Classical economics is wrong: we are not all rational agents. So empowering people to make their own investment decisions, like in private pensions, could result in catastrophe, say Daniel Kahneman, Terrance Odean and Brad Barber In a common nightmare, the pilot comes to the back of the plane and asks you to take the controls….

The EU is falling behind on its “Lisbon objective” of making Europe the most competitive economy in the world, admits José Manuel Barroso. Both Brussels and member-states need to play their part Europe has much to be proud of. The devastation of the first half of the 20th century has given place to an unprecedented…

Forget weapons of mass destruction: North Korea’s threat to its own people could be grounds enough for regime change, says Jasper Becker Small signs often portend big changes in closed societies, such as the secretive court of North Korea’s Kim dynasty. Portraits of Kim Jong Il have disappeared from key public buildings like the People’s…

With Turkey’s date for EU entry talks now set, the deeper questions about culture and identity have become louder than ever. But, says Seyla Benhabib, Europe lacks the leadership to deal honestly with multiculturalism At a recent meeting at the American Academy of Berlin, I asked Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister, about the heated…

Vaccination is the best way to tackle AIDS, says Seth Berkley, but we must plan to ensure wide access once we find the vaccine AIDS is the greatest public health crisis of our time. More than 40 million people are now living with the human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) or full-blown acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS),…

Climate change is real, says Tony Blair, who has pledged to make it a top priority of Britain’s G8 presidency in 2005 and to secure the international agreement that is necessary to avert disaster Mankind’s effect on the environment, and in particular on climate change, is large and growing. From the start of the industrial…

As Britain takes up the presidencies of the G8 and the European Union, Gordon Brown calls on the rich world to step up efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals In the post-war era visionaries created the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and seized a powerful and unprecedented moment of opportunity. Then…

Stem cell research offers great hope for treating previously incurable diseases, says Oliver Brüstle, if only governments will allow it to be undertaken Stem cell technology has sparked huge controversy. On the one hand is the hope that embryonic stem cells can be used to generate cells to replace those damaged by diseases such as…

The poor wish to engage in the market, as buyers and sellers, says Antony Burgmans. With help from business, they can do so Unilever, which I chair, is a company that touches people’s lives. This may sound a little disingenuous from a businessman, but let me explain why our long-term business success is intimately connected…