IEA Featured Media Posts

While those attending Davos may be genuinely well-intentioned, but "those committed to free markets, enterprise and giving a fair crack of the whip to the little guy should treat the forum with extreme scepticism", says the IEA's Director General Mark Littlewood. Writing for The Telegraph, Mark argues that the summit is the standout example of ... Continue reading

Adam Smith famously wrote that people of the same trade seldom meet together without the conversation ending in a conspiracy against the public — and Davos is no different. Taking part in a debate column for City AM, Prof Philip Booth, IEA senior academic fellow argues that the global elites participating in the "annual meeting ... Continue reading

Reflecting on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Dr Kristian Niemietz reminds us that while socialists may never start out with the intention of building totalitarian societies, it still always turns out that way. Writing for the Spectator, Kristian argues that while "trendy milennial socialists" may dismiss the GDR as a ... Continue reading

The Labour Party are proposing policies which are “rooted in tried-and-failed socialist ideology”, says Professor Syed Kamall, Academic and Research Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs. Responding to the Shadow Chancellor's speech to Labour Party Conference, Syed said the policies announced - including a reduced working week and cancelling Universal Credit - would “turn ... Continue reading

It is sad to see the world's oldest travel firm collapse but "this is simply free-market capitalism doing its job" says Julian Jessop, IEA Economics Fellow. Writing the "Yes" side of the City A.M. debate "Was the collapse of Thomas Cook inevitable?", Julian notes that a combination of too much debt, an ill-timed merger, and ... Continue reading

What can game theory tell us about Boris Johnson's Brexit plans? asks Andy Mayer, Chief Operation Officer at the Institute of Economic Affairs, in the Sunday Times. Andy explains how game theory can be used to show how people arrive at sub-optimal outcomes while acting in their own interests. However, people are not perfectly rational ... Continue reading

"Market-oriented economies produce better results than centrally-planned, socialist systems" but you wouldn't know that from the march of Green parties across Europe, writes Mark Littlewood, IEA Director-General, in his fortnightly column for The Times. Mark argues free-marketeers should adapt and hone capitalism to provide the right incentives for a greener world. Market liberals need to ... Continue reading

Mark Littlewood, IEA Director-General, writes for the Daily Telegraph on inequality and the recent IFS report suggesting rising inequality in Britain will lead to a breakdown in support for democractic capitalism. If you focus on the differences in the lives of the rich and the poor, you are going to find some startling variations. But ... Continue reading