Home Blog

Blog

Search

Set the economy free to meet tough challenges ahead
Richard Wellings
14 April 2011
comments

Despite the cuts, the coalition Government will raise our national debt by almost £500bn over this Parliament. This is just the official debt. When other liabilities such as pensions are...
Euro crisis no surprise to economists
Richard Wellings
25 March 2011
comments

They were warned. In the late 1990s, eminent economists queued up to explain the flaws in the euro project. Chief among them was Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman, who in 1999 – the year the...
Osborne’s Budget chips away at the top of an iceberg
Richard Wellings
23 March 2011
1 comment

In this year’s Budget, George Osborne had the opportunity to bolster economic recovery by removing barriers to growth. Alongside some welcome proposals, he unfortunately also...
Radio 4 documentary on the Austrian School - Radical Economics: Yo Hayek!
Richard Wellings
31 January 2011
3 comments

Radio 4 has produced a documentary on F. A. Hayek and the Austrian school of economics. The programme, Radical Economics: Yo Hayek!, will be broadcast tonight (31st January) at 8:30. It...
Bad news for social democrats – the “Swedish model” doesn’t work
Richard Wellings
13 January 2011
21 comments

Classical liberals can point to numerous examples of robust economic growth coinciding with low taxes and light-touch regulation: Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries; the US before the 1930s;...
Why raising VAT destroys wealth
Richard Wellings
4 January 2011
2 comments

In the context of Britain’s fiscal crisis, today's rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20% may be seen by some as a necessary evil. Moreover, indirect taxes such as VAT are often regarded as less...
Hammond’s Soviet-style rail policies
Richard Wellings
1 December 2010
7 comments

When Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced last week that the government would procede with three big rail projects – High Speed 2, Crossrail and Thameslink – it was a bit like a...
Bonfire of the quangos is mostly hot air
Richard Wellings
14 October 2010
8 comments

There are over 1,000 quangos in the UK. Today’s news that 192 of them are to be abolished appears to be concrete evidence that the coalition is taking radical action to reduce the role of...
David Cameron’s conference speech lacked intellectual coherence
Richard Wellings
6 October 2010
15 comments

David Cameron’s conference speech has arguably provided observers with important insights into the ideologies helping to drive coalition policy. Worryingly, there were strong elements of...
Equality Act shows coalition isn’t serious about deregulation
Richard Wellings
2 October 2010
9 comments

The Equality Act came into force yesterday. It strengthens anti-discrimination law and will make it easier for members of specified groups to win claims for discrimination, harassment and...
Big government is here to stay
Richard Wellings
24 September 2010
1 comment

Public sector workers are understandably concerned about the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). Trade union leaders have recently spoken of strikes and civil disobedience against...
Lib-Dem socialism is poisoning the coalition’s agenda
Richard Wellings
21 September 2010
7 comments

Those of us who hope the Liberal Democrats will reject socialism and embrace true liberalism have many reasons to be disappointed by this year’s party conference. Nick Clegg, for example,...
Fairness in benefits could save billions
Richard Wellings
26 July 2010
3 comments

A single claimant of Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income Support aged 18-24 receives £51.85 a week. This goes up to £65.45 for those aged 25 and over. Tax credit and child benefit...
Time to pull the plug on Eurostar?
Richard Wellings
22 July 2010
5 comments

The dismal economic returns on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link are a stark warning to supporters of a high-speed line to Scotland and the North of England. The total cost of the link, now renamed...
How to reform public sector pensions
Richard Wellings
7 July 2010
1 comment

Today, the Public Sector Pensions Commission - which was established in autumn 2009 by the IEA, the Institute of Directors and other groups - has released its report, Reforming Public...
IEA to feature in comic book on Margaret Thatcher
Richard Wellings
17 June 2010
comments

For perhaps only the second time in its history the IEA will feature in a comic book. The first instance was over a decade ago when Antony Fisher, IEA founder, appeared in such a publication along...
Making the country work again
Richard Wellings
19 May 2010
7 comments

Even Margaret Thatcher didn’t manage to dismantle Britain’s disastrous welfare system. Judging by the policy plans of the Lib-Con coalition, there is little reason to be optimistic that...
The Conservatives should have stood firm on Inheritance Tax
Richard Wellings
12 May 2010
14 comments

The Conservatives have abandoned their manifesto commitment to raise the Inheritance Tax threshold as part of the coalition deal with the Liberal Democrats. This his highly regrettable....
Is it worth voting?
Richard Wellings
6 May 2010
8 comments

With the opinion polls pointing to a close result and the prospect of a hung parliament, turnout is expected to be relatively high in today’s election. Yet for economists this presents a bit...
Banning “meow meow” would be counterproductive
Richard Wellings
17 March 2010
6 comments

The heavily publicised deaths of two teenagers in Lincolnshire who took mephedrone (known as “meow meow”) has led to calls for the drug to be banned. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling...

IEA Brexit prize

Support us

Invest in the IEA. We are the catalyst for changing consensus and influencing public debate.

Donate now

Thank you for
your support

Subscribe to
publications

Subscribe

eNEWSLETTER