JB Macro

JB Macro

Essential Reading From July 26

All The Good Macro I Read In July 2026

James's avatar
James
Jul 31, 2026
∙ Paid

In this note, we outline the noteworthy macro we read in July, with our summaries. The full reading list is updated regularly here.

The great escape Why Britain is stuck in a fiscal funk and how we can break free – Resolution Foundation (paper), July 2026: A deep dive through all the UK’s fiscal problems, from diagnosis to cure. Includes many excellent charts:

The image depicts a comparison of public finance adjustments in the UK from 2007-08 to 2025-26, showing a shift from reduced daily spending to increased taxes, with various factors like public welfare, debt, and capital spending influencing the overall fiscal balance.

AI-generated content may be incorrect.
The image illustrates a fiscal adjustment in the UK, showing increased borrowing and reduced day-to-day spending to manage the impact of the pandemic, with a significant rise in net borrowing.

AI-generated content may be incorrect.
The diagram illustrates a sharp increase in the number of UK taxes, with the count rising from 120 to 2000 over time, highlighting the growing complexity of the tax system.

AI-generated content may be incorrect.
The diagram illustrates the peak and subsequent decline in the proportion of the UK population aged 22-64 since 2007.

AI-generated content may be incorrect.
The image shows a comparison of percentage and absolute changes in real per-person and total spending for various departments in the UK, with Health and Social Care seeing the largest increase, while others like Housing and Communities, Transport, and Culture, Media and Sport experiencing significant cuts.

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

JB Macro is a reader-supported publication. We’d love it if you took out a paid subscription to support our work (remember you get this cheaper doing it on a computer or via Safari instead of the iOS app).

While a real good chunk of our content is free, the rest of this one is behind a paywall, including the technical econ content we know you love.


Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to JB Macro to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2026 James · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture