Evan Davis
Evan Davis
Evan Harold Davisis an English economist, journalist, and presenter for the BBC...
ProfessionEconomist
Date of Birth8 April 1962
competition needs news
My instinct is to assume that we consumers are an inconsistent bunch. We like competition if it delivers low prices, but grumble if it delivers the bad news that prices need to go up.
country order space
Most people hugely underestimate the amount of 'empty space' we have in our country. Fly over the U.K., and you see that human settlement does not fill up the U.K. at all. It accounts for something of the order of 15 per cent of the landmass.
effectiveness too-much wonder
It is no wonder that bank capital is regulated. When borrowing and lending is profitable, it is tempting for banks to scale up their operations and to borrow and lend too much in relation to their capital, in effect reducing the effectiveness of the potential capital cushion.
psychology hot topics
Interestingly, human irrationality is a hot topic in economics at the moment. Behavioural economics it's called, on the cusp of economics and psychology.
years europe world
For years, we've grown dependant on American consumers as the world's spenders of last resort. They've kept Europe out of recession, allowed China to industrialise, and prevented global deflation. But at the same time, they've not been looking after their own futures.
years space challenges
Now undoubtedly, we face some very British challenges when it comes to infrastructure. We rightly cherish our back yards and green spaces, and we'll defend them passionately when projects are announced. We live in a democracy, and we like to debate these things, often for many years.
issues way argument
Reducing every issue to an argument can become stale but it's often a very good way of clarifying issues.
today programmes
Personally, I'd like us to have a few more women on the 'Today' programme.
writing want ifs
It's amazing, if you know what you want to say, how fast it is to write.
views want sound
I don't want to sound like 'chirpy Evan' who's just bouncing around with his unrealistic views and doesn't understand what's going on.
pain gay thinking
I don't particularly like going on about being gay or making a big thing about it, but I think it's a bit of a pain to be secretive about it.
light balance today
Even the 'Today' programme involves a balance between the worthy-but-heavy items with the worthless-but-entertainingly-light ones.
mistake ashamed
Mistakes are nothing to be ashamed of.
behaviour cheat accepted
We are more likely to cheat if we see others doing so. We tend to conform to accepted norms of reasonable behaviour, rather than adhere to strict rules.