Fuel duty makes little sense as a carbon tax March 5, 2012 TOMORROW is National FairFuel Day, when people will lobby MPs to reduce duty on fuel. It’s a tricky issue for economists. Fuel duty demonstrates the standard economic response to a situation where social costs exceed private costs. If the price of a gallon of petrol fails to reflect the total cost of consuming such a [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 5, 2012 National interest [Re: Taxing homes more isn’t the answer, yesterday] If we have to sell the land from under our feet, let’s at least extract the maximum possible price from those willing to buy it. We haven’t exhausted the ability or desire of foreign nationals to pay for UK property. Not to extract the maximum price [...]
The rigour and discipline of classics foster the skills for success in business and life March 4, 2012 WHEN education ministers talk about the skills that business needs, their main focus usually seems to be vocational, especially the so-called Stem subjects: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Obviously, these are absolutely crucial, but the implication is that non-vocational subjects do not count. But all businesses need people with different skills to manage, develop, finance [...]
Insurance firms need regulators to pay attention March 4, 2012 PRUDENTIAL’S threat to quit the UK and move its headquarters to Asia isn’t a hollow one. There is a growing feeling in the City that British insurers are getting a raw deal from Solvency II, the new capital requirements that will soon govern the sector. There is wide acknowledgement that the UK regulator, the Financial [...]
The City wants strong partnerships to thrive March 4, 2012 THIS Thursday marks one of the major events in the City calendar, the Trade and Industry dinner – an important opportunity to celebrate and fortify the core relationships between the City and the wider economy. Now more than ever we need to strengthen our partnerships. We need a sense of cohesion if we want to [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 4, 2012 Infernal devices [Re: All tax rates are too high, Friday] I don’t understand why so many people think the government knows how to invest our money. If they did, they would be in business not politics; or would at least have more experience of running a successful business. But every year policy-makers look busy by [...]
A plan for UK growth needs more than warm words: An entrepreneur’s call to arms March 1, 2012 LIKE most entrepreneurs, I love my business and I want to grow it. It would seem, from all the government’s powerful rhetoric, that David Cameron loves my business, too. After all, the official line is that this is the year the government needs to unlock the creativity and entrepreneurial talent buried deep in many of [...]
Don’t let retrospective rules put out the lights March 1, 2012 THE laws of physics have apparently been reinstated. The suggestion from Cern at the end of last year that neutrinos could travel faster than light sent our models of the universe atremble – but Cern, having turned everything off and on again, now puts the effect down to some faulty wiring. The rule of law, [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 1, 2012 Pay up and leave [Re: Hysteria over student visas is damaging Britain’s future growth, Wednesday] I’m from Singapore and chose to study in the UK because I’m interested in the car industry, where the UK is well-established. But I’m rejected by work placements because my visa doesn’t allow me to take a year off to work. [...]
A leading economist’s view on how to manage financial regulation for the long term February 29, 2012 ALL financial regulation is inherently procyclical. After a crisis has occurred, the immediate, inherent response is “that must never be allowed to happen again”. Thus after the South Sea Bubble, limited liability, joint stock incorporation was effectively forbidden. The problem is that regulations prevent agents doing what they want to do, and hence limit innovation [...]