Hetan Shah
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hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah
@hetanshah.bsky.social
18K followers 1.5K following 28K posts
Chief Executive, The British Academy
Chair, Our World in Data
Board, National Audit Office
Visiting Professor, Kings College London
Fellow, Birkbeck College
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hetanshah.bsky.social
History lessons from the recent Nobel prize in Economics
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The recent Nobel Prize was awarded to three economists (two of whom are Fellows of the British Academy) whose work shows the importance of ideas, research and development to innovation and growth. Their work showed that we should care about the research infrastructures if we care about prosperity. And the Nobel award makes the case for these infrastructures in a second, more subtle way. One of the three recipients was Professor Joel Mokyr FBA, an economic historian. Libraries and archives are the labs of humanities and social science scholars, and history is not possible without them.
November 18, 2025 at 9:20 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
I know it’s easy to call for a Select Committee inquiry and, reader, that’s what I have done
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The science select committee should recognise that its remit covers all of research, and conduct an inquiry into the Library, with a view to helping it recover. It could quantify the funding that is needed to properly rebuild the Library's digital infrastructure, so that an independent case can be made to the government.
November 18, 2025 at 8:02 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Something I mention in today’s piece is the wider pressure and undervaluing of libraries and archives. Even less well known than the issues facing the British Library are the worrying proposals for the BBC Written Archives Centre. More here observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Libraries and archives are the labs of humanities and social science scholars, and history is not possible without them. But increasingly they are not prioritised - for example the BBC Written Archives Centre, paid for by public money, is moving to restrict responding to researcher queries, making exploratory research extremely difficult.
November 18, 2025 at 12:17 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
On any average day in the last 35 years, about 115,000 people left extreme poverty behind. But based on current trends, progress against extreme poverty will come to a halt.

Important slow news story on @ourworldindata.org

ourworldindata.org/end-progress...
Chart: Total population living in extreme poverty by world region, 1990 to 2040 - projected to be flat Extreme poverty is defined as living below the International Poverty Line of $3 per day. This data is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries. Projections from 2026 to 2030 are based on growth forecasts from the World Bank and the IMF. From 2031 onward, projections are based on the growth rates observed in the period 2015-2024.
November 17, 2025 at 8:02 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Chinese sales of tomato paste to Italy have collapsed due to concerns about alleged use of forced labour in Xinjiang and country of origin mislabelling
on.ft.com/4p0CORL
Chinese tomato paste sales to Italy have collapsed this year China's exports of processed tomatoes (Smn), by selected EU countries, Jan-Sep Italy Poland Germany • Croatia •Spain 1 • Romania 80 60 40 20 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 FINANCIAL TIMES Source: General Administration of Customs • Data corresponds to commodity code 2002, including processed tomato products such as tomato paste and canned tomatoes
November 15, 2025 at 11:37 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Great 40th anniversary show by @theprimitives.bsky.social tonight. Worth catching if they are coming your way (can see the dates here www.seetickets.com/tour/the-pri...)
The Primitives
November 15, 2025 at 11:19 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
‘Why is it so hard to be director-general? Mainly because of the BBC’s size. It is too big not to fail.’ Such a good piece by @henrymance.ft.com this
on.ft.com/4hZuNtz
Directors-general have run into trouble for specific actions and for their opposites. They have struggled because programme-makers have edited a public figure's words (the Trump Panorama) and because they have failed to do so (Bob Vylan at Glastonbury). They have been criticised for forcing out highly paid, rebellious stars (Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson), and for not forcing them out sooner (Match of the Day's Gary Lineker). They have been accused of airing news biased towards the government (pre-Brexit) and against it (post-Brexit). Their problems have been attributed to an insular mindset (this was Margaret Thatcher's critique) and to reliance on externally trained executives.
November 15, 2025 at 6:04 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Interesting also that this operation has been set up outside the chain of command as a separate unit, in the fashion of UK Vaccine Taskforce etc
Its creation - outside Russia's clunky and arbitrary command chain - is one piece of evidence that Moscow's army, once a lurching, uncoordinated mass, has begun to innovate. "In a lot of ways, they're the opposite of the way the Russian military operates," Lee said. "They're not working based on this bureaucratic quota system; instead, it's more akin to innovative Ukrainian drone units who can respond faster, take initiative."
November 15, 2025 at 8:13 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Not sure if this qualifies as one of those impossible jobs but will certainly be maddening, interesting and important
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...
Director General - Economics and Chief Economic Adviser HM Treasury Apply before 5:00 pm on Thursday 11th December 2025 Return to search results HM Treasury Reference number 437249 Salary £130,000 - £208,100 A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
November 14, 2025 at 12:46 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Looking forward to speaking at this event next week on a more community based economy. Featuring @anooshc.bsky.social @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social @patrickhurley.bsky.social @jamestplunkett.bsky.social & more. Register here
www.powertochange.org.uk/event/event-...
Event | From the ground up: Community business & Britain's next decade 18 Nov 6.30-8
November 11, 2025 at 7:51 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
If you liked that chart you may like this cartoon
Cartoon depicting the idea that something called ‘AI peas’ is better than normal peas
November 8, 2025 at 9:37 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Am at the opticians but worried I got run over and I’m actually in the Bad Place
Sign saying Relax Take a Seat
November 8, 2025 at 6:29 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Huge respect for the KFC in East Grinstead
Cruise bought a 1,000-sq metre mansion near Saint Hill Manor in 2006, before selling it to Peter Andre a decade later, though the Top Gun star is not the only celebrity with links to Scientology to have graced East Grinstead. In 2011, John Travolta reportedly tried to book a table at a local KFC branch before being told he would have to queue like everybody else. The worker who picked up the call on behalf of "Mr Travolta" told the Daily Mirror at the time: "Customers are customers, no matter who they are."
November 8, 2025 at 3:21 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Such a key point about cutting back on language provision - it’s not good for science and it’s not good for growth
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Max Hegarty, who is studying aerospace engineering, said the proposals also affect students on other courses. He has taken modules in German, and said this enabled him to do an internship in Germany. "So much of our European engineering is based in Germany," he said. "While a lot of people are willing to learn English, not returning that effort to them is not great for that collaboration, for that international co-operation that we need. "Cutting funding for modern languages courses serves only to paralyse our growth as a country."
November 8, 2025 at 10:46 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
‘Al could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2
percentage points’

Well that’s the best chart of the year in this @johnthornhill.bsky.social column and basically sums up where we are
on.ft.com/4qMMkJd
Al could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points
November 7, 2025 at 9:08 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Coverage in The Times of our concerns about how languages will fare under the proposed changes to the national curriculum
www.thetimes.com/article/9b0f... @britishacademy.bsky.social @cforsdick.bsky.social
Some experts are worried about the changes. While the British Council is supportive, Professor Charles Forsdick, lead fellow for languages at the British Academy, said: "We are concerned about the implications for language education and the need for breadth in the curriculum for all learners. The recommendation to abandon the EBacc at GCSE would eliminate one of the few remaining safeguards for language provision in England's schools and risk narrowing education for the next generation."
November 6, 2025 at 6:48 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Been a fun day (including chairing a session) at the LSE / Anthropic Economic Futures Symposium. Here’s Anna Valero summing up some of the discussions of the day
Anna Valero
November 5, 2025 at 6:25 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Some pretty useful charts in this Martin Wolf column on tax including
UK's tax burden is close to the median for advanced economies;
UK taxation has reached high levels by historical standards; and the top 10 per cent of earners pay 60 per cent of income tax
on.ft.com/47nYFvX
The UK's tax burden is close to the median for advanced economies Income tax, national insurance contributions and VAT contribute most taxation Taxation has reached high levels by historical standards The top 10 per cent of earners pay 60 per cent of income tax
November 5, 2025 at 7:46 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
This is quite a funny ripple effect
One financial adviser with direct knowledge of the situation in the BVI said that if entities were unable to pay annual fees, and were struck off, the assets would vest in that local government. In the BVI that would put hem under British urisdiction until the company was reinstated through a court process.
November 5, 2025 at 7:14 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
You may not imagine The British Academy to be at the cutting edge of technology. So I’m tickled that our venue redevelopment has been shortlisted for one of the very prestigious AV Awards from AV magazine!
Venue Project of the Year Sponsored by: NOVASTAR • BMW Park - AV Stumpfl • The O2 - digiLED • The National Gallery- Imagesound • The British Academy - Media Powerhouse • The Terrace at the American Express Stadium - Digital Messaging Company • Studio Ulster virtual production campus - NantStudios • Oracle Red Bull Racing's MK-7 venue - PPDS - Philips Professional Displays • The Riverside Development at Fulham Football Club - proAV AV AWARDS
November 4, 2025 at 6:10 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Based on this @russellgroup.bsky.social analysis which shows industry needs a wide range of skills - eg 40% of high-tariff graduates working in defence studied humanities and social sciences
www.russellgroup.ac.uk/policy/polic...
Our analysis shows UK defence businesses are benefiting from the skills of high-tariff graduates who studied everything from geography to history or modern languages.
November 4, 2025 at 7:48 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Fantastic panel here tonight at our joint @britishacademy.bsky.social @nuffieldfoundation.org event thinking about the role of philosophy in public life chaired by @leaypi.bsky.social
Lea Ypi Dave Archard Bronwen Maddox Tariq Modood Debra Satz
November 3, 2025 at 6:50 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
More garbage from Grokipedia
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
The eminent British historian Sir Richard Evans produced three expert witness reports for the libel trial involving the Holocaust denier David Irving, studied for a doctorate under the supervision of Theodore Zeldin, succeeded David Cannadine as Regius professor of history at Cambridge (a post endowed by Henry VIII) and supervised theses on Bismarck's social policy. That was some of what you could learn from Grokipedia, the Al-powered encyclopedia launched last week by the world's richest person, Elon Musk. The problem was, as Prof Evans discovered when he logged on to check his own entry, all these facts were false.
November 3, 2025 at 12:49 PM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Do we file Grokipedia under ‘data poisoning’ or just plain old ‘basic’?
on.ft.com/48YuVH7
Go and have a poke around in it and you will see what I mean. You will find Tommy Robinson described as a "citizen journalist" in glowing terms in the very first sentence of his entry. You will see Elon Musk's 2olb weight loss highlighted in his entry as if that were important information, and you will find out that can be attributed to intermittent fasting (rather than to Mounjaro). You will read Kremlin talking points in the first paragraph of the entry on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, like the idea that the former is "denazifying" the latter. You might also be somewhat mystified - given its purported role in propagating legacy media propaganda - to find that, often, ‘content is adapted from Wikipedia’
November 3, 2025 at 7:28 AM
hetanshah.bsky.social
Season finale of Slow Horses was filmed at my office! We’ve already had Spooks and James Bond so if you are thinking of filming a new Jason Bourne movie give me a call
Shots from Slow Horses transposed next to my office where it was filmed
October 31, 2025 at 9:57 PM