Cooking for Bureaucrats

16 August 2019
Research

Cooking for Bureaucrats

Why the policy of food reformulation is hard to stomach

Under the UK government’s policy of ‘reformulation’, food products are subject to government targets for the reduction of salt, sugar and calories. It puts Public Health England in the position of monitoring and effectively regulating the composition of virtually every part of the prepared food supply, including not only ready-meals and supermarket biscuits but also ... Continue reading
16 August 2019
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Raising the Roof

22 July 2019
Research

Raising the Roof

How to solve the United Kingdom's housing crisis

The United Kingdom’s housing costs are now among the highest on earth, the economic and social impacts severe. Since 1970, the average price of a house has risen four and a half-fold after inflation. No other OECD country has experienced a price increase of this magnitude over this period. London is virtually the most expensive ... Continue reading
22 July 2019
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Regulation without the State

Professor Philip Booth
19 July 2019
Research

Regulation without the State

The example of financial services

There are frequent calls for financial markets to be more actively regulated. In nearly all cases it is assumed that regulation must come from state agencies such as the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority. This analysis arises from neo-classical, market-failure approaches to economics which suggest that the market does not maximise welfare ... Continue reading
Professor Philip Booth
19 July 2019
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PRESS RELEASE

School Choice around the World

4 July 2019
Research

School Choice around the World

...and the lessons we can learn

Education reforms that allow new educational providers to supply schooling into a state system can improve parental satisfaction and raise learning outcomes through consumer choice. Private school choice programmes in the US have been shown to strengthen the civic virtues of young citizens. Choice provides children with schooling that matches their interests. A child engaged ... Continue reading
4 July 2019
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Fertile Ground

Shanker Singham
14 June 2019
Research

Fertile Ground

Opportunities and challenges for UK agriculture

This paper examines the current state of UK agriculture and makes recommendations as to what the long term goals of a UK agricultural policy could be, after the UK leaves the EU, in a way that maximises the potential benefits of a genuinely independent agricultural policy, while minimising the disruptions caused by leaving the EU. ... Continue reading
Shanker Singham
14 June 2019
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PRESS RELEASE

Not everyone’s cup of tea…

Catherine McBride
24 May 2019
Research

Not everyone’s cup of tea…

IEA Financial Services unit releases report outlining the unintended consequences of MifID II regulations

MiFID II, together with MiFIR (Regulation (EU) No 600/2014), was intended to create a more transparent, competitive and integrated financial market in the EU by reducing trading outside regulated markets, increasing protection for investors and consumers, and improving financial stability. The Directive harmonises the EU regulatory regime with respect to organisational requirements for investment firms, ... Continue reading
Catherine McBride
24 May 2019
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Integrating Health and Social Care

Professor Philip Booth
15 May 2019
Research

Integrating Health and Social Care

State or Market?

Summary: Medical and nursing care have been separated from social care by deliberate design since the creation of the NHS. This is true with regard to the institutional and policy frameworks and also with regard to how care is provided in practice. This divide, even if once justified, is now entirely artificial. People spend far ... Continue reading
Professor Philip Booth
15 May 2019
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PRESS RELEASE

Top Dogs and Fat Cats

Edited by J.R. Shackleton
8 May 2019
Research

Top Dogs and Fat Cats

Summary In contrast to the recent past when even Labour politicians were ‘intensely relaxed’ about high pay, there is now widespread concern about the apparent excesses of some pay structures in corporate businesses. Top pay has risen much faster than average levels of pay in the last twenty years. This is in part the consequence ... Continue reading
Edited by J.R. Shackleton
8 May 2019
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Taxation without justification

Philip Booth & Rosalind Beck
4 May 2019
Research

Taxation without justification

An economic analysis of the Treasury’s treatment of privately rented housing

Summary: The private rented sector has played a critical role in increasing and improving housing provision in the UK. Around 80 per cent of private sector tenants are satisfied with their homes and satisfaction in the sector compares favourably with that in the social rented sector. This contribution has gone unrecognised: instead, landlords have been ... Continue reading
Philip Booth & Rosalind Beck
4 May 2019
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SMPC votes Five / Four to Hold Bank Rate in April

2 May 2019
Research

SMPC votes Five / Four to Hold Bank Rate in April

Shadow Monetary Policy Committee votes to hold bank rate

At its second full meeting of 2019, held in April, the Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (SMPC) voted by a narrow margin to keep Bank rate at 0.75%. Five voted to hold rates and four voted for a ¼ point rise. Four main reasons were given by those voting to keep rates at 0.75%. First, raising ... Continue reading
2 May 2019
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