Economist, podcaster and author patreon.com/davidmcwilliams
Dublin, Ireland
- Tweets 35,226
- Following 5,002
- Followers 309,029
- Likes 9,707
Pinned Tweet
It's brilliant when lots of work finally begins to come together.
My new book, Money: A Story of Humanity will be out on September 12.
100
51
357
229,752
New York, New York!
Friday, October 9. Me and @donie chat economics, politics, Ireland and the world...the lot! Plus lots of craic n chat.
Tickets
irishartscenter.org/event/an…
5
5
24
8,707
Podcast time.
On the day of the Trump/Xi summit in Washington, we explain how the China does it. How does that juggernaut work with the brilliant Chinese analyst @YanmeiXie
It's fascinating.
podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcas…
1
2
18
8,619
Will do a podcast on this to figure out what it going on. Thanks.
The day after the wind dies down.... Are there any economists looking at this in Ireland @davidmcw @danobrien20
24
5
120
27,468
Morning.
A few thoughts on the recent PISA education results - Ireland wobbling a bit from a very high base- and a fascinating European map on education levels.
As your granny would have said "sure, where would you be without your education?"
irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/…
Europe has a young talent belt.
These are the regions where ≥57.5% of people aged 25–34 have tertiary education.
Spain alone has 7 of the 25 regions.
And the pattern looks very different from Europe’s R&D and high-tech maps.
Human capital has its own geography.
Community note
This map is not correct. See x.com/Caan_Pau/statu…
Raw data: ec.europa.eu/eurostat/datab…
26
9
91
43,020
David McWilliams retweeted
Europe has a young talent belt.
These are the regions where ≥57.5% of people aged 25–34 have tertiary education.
Spain alone has 7 of the 25 regions.
And the pattern looks very different from Europe’s R&D and high-tech maps.
Human capital has its own geography.
Community note
This map is not correct. See x.com/Caan_Pau/statu…
Raw data: ec.europa.eu/eurostat/datab…
73
172
1,522
623,951
Death of Ireland’s nightlife is yet another reason for young people to leave - mailchi.mp/davidmcwilliams/m…
37
8
98
13,950
David McWilliams retweeted
When Bertie Ahern was taoiseach, he invited the chief of the Madrid metro to Merrion Street to discuss underground rail for Dublin. The late Prof Manuel Melis Maynar had built the Spanish system in record time at minimal cost. At a meeting in Government Buildings, he said the limestone beneath Dublin was ideal for tunnelling. Ahern replied: “When can you start?”
That was in 2003. Two decades later, the perennial wait for a Dublin metro goes on.
If MetroLink happens, the cost will be many multiples of the €1.45 billion Spain spent in the 1990s building 56km of Madrid metro lines in four years. This was helped by 24-hour tunnelling and Melis Maynar’s aversion to fancy architecture, and his reluctance to fork out big fees to “consultants who consult with consultants and advisers who advise advisers”.
The main reason infrastructural projects get delayed and suffer cost overruns is because most of the contracts are given to private contractors which seek to extract as much cash as possible feeding into more expenses and delays
🏗️
19
61
525
125,507
This video about the "genius design" of the Madrid Metro needs to be seen by every Dubliner who wants a cheap, fast and affordable Metro in our city.
Just bring in the Spaniards and let them do it.
piped.video/watch?v=utt-KnIM…
41
56
381
43,935
Cheers @TedSmyth, delighted you enjoyed it. It was great fun at the @ftweekend festival, glad that some of that irreverence came out on the recorded podcast😉
I’m sorry to report that @davidmcw was brilliant and witty in this podcast prompted by the equally irrepressible @RobinWigg and @gilliantett
5
10,294
Podcast Time
What ever happened to Ireland (and the UK's) night-time economy?
podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcas…
13
6
32
9,376
David McWilliams retweeted
Their treatment couldn’t be any more different. Dante famously placed financiers in one of the deepest circles of hell, while Joyce saw finance as a force for freedom and progress. And both views have subtly shaped how we all feel about finance today.
We also discuss the Ten Commandments as a “don’t be a wanker charter”, how the central character of Ulysses is “Dan Draper without the sex” and why currency manipulators were consigned to the EIGHTH circle of hell, only one level above Lucifer himself.
1
2
4
3,697
Tghis was a brilliant conversation, lots of laughs and lots of information. Joyce, Dante and Money.
I hope you enjoy it, whether you are a finance head, history buff or a literature flaneur, you will love this podcast.
🚨 SPECIAL BONUS TSOM EPISODE🚨
Here’s the live podcast we recorded at the recent FT Weekend Festival with @davidmcw, where we discussed how Dante Alighieri and James Joyce portrayed finance. open.spotify.com/episode/52Q…
3
5
10,383
Fairway Diplomacy:
How Golf Became Ireland's Secret Sauce with Trump.
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcas…
Hope you enjoy it, what a few days!!
2
2
24
8,956
What happened to Ireland's nightlife?
I wrote this piece irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/…
after a speech in Galway organised by galwaycity.ie/services/busin…
Brought back v fond memories of this place.
Remember it?
Check out the fab playlist
#warwickmemories
7
1
28
8,330
In 2000 there were nearly 600 nightclubs in Ireland, today there are 83.
What happened to Ireland's nightlife? Asking for a friend!
irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/…
274
85
962
263,326
2,205 pubs closed between 2005 and 2025 (one in four of all Irish pubs), yet the "export" of Irish "pubs" abroad has never been more buoyant!
We are losing real culture while exporting an image of Ireland that is dying.
I'm discussing The Death of the Night Time Economy, and what can be done about it this evening Wed 9th in Galway:
thisisgalway.ie/events-type/…
69
16
263
33,706