Debate: Should classical liberals support secession?

Mark Littlewood vs. Juan A. Soto
9 March 2021
Government and Institutions

Debate: Should classical liberals support secession?

Mark Littlewood: Questions around the secessions of countries or provinces pose difficult, possibly intractable, problems for economists and classical liberals. Attempts to calculate the potential losses of departing from the prevailing constitutional arrangements are not necessarily fruitless, but they are bound to be partial. Such analyses are likely to fall into a sort of inverse ... Continue reading
Mark Littlewood vs. Juan A. Soto
9 March 2021
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Scrapping the tax-free lump sum for pension withdrawal: not such a terrible idea

Mark Littlewood
9 October 2019
Tax and Fiscal Policy

Scrapping the tax-free lump sum for pension withdrawal: not such a terrible idea

In an article in the Times earlier this week I suggested Sajid Javid take a bold approach to tax reform. I argued that we should strive for lower and simpler taxes. On its own, the former would probably make our tax system less progressive overall, while the latter would make it more progressive. Because the ... Continue reading
Mark Littlewood
9 October 2019
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Oxfam would rather make us all poorer than feed the world

Mark Littlewood
22 January 2018
Government and Institutions

Oxfam would rather make us all poorer than feed the world

In the film Groundhog Day, the protagonist is trapped in an infinite time-loop, constantly repeating the same experiences over and over again, each time hoping it will be the last, yet never seeming to learn the lesson. The 2018 Oxfam report on inequality has been released today with much fanfare, and, just like those before ... Continue reading
Mark Littlewood
22 January 2018
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To create growth, taxes and government spending must be radically cut

Mark Littlewood
9 November 2016
Economic Theory

To create growth, taxes and government spending must be radically cut

There has been much debate over the past six years about the supposedly deep cuts in government spending—with comparisons ranging from the policies of Adolf Hitler, to returning the UK to the world of The Road to Wigan Pier. These frankly ridiculous claims have carried on despite the level of government spending, as a proportion of ... Continue reading
Mark Littlewood
9 November 2016
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Beware May’s “industrial strategy”: Brexit Britain must be market-orientated

Mark Littlewood
19 July 2016
Government and Institutions

Beware May’s “industrial strategy”: Brexit Britain must be market-orientated

This wasn’t a lazy half-hearted reshuffle, Theresa May was imposing her own stamp on government. Rather than going for continuity, she was ruthless in personnel changes. Initially, it started to look as though the Prime Minister might even be overhauling our outdated Whitehall structure too. The appointments of Liam Fox to oversee international trade and ... Continue reading
Mark Littlewood
19 July 2016
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In-Conversation with Dr Arthur Laffer

11 March 2016
Tax and Fiscal Policy

In-Conversation with Dr Arthur Laffer

The IEA's Director General Mark Littlewood interviews renowned American economist Dr Arthur Laffer. Recognized by Time Magazine in 1999 as one of “The Great Minds of the Century,” Laffer is best known for the Laffer curve, an illustration of the theory that there exists a tax rate between 0% and 100% that will result in maximum tax ... Continue reading
11 March 2016
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In Conversation with Charles Moore

28 November 2015
Economic Theory

In Conversation with Charles Moore

Charles Moore, authorised biographer to Lady Magaret Thatcher, appears at one of the IEA's 'In Conversation' series. Charles and Mark discuss his most recent volume of Lady Thatcher's biography All She Wants, as well as the political and economic events of the period covered in the book - 1983-1987. They discuss the Brighton Bomb, the miners' ... Continue reading
28 November 2015
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Don’t turn e-cigarettes into another tool of the state health nannies

Mark Littlewood
21 August 2015
Regulation

Don’t turn e-cigarettes into another tool of the state health nannies

The technological breakthrough of e-cigarettes has placed the medical establishment and taxpayer-funded public health advocates in a bit of a quandary. The agreed strategy to date has been to advise smokers that, in broad terms, they must “quit or die”. But a colossal range of weird and wonderful new smokeless nicotine delivery products has inclined ... Continue reading
Mark Littlewood
21 August 2015
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The Paragon Initiative – An Introduction

19 June 2015
Government and Institutions

The Paragon Initiative – An Introduction

The IEA is proud to announce our newest project - The Paragon Initiative. Over the next five years the IEA will put every area of government activity under the microscope, identify what government should, and should not, be doing and identify best practice from around the world to improve services. This wide-ranging and comprehensive project ... Continue reading
19 June 2015
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