Scrap the free TV licence – and scrap the TV licence

Philip Booth
17 June 2019
Welfare

Scrap the free TV licence – and scrap the TV licence

On Question Time last week, the issue of the restriction of television licences to over-75s was raised. Nobody spoke in favour of the decision. This is a triumph of special interests over rationality or justice – a problem that was predicted to occur as the population ages in various IEA publications. Let us put aside ... Continue reading
Philip Booth
17 June 2019
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Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short?! (Part 3)

Richard Norrie
7 June 2019
Welfare

Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short?! (Part 3)

Continued from Part 2... Alston makes many claims about living standards. Some turn out to be without foundation and based on repeating what advocates have told him. For instance, Alston writes: “It is hardly surprising that civil society has reported unheard-of levels of loneliness and isolation, prompting the Government to appoint a Minister for Suicide ... Continue reading
Richard Norrie
7 June 2019
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Food banks and food insecurity (Part 2)

Richard Norrie
6 June 2019
Welfare

Food banks and food insecurity (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1… Alston points to rising food insecurity and calls for the government to “systematically measure food security”. However, he ignores the only time-series data we have on this. Eurostat surveys ask respondents if they are unable to afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish or a vegetarian equivalent every second day. It ... Continue reading
Richard Norrie
6 June 2019
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Is the special rapporteur right about poverty? (Part 1)

Richard Norrie
5 June 2019
Welfare

Is the special rapporteur right about poverty? (Part 1)

The United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty, Philip Alston, recently published his second and final report on poverty in the United Kingdom. He offers up a bleak picture, with rising levels of poverty, particularly among children, spelling out “a social calamity and an economic disaster rolled into one”. The social fabric is unravelling and ... Continue reading
Richard Norrie
5 June 2019
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Is happiness all that matters?

Jamie Whyte
28 May 2019
Economic Theory

Is happiness all that matters?

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the former King of Bhutan, declared in 1972 that “gross national happiness (GNH) is more important than gross national product”. The Centre for Bhutan Studies dutifully constructed a survey-based measure of GNH, whose increase is now the goal of Bhutan’s five-year plans. Wangchuckism has slowly caught on outside of the happy Kingdom. ... Continue reading
Jamie Whyte
28 May 2019
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Wages are rising – and here is why it’s bad news for Europe

8 April 2019
Labour Market

Wages are rising – and here is why it’s bad news for Europe

Len Shackleton quoted in The Telegraph

Len Shackleton, Institute of Economic Affairs' Research Fellow, is quoted in The Telegraph on the subject of increasing minimum and living wages. He warns that pushing up pay for lower paid workers does not “really impact a great deal on poverty”. “Most people in poverty are either not working or only working part time and ... Continue reading
8 April 2019
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Oxfam’s obsession with the rich distracts from their aim of tackling poverty

21 January 2019
Society and Culture

Oxfam’s obsession with the rich distracts from their aim of tackling poverty

The IEA reacts to Oxfam's inequality report

Commenting on Oxfam's Its Public Good or Private Wealth? report on inequality, Associate Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs Kate Andrews said:  "Oxfam's findings misrepresent poverty and how it is most commonly understood. Once again, the charity has rolled out headlines that fly in the face of everything else we know about human progress and income improvements. "Despite being a ... Continue reading
21 January 2019
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Spiralling Poverty rates are factually incorrect

19 November 2018
Lifestyle Economics

Spiralling Poverty rates are factually incorrect

Chris Snowdon appears on BBC Radio 5

Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, went on the Afternoon Edition with Nihal Arthanayake on BBC Radio 5, alongside Helen Barnard of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to talk about poverty in the UK. Chris said; "There is a very serious cost of living crisis in this country for which the ... Continue reading
19 November 2018
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Food Banks and Universal Credit

6 November 2018
Welfare

Food Banks and Universal Credit

Len Shackleton talks to BBC Radio Kent

Len Shackleton, Editorial and Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, appeared on BBC Radio Kent this morning to talk about the rise in the use of food banks since the start of Universal Credit. Len said; "the government needs to improve the speed and the dispatch with which it rolls out this [new benefits] ... Continue reading
6 November 2018
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Don’t ditch Universal Credit, fix it

Julian Jessop
19 October 2018
Welfare

Don’t ditch Universal Credit, fix it

Were it not for Brexit, the furore over the roll-out of Universal Credit would surely be dominating the headlines on a daily basis. The planned changes will eventually determine the benefits received by around 7 million households, including many of the most vulnerable in society, and affect more than £60 billion a year in public ... Continue reading
Julian Jessop
19 October 2018
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