NEW: analysis of millions of books published over the centuries suggests western society is shifting away from a culture of progress, and towards one of caution, worry and risk-aversion. I think this is one of the most important challenges facing us today.

For some groups in particular, the numbers are eye-watering. Specialty registrars — junior doctors about 5-10 years into their professional career — would be earning *£20,000* more per year today if pay had kept up with inflation.

The first is that international flows of staff are imbalanced. Most staff recruited from overseas return to work in their origin countries (or leave for a third country), and a significant portion of UK-trained staff leave. Outflows exceed inflows: it’s a leaky pipe.

NEW: we need to talk about NHS staff retention. At a time when Britain’s healthcare system is acutely short of workers, *1 in 7* UK-trained doctors are practising overseas. No other developed country is like this, which immediately tells you there’s a problem. Let’s dig deeper: