The Problem Factory: Why Can’t We Build Anything – and What Can We Do About it?
Jun 2027 · Profile Books
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infoThis book will become available on June 24, 2027. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
Nuclear power stations. Affordable homes. HS2. They're all announced with great fanfare - and then disappear into bureaucratic black holes, emerging years late, wildly over budget or not at all. Somehow, the harder we try to solve problems, the more of them we end up with. Welcome to The Problem Factory.
Meet the dedicated individuals behind this dysfunctional system - from the Berlin fire safety officers who kept an airport empty for nine years after it was completed, to the citizens of Atherton, California, who ending up closing their own railway station in an attempt to save some trees.
With razor-sharp insight and wickedly dry humour, Dan Davies investigates a world where avoiding blame is better than achieving results. Essential reading for anyone who has ever wondered why it's preferable to add red tape than to cut it, The Problem Factory explores the perverse world of organisational failure - and lays out a roadmap for a better future.
Meet the dedicated individuals behind this dysfunctional system - from the Berlin fire safety officers who kept an airport empty for nine years after it was completed, to the citizens of Atherton, California, who ending up closing their own railway station in an attempt to save some trees.
With razor-sharp insight and wickedly dry humour, Dan Davies investigates a world where avoiding blame is better than achieving results. Essential reading for anyone who has ever wondered why it's preferable to add red tape than to cut it, The Problem Factory explores the perverse world of organisational failure - and lays out a roadmap for a better future.
Nuclear power stations. Affordable homes. HS2. They're all announced with great fanfare - and then disappear into bureaucratic black holes, emerging years late, wildly over budget or not at all. Somehow, the harder we try to solve problems, the more of them we end up with. Welcome to The Problem ...
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About the author
Dan Davies is a former Bank of England economist and investment bank analyst. As a journalist he has tackled the LIBOR and FX scandals, the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank and the Swiss Nazi gold scandal. He has written for the Financial Times and the New Yorker, and is the author of Lying For Money and The Unaccountability Machine.
Dan Davies is a former Bank of England economist and investment bank analyst. As a journalist he has tackled the LIBOR and FX scandals, the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank and the Swiss Nazi gold scandal. He has written for the Financial Times and the New Yorker, and is the author of Lying For Money...
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