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Owen Barder

@owen.org
2.6K followers 2.9K following 81 posts

Economist. ex No10, Treasury, CGD, PxD. Former visiting Professor @ LSE. Development Drums podcast. Team GB triathlete age-grouper. Olympic volunteer. Feminist, internationalist. Set up the first UK Government website. Helped invent AMCs.

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Owen Barder @owen.org · 21/09/2026
who had "US joins Comecon" on their bingo card?
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Owen Barder @owen.org · 19/01/2026
Joan Robinson "Beggar-My-Neighbour Remedies for Unemployment" 1937 ia802806.us.archive.org/16/items/ess... (p170-184)
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Owen Barder @owen.org · 18/09/2025
Haha. Academia.edu account duly cancelled.
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Owen Barder @owen.org · 12/08/2025
This does not signal a high degree of tech literacy among UK civil servants (at least, not the ones in DEFRA responsible for water). It might have been a good idea to check this with DSIT. www.gov.uk/government/n...
Screen shot of DEFRA press release which says

HOW TO SAVE WATER AT HOME
Install a rain butt to collect rainwater to use in the garden.  

Fix a leaking toilet – leaky loos can waste 200-400 litres a day.     

Use water from the kitchen to water your plants.   

Avoid watering your lawn – brown grass will grow back healthy.  

Turn off the taps when brushing teeth or shaving.   

Take shorter showers.     


Highlighted bullet:  Delete old emails and pictures as data centres require vast amounts of water to cool their systems.
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Owen Barder @owen.org · 31/07/2025
My Siemens coffee machine threatens to stop working if I do not frequently use (expensive) descaling tablets. I keep wondering if this is even legal.
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Owen Barder @owen.org · 31/08/2024
Fantastic evening of sport in the packed Stade de France for para Athletics, after an early morning as a volunteer on the para triathlon course for the athlete familiarization. Paris is putting on a great games. I am in awe of the athletes.
Paralympic athletes at the start of the 200m sprint, taken from the lower stands.
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