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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...
How to cut Britain’s £20 billion Housing Benefit bill
Richard Wellings
15 March 2010
2 comments

The cost of Housing Benefit (HB) has exploded over the last five years, rising from £13.5 billion in 2004/05 to £20 billion in 2009/10. This is a cause for deep concern, not just...
The ONS and BBC and political independence
Philip Booth and Richard Wellings
1 March 2010
2 comments

On Friday the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released revised GDP figures for the last quarter of 2009. The BBC and other media outlets reported this as good news as Q4 growth was...
Wrong then, wrong now
Philip Booth and Richard Wellings
19 February 2010
2 comments

Today’s letters by 60 economists to the Financial Times in support of the government’s policy of delaying cuts in public spending echo the arguments used by mainstream economists during...
Index of Economic Freedom: UK drops out of top ten
Richard Wellings
20 January 2010
3 comments

The news that the UK has dropped out of the top-ten countries in the Index of Economic Freedom should act as a wake-up call to the politicians wishing to form the next government. The country’...
The economics of airport security
Richard Wellings
13 January 2010
6 comments

Around 235 million passengers passed through Britain’s airports in 2009. Most of those – both arriving and departing – will have experienced significant delays due to security...
Snow chaos – could private roads do better?
Richard Wellings
7 January 2010
14 comments

The current cold snap has led to widespread disruption on Britain’s roads. Much of the network has been left untreated as local authorities have struggled to cope and many routes have been...
Pre-Budget Report: Darling must cut UK’s huge welfare bill
Richard Wellings
9 December 2009
6 comments

Alistair Darling is staring into the abyss. Unless he makes severe cuts to government spending there is a real risk he will plunge the UK into another economic crisis. Without a credible commitment...
Picking winners and nuclear power
Richard Wellings
1 December 2009
8 comments

Faced with ambitious climate change targets, the government has decided that nuclear power will play a leading role in supplying the UK’s future electricity needs. Ten new plants will be built...
North to pay heavy price for dependence on public spending
Richard Wellings
16 November 2009
18 comments

Public spending dominates the economy of the North of England. In the North-East region, for example, it accounts for close to 70% of GDP. Many northern cities seemed to prosper in recent years. The...
US will pay a high price for Obama’s spending spree
Richard Wellings
21 October 2009
4 comments

There is talk of recovery, but little reason for optimism. Government action may have cushioned the initial impact of the recession, but the long-term economic consequences of borrow and spend...
Should the UK introduce a carbon tax?
Richard Wellings
24 September 2009
comments

Earlier this month, President Sarkozy announced plans to introduce a carbon tax in France. The UK could follow suit. A widely applied new tax, justified on environmental grounds, could prove popular...
Obama’s folly: high-speed rail in America
Richard Wellings
10 September 2009
13 comments

From China to California, the current slump has been marked by enthusiasm for high-speed rail. Projects typically form part of some kind of “Keynesian” stimulus package. Here in Britain...
Fuel duty: the hidden costs
Richard Wellings
3 September 2009
16 comments

Fuel duty rose by 2p this week, the third increase in the last ten months. Governments tend to view petrol taxes as a convenient source of revenue when budget deficits are high. Indeed, the last...
The dark side of climate change policy
Richard Wellings
29 July 2009
18 comments

The government recently announced a series of measures designed to make Britain a low-carbon economy, including a large expansion of renewable energy (primarily wind), grants for better home...
Cameron should focus on free trade rather than foreign aid
Richard Wellings
15 July 2009
13 comments

The development economist Peter Bauer famously observed that “Aid is the process by which poor people in rich countries subsidise rich people in poor countries.” Indeed there is a wealth...
Time preference, economic crisis and social decline
Richard Wellings
24 June 2009
2 comments

The last decade has been marked by a combination of low savings rates and high debt levels in both the USA and Britain. Indeed in 2005, the savings rate in the US reached zero, while 13 million...
UK debt crisis: politicians must wake up and smell the coffee
Richard Wellings
22 June 2009
22 comments

Britain now faces its worst ever peacetime fiscal crisis, yet our politicians seem incapable of grasping the seriousness of the situation. Indeed, when Andrew Lansley suggested recently...
How Boris can beat the RMT
Richard Wellings
11 June 2009
26 comments

The RMT has once again brought London to a standstill with a 48-hour strike. This is a good example of public choice theory at work, in particular Mancur Olson’s logic of collective action. A...
Why PPPs may offer poor value for money
Richard Wellings
8 June 2009
8 comments

For several decades the British economy has been hampered by the poor quality of its infrastructure. Whether in transport, education or health, investment has typically been low by international...

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