State welfare systems do not change in a fundamental way very often. When they do, it is often in the … Continue reading “The pandemic will shake up the welfare state – and UBI will be a central part of the debate”

Parts 1 and 2 demonstrated that while Universal Credit (UC) has the potential to increase efficiency, improve employment incentives and … Continue reading “Universal Credit: what went wrong? (Part 3: lessons from Germany)”

…continued from Part 1   The issues of implementation described before should largely go away once UC is finally rolled-out … Continue reading “Universal Credit: what went wrong? (Part 2: the design)”

Universal Credit has several objectives, some more, some less explicit. Overall, these seem to fall within two categories: increasing employment … Continue reading “Universal Credit: what went wrong? (Part 1: the implementation)”

There is strong support for the idea of a universal basic income (UBI) right across the political spectrum. Advocates include … Continue reading “The case against a Universal Basic Income (UBI)”

Forget all the populist welfare crackdowns dominating the election headlines over the past week. These are small fry compared to … Continue reading “Universal credit holds promise – but it is just the beginning of welfare reform”

Interventions by Christian clergy in welfare debates are commonplace. Indeed Cardinal Nichols argued this year in an interview for The … Continue reading “Welfare reform as a moral imperative”

The Honourable Joe Hockey, Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia, spoke at an IEA event on Global Economic Development and … Continue reading “Joe Hockey : Global economic development and policy challenges”

There can be no doubt that spending on working-age benefits is out of control. Over the past decade alone, spending … Continue reading “Chancellor continues his ‘Edward Scissorhands’ approach to cuts”