As of March 2026, this website is no longer being updated. I now work mainly on climate issues, especially in Brighton and Hove, and new work can be found on the website of Climate:Change, our independent think-tank on socially inclusive action in the City: www.climatechangebh.org.uk.
Meanwhile, however, this website has over 850 entries, mostly representing my work on international development from 2010-2025. Among much else, there are over 50 book reviews, more than 20 papers and training cases on bridging research and policy and on managing think-tanks, nearly 100 articles on climate change, and many papers on other topics, including aid, food security and nutrition, and the future of international development. See ‘Topics and Themes’ for more details. I can be reached at sm@simonmaxwell.net.
There are better ways to avert financial scandals
There are better ways to avert financial scandals, Guardian, 10th November 2003
Gordon Brown has long argued that one of the main ways to manage the world economy better and avoid financial crises is to define and implement international standards and codes.
These are statements of best practice in areas such as fiscal transparency, banking supervision and accounting standards. They provide reassurance to members of the club that everyone is playing by broadly the same rules, or at least not exposing the club as a whole to unreasonable risk................. (see link in title for full article)