This article is based on David B. Smith’s Politeia paper ‘The UK Government Spending Ratio: Back to the 1930s?’. Some … Continue reading “Government spending: ‘Back to the 30s’ claims are nonsense on stilts”

With total non-oil taxes equivalent to more than 78% of residual private-sector GDP measured at factor cost once government spending … Continue reading “The British economy is on the wrong side of the Laffer curve”

The features that should be found in a well-designed tax system and have been known since Adam Smith’s maxims appeared … Continue reading “Restructuring the UK Tax System: Some Dynamic Considerations (web publication)”

There seems to be near-lunatic policy inconsistency between the employment of the controversial and potentially dangerous policy of quantitative easing … Continue reading “Quantitative easing and tighter banking regulation: a lunatic combination?”

Britain now faces one of the most serious fiscal crises in its peacetime history. One reason is that the UK … Continue reading “Britain faces worst ever peacetime fiscal crisis”

In the twenty-sixty IEA Discussion Paper, Professor David B. Smith examines M4X as a measure of the supply of broad … Continue reading “Money Still Matters – The Implications of M4X for Quantitative Easing (web publication)”

In the 24th IEA Discussion Paper, David B. Smith takes an historical perspective on the 2009 Budget forecasts. His analysis … Continue reading “How Should Britain’s Government Spending and Tax Burdens be Measured?”

This monograph examines the growth of public spending in the UK. Using empirical evidence, evidence from theory, and the results … Continue reading “Living with Leviathan: Public Spending, Taxes and Economic Performance”