Kirk Hamilton, who I wish were here to see the finished book.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 24/07/2026
PS: Our post was also run through the new AI detectors on Substack, and we're happy to report that it was apparently written by two humans 😀
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 24/07/2026
China's economic miracle is one of the defining stories of modern history. But what if the latest international GDP revisions have made its starting point implausibly low? Our latest Substack explores the debate open.substack.com/pub/wattthee...
open.substack.com
Comparing GDP and living standards over space and time, part 2: How big was China?
How big was China's economic miracle? A major revision to the Penn World Tables has changed the story, and we're not convinced it got it right.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 23/07/2026
Love this! Healy disagreed with Keynes argument that "practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist". Given his admiration for Schumpeter, he probably wouldn't have fallen for the Ricardian Vice either!
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Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
Guy Grossman @guygrossman.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
It was a genuine pleasure chatting with @voxdev.bsky.social about our recent annual review paper. www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
annualreviews.org
The Politics of Climate Change in the Developing World
Climate change politics in the developing world remains understudied, despite the region's acute vulnerability and centrality to climate futures. This article synthesizes emerging research across...
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 18/07/2026
'Growth in every postcode' is a nice ambition. But why have so many British regions failed to catch up in the first place? I've highlighted Ireland to show an alternative path was possible.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 18/07/2026
And the UK experienced relative decline open.substack.com/pub/eoinaldo... Funny thing is the IEA were the institution that published Allen's British Disease pamphlet. So Hannon should know better.
open.substack.com
Which Government Grew Britain the Fastest?
Asking the Wrong Question About the British Economy
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/07/2026
That's the central argument of my forthcoming book, The Inclusive Wealth of Nations: prosperity is about what we leave behind for future generations as much as what we produce today. www.bloomsbury.com/uk/inclusive...
bloomsbury.com
The Inclusive Wealth of Nations
This book argues for a reassessment of the way a nation's wealth is measured that goes beyond the simple measurement of GDP to include on all capital - produced…
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/07/2026
If statistics began as an inquiry into "the quantum of happiness", perhaps we've become too fixated on GDP alone.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/07/2026
Mark Schaffer and I explore this history in our latest post on the evolution of national accounting and how we compare living standards over time and across countries. open.substack.com/pub/wattthee...
open.substack.com
Comparing GDP and living standards over space and time, part 1
“The Singularity Already Happened”
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/07/2026
Two centuries later, that still feels like a useful reminder. Economic measurement was never meant to be an end in itself. The point is to help us understand how to build more prosperous, sustainable, and ultimately happier societies.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/07/2026
That's a remarkably Smithian idea. Smith may have distrusted crude numerical exercises, but he also recognised, from his experience as a Customs Commissioner, how essential practical knowledge was for understanding economic questions.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/07/2026
But Sinclair deliberately changed its meaning. Rather than measuring the strength of the state, he defined statistics as an inquiry into "the quantum of happiness enjoyed by its inhabitants, and the means of its future improvement."
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/07/2026
Smith's close friend Sir John Sinclair introduced the word statistics into the English language after encountering the German term Statistik during his travels.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 17/07/2026
Adam Smith died on this day in 1790. Despite famously writing that he had "no great faith in political arithmetic", one of history's little ironies is that he helped inspire the statistical tradition that eventually gave us modern national accounts.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 10/07/2026
Andy Burnham wants “growth in every postcode”. But how has UK growth actually fared under different governments? I played around with 80 years of data and came to a slightly awkward conclusion: which government grew Britain fastest is probably the wrong question. open.substack.com/pub/eoinaldo...
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 29/06/2026
aefresearch.site.hw.ac.uk/call-for-pap...
aefresearch.site.hw.ac.uk
Call for Papers: From Suez to Hormuz: Chokepoints, Geoeconomics, and Great-Power Rivalry – AEF Research
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 29/06/2026
Call for Papers: From Suez to Hormuz. Exploring what the Suez Crisis can teach us about geoeconomic competition, maritime chokepoints and global power today. Conference 4 Nov; EOIs by 24 July. Details 👇
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 28/06/2026
Take a look what's under the hood intheweights.com
intheweights.com
IN THE WEIGHTS
The weights are the billions of numbers forming an AI's brain. Type a name and see how strongly the leading AI models recognize it. Are you in the weights?
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 26/06/2026
If AI displaces millions of workers, how should societies respond? 19th century Ireland offers an intriguing historical parallel. As Britain industrialised, Ireland deindustrialised. The responses still have something to teach us about adapting to technological change: www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
rte.ie
The history of loan funds & microfinance in 19th century Ireland
By the 1840s, Ireland had one of the densest networks of microfinance institutions in the world to help people adapt to economic change
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Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
RTÉ Brainstorm @rtebrainstorm.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
How loan funds helped Ireland deal with the effects of the Industrial Revolution. By the 1840s, Ireland had one of the densest networks of microfinance institutions in the world to help people adapt to economic change, writes @eoinaldo.substack.com @researchireland.ie www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
rte.ie
The history of loan funds & microfinance in 19th century Ireland
By the 1840s, Ireland had one of the densest networks of microfinance institutions in the world to help people adapt to economic change
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 26/06/2026
The 250th anniversary of The Wealth of Nations ended up being, in many ways, a celebration of The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Why? A few reflections on how Adam Smith scholarship has changed over the past half century. open.substack.com/pub/eoinaldo...
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 21/06/2026
Great piece on the shift in the global balance of power: China’s tribute system and the new world order - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
China’s tribute system and the new world order
Exercising power without resorting to war could be Beijing’s ultimate show of strength
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 21/06/2026
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 21/06/2026
Tech bros really are extinctionists: www.msn.com/en-in/money/...
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 21/06/2026
UK ONS data collection issues: www.reuters.com/business/uk-...
reuters.com
UK statistics office reports error in May and June job data collection
Britain's statistics office said on Friday that an operational error in May and early ​June has led to reduced response rates for its main survey ‌of unemployment and the labour market.
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Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
Rachel Forshaw @rachelforshaw.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Operation Health! at the British Academy Festival of Ideas. Participants explored NHS resource allocation in 1974, discovering that similar outcomes could emerge from very different levels of provision, but with different trade-offs. @britishacademy.bsky.social heal-researchhub.github.io/nhs-74/
Dr Rachel Forshaw at the British Academy Festival of Ideas delivering Operation Health!, a workshop based on the NHS-74 project. Small groups discuss patient cases and allocate limited healthcare resources using historical NHS data from 1974.Workshop materials from Operation Health! showing patient cards, resource tokens, and historical maps of NHS provision in 1974. Participants use these materials to make decisions about treatment, waiting lists, and healthcare capacity under resource constraints.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 19/06/2026
Everyone is talking about a possible "super" El Niño in 2026. But what does history tell us? The last comparable event (1877–78) triggered a global climate crisis. A short essay on Ireland, climate shocks, and the long shadow of El Niño: open.substack.com/pub/wattthee...
open.substack.com
What History Teaches Us About a Super El Niño
Some lessons from Ireland in the nineteenth century
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Reposted by Eoin McLaughlin
Erik Bengtsson @bengtssonz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Thread about our new @wid.world working paper with @jakobmolinder.bsky.social and Svante Prado on income inequality and structural transformation in Sweden, 1870–1970! Link to paper: wid.world/document/inc... Thread 1/
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 12/06/2026
Check hyper link here: "The Club of Rome’s Limits to Growth (LTG, published in March 1972), and its 1974 follow-up volume responding to various critics, have had an extraordinary intellectual influence." But no links clicked so guess you missed it.
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 12/06/2026
When I quote prominent authors saying they draw influence from Limits to Growth this is not enough? Please read the piece - especially where I am critical of Nordhaus - then give me your thoughts: substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
The Limits to Growth and the Return of Models of Doom
How a disputed computer model became one of the most influential ideas in modern environmentalism
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 12/06/2026
Yes, and various studies which are linked in the piece (e.g., onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....) - open.substack.com/pub/eoinaldo...
open.substack.com
The Limits to Growth and the Return of Models of Doom
How a disputed computer model became one of the most influential ideas in modern environmentalism
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 12/06/2026
Very open minded of you. Nordhaus 1973 on World Dynamics - academic.oup.com/ej/article-a... with a response from Forrester in 1974 - link.springer.com/article/10.1....
academic.oup.com
World Dynamics: Measurement Without Data
William D. Nordhaus; World Dynamics: Measurement Without Data, The Economic Journal, Volume 83, Issue 332, 1 December 1973, Pages 1156–1183, https://doi.or
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 12/06/2026
I explore that history and what it can teach us about advocacy bias in public discourse in my latest essay: open.substack.com/pub/eoinaldo...
open.substack.com
The Limits to Growth and the Return of Models of Doom
How a disputed computer model became one of the most influential ideas in modern environmentalism
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 12/06/2026
My argument is that The Limits to Growth survived because it stopped being judged primarily as a forecasting model and became something more powerful: a moral narrative about limits, overshoot, and ecological constraint. (6/7)
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 12/06/2026
Economists such as Solow and Nordhaus, along with scientists such as Cole and Curnow, spent years dissecting the model's assumptions. Yet its influence only grew. Why? (5/7)
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 12/06/2026
Dana Meadows later acknowledged that the model could not "take the world from the Industrial Revolution to whatever follows next beyond that." (4/7)
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Eoin McLaughlin @eoinaldo.substack.com · 12/06/2026
One criticism, first highlighted by Kevin Kelly, is particularly striking. If the World3 model is run from 1600 it predicts collapse roughly a century later. If it is run from 1800 it predicts collapse roughly a century later. The world did not collapse in 1700 or 1900. (3/7)
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