417. Twenty years of Pannell Discussions
I put out the first Pannell Discussion on 24 May 2004 so I’ve now been writing them for 20 years.
My main aim was to communicate economics in ways that a diversity of readers would find interesting and relevant. I’ve always enjoyed reading books on technical subjects written for a general audience, so that was a source of inspiration. Initially, I didn’t think I was writing a blog, just a series of brief articles, but eventually I realised I was.
To get it started, I put together a mailing list of around 100 people I knew who I thought might be interested, and each time I put out a PD, I manually sent them all an email. I made the website manually and it lacked the facility for people to comment on posts, other than by people sending me an email. That happened sometimes, and I used to manually copy their comments onto the ends of the posts.
The mailing list grew slowly but steadily as people asked to be added to it. Existing subscribers told me they were sometimes passing posts onto others, and this led to further requests to be added to the mailing list.
In 2011, after 200 posts, I gave up coding the website myself and converted Pannell Discussions to a normal blog format, using WordPress. As well as saving time, this allows people to make comments directly under each post, and it allowed me to automate the process of sending out an email announcement for each post.
One of the reasons I had been reluctant to make commenting easy was my concern about people making inappropriate, intemperate or unkind comments. I was reading various climate-change blogs at the time and that made me aware of the risk of receiving abuse. In case that happened, I decided to vet each comment before allowing it to appear on the site, and I still do that. However, as it turned out, there have been very few comments that I did not allow to appear. The most memorable and surprising were a set of comments on my post about split infinitives.
Doing these posts has been a real pleasure. I enjoy the creative process of writing, including the challenge of explaining complex issues in a way that is understandable. It has provided a great avenue to distribute and explain my research, including to people who actually use it. There are also posts not on my research directly, but on related issues. And, I occasionally allow myself a self-indulgent post on The Beatles, long jumps, or tourism, as regular readers will have observed.
I plan to retire from UWA at the end of 2025, but I’ll keep writing Pannell Discussions, at least for a while. It would be nice to get to 500 posts. After that, who knows?
Thanks for reading them, especially if you have been doing so for a while. I’d love to see a comment from anyone who has been a subscriber since 2004!
Congratulations on the milestone David. I certainly appreciate the effort, thought and knowledge that you put into your writing.
Thanks David. A great service to our learned world
Just retired myself in Feb Dave, but I continue to look at your blog- when fly-fishing, triathlon training/racing and model building allow!
We are about to move from Armidale after 32 years to Merimbula on the NSW south coast – lots of good fishing!
Dave, what a great chance to say thank you for all of the wonderful Pannell Discussions over the many years! Your articles are so clearly explained that I often share both new and old posts with a wide range of policy colleagues. I haven’t been reading since 2004 but looking back it has been many years indeed. Thank-you!
20 years is an amazing effort. Congrats.
Well done Dave. Pannell Discussions has been an inspiration to me over the years and I hold it up to others as an example of what a good blog looks like. Plus, I’ve learned a little Beatles trivia along the way. Best, David
Thanks David, I always enjoy them and often pass them on. In a world awash with dross, succinct and well thought out communication is increasingly important.
Hi Dave,
I have always loved the Pannell Discussions. Whilst I have not been visiting since 2004 (probably soon after through) , the Pannel Discussions are a regular port of call when I am seeking clarification on a topic…I am glad to hear that you will continue to write these posts post retirement. Thanks!
David, As a long time reader I just hope to hell you keep writing your discussions.
As a much longer time lover of the Beatles I do like your ramblings on that subject.
An amazing achievement, David. Doing this at regular pace for 20 years, on a broad range of subjects. Well done!
Well done Dave – I have read every one of them! And almost always they are interesting and thought-provoking – having said “almost”, I can’t think of one that wasn’t!
David, if your “main aim was to communicate economics in ways that a diversity of readers would find interesting and relevant”…..then consider it “achieved”. I have lost count of the number of colleagues I have referred to Pannell Discussions, including when I think they need to be “educated” on some basic economics truisms. Well done.
Great contribution Dave. Thanks
Congratulations for an incredible effort. I have read and enjoyed a lot – even if at times that means backtracking to read a cluster. Thank you.
Dave, thank you for all your efforts with this blog – from a non-ag scientist and non-economist. I find it very readable and full of academic rigour and common sense.
Thanks Alistar.
Look forward to checking this out!
Thanks