There are 680 very happy steel workers in Sheffield right now. The nationalisation of Sheffield Forgemasters, with the promise of … Continue reading “Why are taxpayers being forced to bail out billion-pound defence contractors?”

The idea of the “Entrepreneurial State” or the “state as investor” has taken off in recent years – following the … Continue reading “Debunking the ‘State-as-Investor’”

Economic nationalism is firmly back on the policy agenda, if recent developments are anything to go by. In his ‘Build … Continue reading ““Build it in Britain” – when self-sufficiency becomes self-harm”

“The starting point of any industrial strategy must be recognition that government impedes growth more than it facilitates it,” said … Continue reading “State intervention is more of a hindrance than a help to growth”

The Government’s industrial strategy, released yesterday, is a paean to received wisdom about what the future economy will look like. … Continue reading “The government’s new ‘industrial strategy’ will fail”

Since the Brexit vote, it has become the conventional wisdom that there is a backlash against globalisation by the left-behind. … Continue reading “The case against “rebalancing the economy””

As the US economist Paul Krugman once famously remarked, ‘productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost … Continue reading “Yes, we have a productivity problem. No, we don’t need an ‘industrial strategy’”

Theresa May is reviving the idea of interventionist industrial strategy, and wants to “rebalance” the economy. Many people are jumping … Continue reading “It’s pure hubris for politicians to think they can “rebalance” the economy”

Jeremy Warner yesterday echoed the Prime Minister’s goal of a “proper industrial strategy” for Britain. He rightly cautions against the … Continue reading “Does Britain need a ‘proper industrial strategy’?”