As an educational charity, we take great pride in the fact that many of our contributors include PhDs, Professors and Nobel prize winners, as well as lawyers and trade experts, with an extensive network of external advisors and referees. We publish a wide range of papers, including an academic journal, Economic Affairs. Having an underlying philosophy is no barrier to producing good research based on evidence and academic knowledge.

The way we present ideas varies by the form of media we use, but all point back to our 60+ year core of research and key texts such as Hayek’s Road to Serfdom. We welcome the contrasting of our ideas with those of dissenters and opponents. We consider arguments in relation to evidence and theory.  We ensure that where we reach conclusions, they are based on analysis of both.

This rigour is more difficult on modern media platforms, with less space, or time, to convey sometimes difficult concepts. But that is all part of the discipline of education, and it has been since our founding. ‘Improving understanding’ requires communicating in ways that are understood.

Further, we will always attempt to underpin even the briefest observation with links to supporting material. Where we err, we correct or remove the material in error. Where new facts come to light that invalidate or update previous findings, we correct those findings.

We do not hold corporate positions on policy. For example, during Brexit, IEA staff and fellows were divided on the question of Remain or Leave pre-referendum, and afterwards on questions of deal versus no deal, and the pros and cons of various options. IEA staff were similarly divided on the costs and benefits of lockdowns during the Coronavirus pandemic and have been throughout this century on the best solutions to climate change and other environmental challenges.