Social Policy Bonds blog

Theodore Dalrymple writes about the UK's public sector:Everywhere one looks, one sees evidence of things not done properly, but nevertheless expensively. It is as if the real purpose of public expenditure were first to assure the pensions of those...

In her article Why no one trusts politicians any more, Camilla Cavendish writes about ways of closing the gap between politicians and the people they are supposed to represent:The usual proposals - tightening the ministerial code, properly regulating...

Some early applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being reported. In the UK, Steve Endacott, or "AI Steve" is asking the constituents of Brighton and Hove to submit policy proposals:Endacott created the AI candidate’s initial platform, fo...

I'm not a great supporter of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs), with which I've had no involvement. They came on the scene after my first presentations of Social Policy Bonds and differ in that they are not tradeable. This seemingly minor difference is actu...

Post number 1397, and as good a time as any to discuss policymaking and Social Policy Bonds. On both counts, I think the outlook is gloomy. I'd be less concerned about the fate of the bonds if there were any sign that policymaking were becoming more...

Bjorn Lomborg writes:  Life for most people on earth is still a battle against poverty, hunger and disease.... Tackling global temperatures a century out has never ranked high among the priorities of developing countries' voters - and without th...

George Monbiot writes about UK rivers: I’d been wondering how, when more sewage has been entering our rivers than ever before, some of the water companies have managed to improve the ratio of the sewage they treat v the sewage that pours untreate...