Amusement Islands

Amusement Parks And Central Banks

Tim Harford | 6th July 2023

Even bankers and economists find it hard to explain quite what money is and how money works; we all tend to fall back on stories and analogies. The late Nobel prizewinning economist Robert Lucas used to compare central banks with ticket-booths in amusement parks which issued tickets for rides. At Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Tim Harford measures Lucas's fable against real life (1,000 words)


The full Browser might also be compared to an amusement park. Mostly because it is amusing. It isn't a park, though. Analogies are hard.

Anyway, why not enjoy five outstanding articles, a video and a podcast daily? In a park, if you like.

Russia, Finland, And The Åland Islands

Anna-Sophie Schneider | Spiegel | 6th July 2023

File under: Nooks and crannies of the new Europe. The Åland Islands are an archipelago in the Baltic Sea, belonging to Finland but largely autonomous, which have been demilitarised for a century under a peace treaty between Finland and Russia. But what now, as Finland joins Nato? The Ålanders fear invasion by Russia, but they also fear full incorporation into Finland (1,400 words)