David Boyle has been writing about the past and the future, and new ideas in economics, for more than a quarter of a century. He is a fellow of the New Economics Foundation and has just completed an independent review for the Cabinet Office. He is the author of The Tyranny of Numbers, The Human Element and Authenticity: Brands, Fakes, Spin and the Lust for Real Life. He lives in London.

The average UK price of a house in 1952 was £1,800.
The average debt per UK household in 2011 was £53,000.