Government subsidies have made our childcare sector even more dysfunctional

Len Shackleton
14 June 2018
Government and Institutions

Government subsidies have made our childcare sector even more dysfunctional

The House of Commons Education Committee has been hearing about childcare and early years provision from various sector groups. The news isn’t good. Despite the huge amounts of taxpayers’ money now being pumped into childcare, it’s not working out the way politicians hoped. For one thing, as Liz Bayrum of the Professional Association for Childcare ... Continue reading
Len Shackleton
14 June 2018
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Should it be illegal for businesses to pocket tips?

Ryan Bourne
12 June 2018
Labour Market

Should it be illegal for businesses to pocket tips?

Jeremy Corbyn has had another brainwave. The Labour leader wants to make it illegal for businesses to “pocket” tips and optional service charges. Some restaurants and hospitality firms currently collectivise what we add to our bills or give to waiters and waitresses. They might directly pool tips to redistribute them through a common fund system ... Continue reading
Ryan Bourne
12 June 2018
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The UK labour market performance does not deserve the opprobrium it gets

Len Shackleton
8 June 2018
Labour Market

The UK labour market performance does not deserve the opprobrium it gets

The UK labour market is not some "Wild West", where ruthless employers are free to exploit defenceless workers. The last thirty years have seen a proliferation of government regulation of employment, with laws on discrimination, minimum wages, unfair dismissal, union recognition, paid holidays, parental leave, flexible working,  and a host of other interventions However, although ... Continue reading
Len Shackleton
8 June 2018
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Steel tariffs raise input costs and misallocate resources

Ryan Bourne
8 June 2018
Economic Theory

Steel tariffs raise input costs and misallocate resources

Next time someone advocates a new government policy, here’s a simple test to tell whether they are serious or selling snake oil: are they willing to acknowledge the trade-offs inherent in their proposal? That might seem a banal – and low – hurdle to pass. But it has a remarkable ability to separate wheat from ... Continue reading
Ryan Bourne
8 June 2018
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The beneficial impact of offshore finance

Diego Zuluaga
7 June 2018
Tax and Fiscal Policy

The beneficial impact of offshore finance

Would the world be a better place if offshore finance didn’t exist? Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell doubtless thinks so, believing that the tax planning these jurisdictions make possible only hurts other countries. Yet a look at the evidence might surprise him. There is ample reason to venture that the unprecedented rise in living standards and ... Continue reading
Diego Zuluaga
7 June 2018
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Tariff walls and trade wars equal government planning (Part 3)

RICHARD M. EBELING
6 June 2018
Economic Theory

Tariff walls and trade wars equal government planning (Part 3)

…continued from Part 2   China’s Drive for National and Global “Greatness” In the case of China, President Xi Jinping rules over a Communist Party and a political dictatorship that rejects the very notion of individual freedom and a free-market economy. China is a peculiar mix of State enterprises and private businesses (great and small) ... Continue reading
RICHARD M. EBELING
6 June 2018
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Tariff walls and trade wars equal government planning (Part 2)

Richard M. Ebeling
5 June 2018
Economic Theory

Tariff walls and trade wars equal government planning (Part 2)

…continued from Part 1.   Protectionism Is Planning Winners and Losers Trade-restricting policies represent forms of governmental economic planning. It is usual to think of “planning” in the classic Soviet or Nazi sense of a government directly and comprehensively owning and/or controlling the means of production and commanding their allocation and use. But the fact ... Continue reading
Richard M. Ebeling
5 June 2018
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Tariff walls and trade wars equal government planning (Part 1)

Richard M. Ebeling
4 June 2018
Economic Theory

Tariff walls and trade wars equal government planning (Part 1)

Trade wars are dangerous and harmful policies for governments to pursue. They hurt consumers due to higher prices and fewer alternatives, they reduce competitive opportunities for producers by restricting markets, and they narrow the benefits that come from a market-based system of division of labor in which each participant tends to devote his or her ... Continue reading
Richard M. Ebeling
4 June 2018
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A Catholic take on cryptocurrencies

Philip Booth
1 June 2018
Economic Theory

A Catholic take on cryptocurrencies

Plenty of theologians and Christian leaders have become animated by the temptations of money. According to St Paul, the love of money is the root of all evil. Pope Francis has insisted that “money has to serve, not to rule”. But what is money? In fact, it has a relatively mundane function. In simple terms, ... Continue reading
Philip Booth
1 June 2018
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