Several readers of my book Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies got back to me, arguing that the way … Continue reading “Does ”socialism” HAVE TO mean public ownership of the means of production?”

Continued from Part 2… Alston makes many claims about living standards. Some turn out to be without foundation and based … Continue reading “Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short?! (Part 3)”

Continued from Part 1… Alston points to rising food insecurity and calls for the government to “systematically measure food security”. … Continue reading “Food banks and food insecurity (Part 2)”

The Institute of Economic Affairs is commissioning a new lifestyle economics paper as part of its research output in 2019. … Continue reading “IEA issues call for original research proposals”

The United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty, Philip Alston, recently published his second and final report on poverty in … Continue reading “Is the special rapporteur right about poverty? (Part 1)”

The Toyota Camry looks like a nice family car to buy, with 2019 models coming in at around £29,000. Now … Continue reading “Why the Augar report on student funding is a step backwards”

Responding to calls from the Resolution Foundation to raise the minimum wage in order to eliminate low pay, Professor Len … Continue reading “Relieving the problems of the poor needs more than ‘sledgehammer’ of minimum wage increases, says IEA”

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the former King of Bhutan, declared in 1972 that “gross national happiness (GNH) is more important than … Continue reading “Is happiness all that matters?”

MiFID II, together with MiFIR (Regulation (EU) No 600/2014), was intended to create a more transparent, competitive and integrated financial … Continue reading “Not everyone’s cup of tea…”