Publications

Inside Politics

The rock that became a millstone

22/02/2008
The formal nationalisation of Northern Rock is only the logical conclusion to the Government’s months-long involvement with the failed mortgage lender. Since it was bailed out after last year’s run on its deposits, the people ultimately in charge of it have been Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, and it will be them who will pick up the political bill for any mistakes.

[…]

Uncategorised

Kredit verspielt

14/02/2008
Angesichts der Dimensionen der aktuellen Krise nimmt es nicht wunder, dass das Vertrauen in Marktwirtschaft und Globalisierung erschüttert ist. Ob es jemals besonders verbreitet war, ist eine andere Frage. Aber selbst entschiedene Anhänger freier Märkte sind irritiert.

[…]

Uncategorised

Driving ambitions

08/02/2008
The economic case for road pricing might be strong but the public is resolutely hostile to the idea. The answer is to show them what they would get for their money, argue Richard Wellings and Oliver Marc Hartwich

[…]

Inside Politics

Lack of trust, not lack of cash

25/01/2008
There is no economic law that says that share prices should never fall. It would be wiser if central bankers stepped back and let the markets clear up the mess that was first and foremost caused by loose monetary policies.

[…]

Research reports

Towards Better Transport

15/01/2008
According to Towards Better Transport, traffic congestion is now endemic, affecting not just large cities but also the core motorway network and small towns. It currently costs the UK economy in the region of £20bn per year, a figure set to rise significantly in the coming years, harming our future economic competitiveness and growth.

[…]

Uncategorised

Sharing the proceeds of what?

15/01/2008
“Sharing the proceeds of growth” has always been a nice, if also a little vague formula. It does not set the degree to which growth should be shared between tax cuts and public spending. Unfortunately – and almost by definition – it becomes an impossible task if there is no or only little growth and consequently not much to share.

[…]

Inside Politics

Taking the biscuit

24/12/2007
Take a biscuit, put a layer of marshmallow on top and cover the whole thing in chocolate – what do you call that? The answer: this is not just a biscuit, this is an M&S biscuit. At least that was what HM Treasury thought. To Marks & Spencer, however, these chocolaty creations were something very different. The retailer insisted that they were in fact teacakes.

[…]