Scandinavia provides the evidence for George Osborne’s war on welfare July 14, 2015 George Osborne’s Budget has been met with predictable outrage from the poverty lobby. The cuts to the welfare budget will allegedly create shocking levels of deprivation. Young people in particular, it is stated, have been singled out for punitive measures. On the face of it, the arguments seem plausible. Many people on benefits will get [...]
Two cheers for Obama’s historic Iran nuclear deal July 14, 2015 During my decade working in Washington, those who survived and thrived in the shark tank – regardless of ideology – tended to have one thing in common: an eerie sixth sense for which power-brokers were in it for themselves, and for that treasured minority who were involved in politics for the greater good of the [...]
Will Cameron help women in the workplace by forcing large firms to disclose gender pay data? July 14, 2015 Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at CEBR and author with Stefan Stern of Why Women Need Quotas (Biteback, 2015), says Yes Voluntary arrangements have not worked and forcing organisations to publish pay differentials is now essential. Interestingly young women do better than young men in their 20s. But thereafter the trend changes and the pay [...]
Greece makes further euro integration unavoidable – with big risks for the UK July 13, 2015 After months of wrangling, Eurozone leaders and the Greek government finally seem to have reached an agreement on a third bailout deal. EU politicians and the markets may breathe a sigh of relief at the prospect of some short-term stability being restored. But even if this new deal manages to stave off Grexit in the [...]
Ignore the rhetoric: George Osborne’s July Budget was a retreat from market liberalism July 13, 2015 George Osborne’s desired message was clear. He claimed last week’s Budget was a new settlement for a “higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare country”. The Tory media duly reported it as such. But political rhetoric often doesn’t match reality. Osborne’s Budget fails on his own terms, and marks a retreat from the market-based consensus of [...]
With optimism about its third bailout deal, is Greece’s place in the euro now more secure? July 13, 2015 Dr Holger Schmieding is chief economist at Berenberg, says Yes The deal is good. After six months of loony left nonsense, Greece now has a chance to get back on track. The deal cannot undo the damage which Alexis Tsipras has caused so far – capital flight of some €60bn, a relapse from the rebound [...]
Greece’s humiliation has exposed the lie at the heart of the European Union July 12, 2015 I have always thought there should be a special circle of hell reserved for those who cause major crises, but who then, through some sort of fluke, walk between the raindrops, suffering no ill personal effects as they bequeath the mess to posterity. If there is any justice, Yanis Varoufakis – the bombastic, overrated, erstwhile [...]
China’s stock market crash: Liberalisation cannot be fully controlled July 12, 2015 Visiting China last week to discuss finance with regulators, officials and industry people in Beijing and Shanghai was a timely reminder of the country’s economic vitality. All the facts confirm this – China is the world’s second largest economy (probably the largest on a purchasing power parity basis), and it is growing at twice the [...]
Better apprenticeships will transform UK productivity July 12, 2015 Of recent proposals to boost growth and productivity in London, by far the most controversial is the Airports Commission plan to build a third runway at Heathrow. The government is split on the issue. Both Boris and his likely successor as Tory candidate for mayor, Zac Goldsmith, are bitterly opposed. Both represent west London constituencies [...]
Three years after it was introduced, is it now time to end the Funding for Lending Scheme? July 12, 2015 Philip Booth, a professor at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and editorial and programme director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes. The Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) should never have been started. Initially, it could have been justified on the ground that the market was desperate for credit. But what has been its effect? [...]