thinktankcentral: Institute of Economic Affairs

Institute of Economic Affairs

12/14/2009

Profile of the Institute of Economic Affairs

Key people

The team includes Mark Littlewood, the Director General who started on the 1st December 2009.

Also Professor Philip Booth (Editorial & Programme Director) and Professor D R Myddelton (Chairman).

Basic philosophy

The IEA is the UK's original free-market think-tank, founded in 1955. It dominated debate in the 1970s and 1980s but has not been a major player in UK public policy for more than a decade. Under its new Director General the Trustees hope that that might change.

Some are concerned that Mark Littlewood's appointment will represent a change of direction for an institution associated with the Thatcherite revolution of the 1980s. This is because Littlewood was a Liberal Democrat (he tore up his Party card for his new job) and was once Head of Media for that party. More than that he is a supporter of the European Union project at a time when most of Britain's centre right is avowedly Eurosceptic. Littlewood's belief in the free market is nonetheless staunch and he wrote an article attacking the minimum wage shortly after he had been appointed. Plenty of Lib Dems were indignant at his classical liberalism and were pleased to see him go.

The IEA's goal is to explain free-market ideas to the public, including politicians, students, journalists, businessmen, academics and others interested in public policy. To some extent they are above the immediate fray. They "seek to change the climate of opinion in which politicians debate policy – it is not our main role to try to change day-to-day thinking of party politicians."

Recent achievements

IEA papers are arranged in a series of titles, each with its own 'brand image'. The main series of publications is complemented by the Institute's quarterly journal Economic Affairs.

The Institute's research activities are aided by an international Academic Advisory Council and an eminent panel of Honorary Fellows.

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Posted at 07:34 AM in Institute of Economic Affairs, Institution Profiles | Permalink | Comments (1)

11/03/2009

New thinking on Further Education

"An Adult Approach to Further Education"(PDF)

Author: Alison Wolf

Publication date: 3 November 2009

The report is critical of the Government's centralised planning and constant reorganisation of the further education sector. The author claims that many of the qualifications that the Government promotes and funds directly have no economic value and that £2billion is wasted on funding courses which have no net benefit to individual learners or society at large. The report suggests that rather than subsidies being paid by the Government to employers to fund training, the subsidies should be paid directly to individuals.

Posted at 09:52 AM in Institute of Economic Affairs, Universities & Skills | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/25/2009

Learning from American universities

"How English Universities Could Learn from the American Higher Education System" (PDF)

Author: Sir Cyril Taylor GBE

Publication date: 25 June 2009

The author who is the Chancellor of Richmond, the American International University in London, calls for the UK university system to rely less on state control and offer more diversity by following the approach taken by American universities. The report argues that universities should be allowed to control their own finances, set their own tuition fees and decide on the number of students they enrol. In addition, the author suggests UK universities should do more to attract private sector finance for capital building projects and research. In addition, the report suggests that there should be a return to one Department for Education and that the splitting of education policy between the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has not been a success.

Posted at 10:52 AM in Institute of Economic Affairs, Transatlantic relations , Universities & Skills | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/10/2009

Quantifying Labour's fiscal profligacy

"How Should Britain's Government Spending and Tax Burdens be Measured?"(PDF)

Author: David B. Smith

Publication date: 10 June 2009

The author claims that the Government's preferred market price GDP measure overstates national output because it is reported gross of indirect taxes and subsidies whereas factor-cost GDP which excludes all indirect taxation and subsidies is a better yardstick for analysing the Government's spending burden. The report states the ratio of general Government spending to national income will be at its highest level in 2010 since World War 2. The author predicts Labour's fiscal policies will lead to 1970's style stagflation.

Posted at 11:32 AM in Institute of Economic Affairs, Taxation, Treasury | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/02/2009

An end to "Ever-Closer Union"

"The European Institutions as an Interest Group - The Dynamics of Ever-Closer Union" (PDF)

Author: Roland Vaubel

Publication date: 2 June 2009

The report argues that the European institutions are more out of touch with the views of their citizens than ever before. The ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will reinforce the creep of centralisation by transferring more competencies to the EU and further dilute the power of national governments. The report advocates widespread changes to the European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice in order to prevent any more dislocation between those who work for the European Union and the people they represent.

Posted at 12:05 PM in Democracy & Constitution, Europe, Foreign Affairs, Institute of Economic Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0)

05/12/2009

Experts' verdict on the financial crisis

"Verdict on the Crash: Causes and Policy Implications"(PDF)

Authors: Philip Booth (Editor) and others

Publication date: 12 May 2009

A series of papers from fifteen experts on the subject of the financial crisis and its implications. The articles debunk the myth that the financial crisis was caused by insufficient regulation of banking and the financial services industry.

Posted at 12:31 PM in Business, Institute of Economic Affairs, Treasury | Permalink | Comments (0)

03/26/2009

Limiting regulation in the banking sector

"Central Banking in a Free Society" (PDF)

Author: Tim Congdon

Publication date: 26 March 2009

The author who is a respected economist argues that Gordon Brown's dismemberment of the Bank of England in 1997 resulted in a failure of the Bank to respond effectively during the Northern Rock affair. The report suggests that regulation of the finance industry should be kept to the minimum necessary to maintain the stability of the banking system and warns against the perils of over-regulating.

Posted at 01:06 PM in Institute of Economic Affairs, Regulation, Treasury | Permalink | Comments (0)

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