Housing: the case for YIMBY (Yes, In My Back Yard!) (Part 1)

Sandy Ikeda
21 June 2018
Housing and Planning

Housing: the case for YIMBY (Yes, In My Back Yard!) (Part 1)

You hear that a private developer plans to build a new apartment building across the street. What does that mean to you? Here are some typical responses: “More traffic and less street parking!” “Crowded classrooms!” “My home will lose value!” “The character of the neighbourhood will change!” Or the ever-popular-but-seldom-spoken, “The wrong kind of people will ... Continue reading
Sandy Ikeda
21 June 2018
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The moral panic over video games must not become an excuse for yet more lifestyle regulation

Madeline Grant
20 June 2018
Lifestyle Economics

The moral panic over video games must not become an excuse for yet more lifestyle regulation

If you’re under 30 — or have a child in their teens — then chances are you’ve heard of a game called Fortnite. Fortnite, a “survival shooter” video game released last year, has quickly become one of the most popular online games in the world — a towering cultural phenomenon on a par with Minecraft ... Continue reading
Madeline Grant
20 June 2018
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There are reams of EU insurance regulation ripe for scrapping post-Brexit

Philip Booth
15 June 2018
Regulation

There are reams of EU insurance regulation ripe for scrapping post-Brexit

Before the UK joined the European Union, we had a stable and vibrant financial sector which had always been one of the most lightly regulated in the world. Exchange controls from 1939 to 1979 combined with high inflation in the 1970s meant that some parts of the City became backwaters in global terms. However, sectors ... Continue reading
Philip Booth
15 June 2018
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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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