User:Nick Gardner

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Biography:

Nick Gardner is retired after successive careers as a flight test observer, as a professional engineer, and as an economist. He has worked in two industrial companies, a research establishment and four government departments; and served as economic adviser to four cabinet ministers. As an engineer he was engaged in aeronautical research and development including the development of new manufacturing processes, he took part in the Concorde project and he visited the Apollo project. As an economist he evaluated numerous aerospace projects, he played a part in the development of UK competition policy and he managed a major statistical series. During his working life he contributed to several professional journals and symposiums on subjects including spotwelding, launching aid and project management, and since retirement he has written a book on contemporary economic history and another on competition policy that was published in three editions. His latest book is Mistakes – how they have happened and how some might be avoided. Nick is mainly interested in how people form beliefs and how they make decisions. Pursuit of that interest has led him to explore published work in the fields of philosophy, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, genetics, economics, politics, media studies, religion and decision theory. His CZ contributions have mainly been on the economics and his principal CZ objective has been to attract constructive criticism from fellow-economists and, with their help, to develop articles that provide a wide range of readers with a clearer perception of economic issues than can be gained from other sources.

Planned contributions

Articles to complete or update

High priority

Medium priority

  • Developed Article bank failures and rescues: an account of the occurrence , causes and consequences of bank failures, and of methods of dealing with them [e]more on Nordic and Asian crises [[3]].
  • Stub balance of payments: an accounting statement for the transactions of a country with the rest of the world. [e] expand using Wolf p201
  • Stub cost-benefit analysis: A method of evaluating projects that takes account of the preferences of those affected. [e] add material on limitations of welfare economics
  • Developed Article crash of 1929: the sharp fall in prices on the New York Stock Exchange that contributed to the severity of the Great Depression [e] add links to subpages and complete the tutorials subpage' use some of Gillian Tet's material
  • Stub deflation: a persistent sequence of reductions in the general level of prices. [e] add historical data from Bordo and Filado [4]
  • Developed Article financial system: The interactive system of organisations that serve as intermediaries between lenders and borrowers. [e] consider reference to White [5]
  • Developing Article Fiscal policy: Policy concerning public expenditure, taxation and borrowing and the provision of public goods and services, and their effects upon social conduct, the distribution of wealth and the level of economic activity. [e] complete paragraphs on welfare and stabilisation
  • Developing Article Liberalism: Economic and political doctrine advocating free enterprise, free competition and free will. A shortcut word grouping a swath of people who allegedly hold similar values. The liberal ideal does not really exist, as no two people would likely define it exactly the same. Some of the generalizations that people make about liberals include that they are open to social change, not tied to traditional family values, not militaristic, lacking in fiscal restraint, and socially tolerant. [e] 'see talk page
  • Stub money supply: the economy's stock of those assets that can be quickly exchanged for goods and services. [e] add paragraphs on determinants, control and economic effects
  • Developing Article multiplier effect: [e]add text to existing opening
  • Rent-seeking: Add brief definition or description
  • Developing Article World Trade Organisation: A multinational organisation that develops trade policies and resolves disputes, with an assumption that free trade is generally the best [e]

Low priority

  • Market: A term used in commerce and economics to denote a conjunction of buyers and sellers. [e] add efficient market hypothesis

New articles

  • Impossibility theorem: The proof that it is impossible to devise a rational democratic voting system that is guaranteed to produce a consistent set of preferences for a group from the preferences of the people in the group. [e]
  • Developing Article Social choice theory: The study of systems of collective decision-making. [e]

Past Contributions

Nick has made substantial contributions to CZ articles on:-

Easily lost links

CZ: Ready for approval#Economics

CZ: The Editor Role