Why it’s wrong to blame Osborne’s austerity for weak growth in Britain September 10, 2013 FIVE years ago, nearly every macroeconomist agreed that central banks determined aggregate demand (total spending in the economy), and that fiscal stimulus was therefore unnecessary to lift depressed economies. Conversely, fiscal austerity was seen as irrelevant at best for overall growth; any impact of austerity on demand can be offset by the right monetary policy [...]
Against the Grain: The tide may finally be turning in the ceaseless struggle against rent seekers September 10, 2013 THE CONCEPT of the “rent seeker” is one of the most valuable in the whole of economics. The activity of rent-seeking involves obtaining money by manipulating the social or political environment in which economic activity takes place, instead of getting paid for creating new wealth. It is a part of public choice theory, for which [...]
Private pensions have become a piggy bank for spendthrift states September 10, 2013 FIVE years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and the fallout from the financial crisis is far from over. Across Europe, private pensions have become a targets for politicians seeking to reduce the pressure to rein in spending and manage excessive debt after the crisis. While governments are encouraging or forcing citizens to participate in [...]
Letters to the editor – 11/09 – Lurch to the Left, Licence fee, Best of Twitter September 10, 2013 Lurch to the Left [Re: As the Social Attitudes Survey reveals softening views on welfare, is Britain moving to the Left? Yesterday] On certain issues, sometimes associated with the Left, the public has been steadfast over the last 30 years (support for the NHS, a decent state pension and schools funding, for example). But the [...]
Osborne’s recovery will not end the debate over the impact of austerity September 9, 2013 GEORGE Osborne yesterday presented his analysis of why the UK economy has turned the corner in recent months, arguing this demonstrated advocates of a “Plan B” had been proved wrong by events. He identified two candidate explanations for the slowdown of 2011-12. One school of thought he called the “fiscalist” analysis. According to this view, [...]
Only liberal economic policies will allow us to adapt to disruptive technology September 9, 2013 HOLLYWOOD producer Samuel Goldwyn once opined that “only a fool would make predictions – especially about the future.” It’s a wise view, but of little use to policymakers tackling big questions of the future. With this in mind, one of the more interesting outlooks on the current state of western economies is the “structural” explanation. [...]
Why capital rules could limit the impact of new competition in banking September 9, 2013 THE NEW TSB bank was finally launched yesterday. The spin-off of 631 branches and 4.6m customers from Lloyds means that the UK now has the first new major competitor to the existing banks since the start of the financial crisis. And when RBS spins off 315 of its branches, Britain will have a further mid-size [...]
Letters to the editor – 10/09 – Licence fee, Best of Twitter September 9, 2013 Licence fee [Re: Scrap the licence fee – and drag British TV into 21st century, yesterday] Surely the biggest scandal at the BBC is that, for an organisation with revenues of £3.5bn, the quality of programmes is so poor. A change in the way the BBC is funded would not only cut costs, but would [...]
A new breed of super-entrepreneurs could leave HS2 looking antiquated September 8, 2013 FOR A mode of transport that first arrived in the nineteenth century, railways have been remarkably resilient. All three major political parties currently support the creation of a new high speed rail network, High Speed 2 (HS2), a £43bn plan to connect London Euston, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, and the East Midlands in two phases. [...]
City Matters: Why the City’s buildings must adapt to suit a vibrant and commercial future September 8, 2013 THE STORY of the “Walkie-Scorchie” has taken the world by storm – following Morning Wire’s revelation last week that a Jaguar had “melted” in the heat on Eastcheap. This brought global attention to the new buildings that are nosing skywards in the east of our Square Mile. It also highlighted the difficult and delicate process [...]