IEA Featured Publications
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4 July 2017
Research
Why the health system needs old-age reserve funds
Summary: Healthcare spending as a proportion of GDP has almost doubled since 1990, from just over 5 per cent to almost 10 per cent now. With differences in timing and magnitude, virtually all developed countries have experienced a similar long-term trend Healthcare costs rise exponentially in old age. Healthcare costs per capita are relatively stable ...
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Dr Kristian Niemietz
4 July 2017
26 June 2017
Research
IEA Brexit Unit makes the case that UK divorce bill should not exceed £26 billion
Key Points The UK is leaving the EU and needs to close its accounts. In a divorce, the two sides divide up the assets and liabilities. But the situation here is more like leaving a club, so the question is when the obligation to pay membership fees should end. One option would be simply be ...
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26 June 2017
22 June 2017
Economic Affairs
Subscribe to Economic Affairs Contents: Introduction (pages 165–166) by J. R. Shackleton Should there be freedom of dissociation? (pages 167–181) by David S. Oderberg College Readiness: Are California Charter School Students Better Prepared? (pages 182–196) by Kerry A. Adzima The Financing of Investment in Utility Assets (pages 197–212) by Nicos Zafiris Lowering the Marginal Corporate ...
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22 June 2017
6 June 2017
Research
Political consensus to increase employment regulation risks undermining the economy
Summary: Legal restrictions on the terms and conditions under which employment takes place have a long history in the UK. Since the mid 1960s, however, regulation has substantially increased and now permeates all aspects of work. The costs of this are huge. Just one element relates to the direct burden on firms. For example, the ...
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Len Shackleton
6 June 2017
9 May 2017
SMPC
SMPC votes seven / two to raise Bank Rate in May
At its April 2017 face-to-face meeting, the Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (SMPC) voted by seven to two, to raise Bank rate in May. This is the biggest vote for a rise since rates were cut to their historic lows. Of the seven members favouring a raise, four preferred a rise of 1/4% and three a ...
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9 May 2017
Edited by Dr Richard Wellings
14 April 2017
Research
Capitalise on Brexit to free UK from damaging EU Common Fisheries Policy
Summary: Global fish catches in the seas and oceans have stagnated since the mid 1990s. A decline in the quality of fish landed has been evident in several major regions and some fisheries have experienced collapses in stocks of valuable species such as cod. Because there are generally no established property rights in wild fish, fisheries ...
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Edited by Dr Richard Wellings
14 April 2017
6 April 2017
Research
Winning essay for the IEA Richard Koch Breakthrough Prize
Winner of £50,000 prize: Mark Feldner and Mathew Bonnon For more information about the IEA Breakthrough Prize please visit www.breakthroughprize.org.uk Summary: Free-market principles are about more than commerce alone. Competition, accountability and choice, the major pillars of economic liberalism, can equally be applied to our political system. We outline a radical vision of regional tax ...
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6 April 2017
23 March 2017
Research
Brexit provides real opportunity to bring down electricity bills for low-income households
Executive Summary: Electricity charges for households in England and Wales have risen by 50 per cent in real terms since 2001, partly as a result of policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The decarbonisation policies adopted have been complex and inefficient, and have also been contradicted by other measures such as the reduced rate of VAT ...
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Diego Zuluaga
23 March 2017
13 March 2017
SMPC
SMPC votes seven / two to raise bank rate in March
In its March 2017 e-mail poll, the Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (SMPC) elected, by a vote of Seven to Two, to raise rates in March. Three members voted for an immediate rise of 0.5%. Fourther favoured a 0.25% rise. Advocates of raising rates noted that economic growth is steady, monetary growth has been strong, inflation ...
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13 March 2017
6 March 2017
Research
Executive Summary: When applied to investments in company shares, capital gains tax is generally a double tax because it taxes anticipated profits and retained profits that are taxed elsewhere in the system. It should therefore be abolished. Where investments are designed to hide income as capital gains, income tax should be charged on investment returns ...
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Philip Booth
6 March 2017
