Consumers want regulation – and Uber shows why markets regulate better than the state August 15, 2016 Waiting in the sweltering heat of Washington, DC for 10 minutes for an Uber, I was desperate to get into an air conditioned car. So when one pulled up right in front of me bearing the Uber sticker, my immediate reaction was relief. It was five minutes into the journey, when I glanced at the [...]
Why do politicians think they would be better at planning migration than anything else? August 8, 2016 A large number of MPs seem to believe that net inflows of 330,000 people per year into Britain are “too high”. What, then, is the optimal annual number of net migrants? Up until recently, the Conservatives said “tens of thousands” should be the aim. What’s not entirely clear is why they felt they had the knowledge [...]
Pork barrel spending and political gimmicks: Autumn Statement 2014 December 1, 2014 ONE HUNDRED and fifty five. That’s the really significant number for those following tomorrow’s Autumn Statement. It’s nothing to do with how much the UK government is borrowing. In fact, it’s the number of days until the general election. If early indications are anything to go by, the Statement will be packed full of small [...]
The financial crisis saw the UK become more equal. That was nothing to celebrate November 17, 2014 “The rich keep getting richer”. If you’ve been watching Channel 4 over recent weeks, you will likely have been subjected to unsubstantiated claims such as this. Viewers of last week’s “How Rich Are You?” programme probably came away with the conclusion that the gap between rich and poor was ever-widening. Before making a show littered [...]
The financial crisis saw the UK become more equal. That was nothing to celebrate November 17, 2014 THE RICH keep getting richer”. If you’ve been watching Channel 4 over recent weeks, you will likely have been subjected to unsubstantiated claims such as this. Viewers of last week’s “How Rich Are You?” programme probably came away with the conclusion that the gap between rich and poor was ever-widening. Before making a show littered [...]
Further tax hikes are neither necessary nor desirable – whichever way you cut it November 10, 2014 IMPORTANT voices are softening up the public for significant tax rises after next year’s election. Last week, the Institute for Fiscal Studies’s Paul Johnson wrote an article entitled “Whichever way you cut it, taxes need to rise”. This view is often echoed by left-leaning political parties and economists, who talk about the need for a “balanced [...]
Space travel economics: Don’t damn the rich for splurging on Virgin Galactic November 3, 2014 “Never let a serious crisis go to waste”, concluded Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s ex-chief of staff. For our political commentators, a more accurate phrase might be “never let a tragedy go to waste”. Just days after the Mojave Desert crash of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft, the Guardian’s Zoe Williams has used the tragic incident to [...]
Still lovin’ it? McDonald’s shows why a minimum wage hike is no free lunch October 27, 2014 McDonald's has been a major target for US protestors advocating a significant minimum wage hike. A multi-billion dollar company with a recognisable global brand, it has faced a high-profile campaign from those frustrated with low wage rates. Mandating higher wages for McDonald’s workers would not lead to job losses or cuts to hours, protestors argued. [...]
Our obsession with inequality is dangerous – the emerging world knows better October 20, 2014 Forget political polls and voting intentions. The most important survey of recent months came from Pew Research on the attitudes of populations worldwide to capitalism and inequality. As many Western economies labour under the strain of slow growth, an intellectual narrative has taken hold, arguing that free market capitalism causes unacceptable levels of inequality. But [...]
This anti-immigration arms race exemplifies everything that’s wrong with politicians October 13, 2014 "Race relations/immigration” is now ranked by voters as the most important issue facing Britain, according to Ipsos MORI. On 39 per cent, it’s above the economy and the NHS – areas the Conservatives and Labour want at the centre of their 2015 campaigns. This concern is not new. Even in the 1990s, when net migration [...]
