Economy

Glyn Gaskarth, February 2017

A series of policy initiatives since 2000 have rendered energy supply in the UK unstable and expensive. This has been driven by a desire to reduce carbon emissions in response to concerns about global warming. The effect, however, has been to drive energy intensive industries overseas, to countries with less carbon efficient means of production, resulting in a net increase in per capita global emissions… [Full Details]

Roger Bootle and John Mills, September 2016

The fall in the value of sterling since the vote for Brexit has had commentators wringing their hands with concern. But why are so many so quick to assume that a cheaper pound is a bad thing? The truth, as leading economists Roger Bootle and John Mills explain here, is that the British economy has suffered from an overvalued pound for many years. It has… [Full Details]

Bernard Jenkin (ed.), June 2015

The recent campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq came at a heavy cost to Britain's military capabilities. However, rather than replenish the forces with the equipment they needed, spending reviews in the last parliament saw defence expenditure so drastically reduced that the equipment used up in the campaigns cannot be replaced. These cuts have left all three services with large deficiencies in key areas. There… [Full Details]

John Mills, March 2014

The economic recovery has finally taken hold, but serious doubts remain about its strength, its sustainability and its ability to deliver improved living standards for all. In this hard-hitting critique of the UK's growth prospects, entrepreneur and economist John Mills warns that the current economic model is unsustainable and risks years of stagnation. By the time of the 2015 general election, living standards… [Full Details]

Patrick Diamond, November 2013

Britain is at risk of a return to the unsustainable debt-fuelled growth that left the economy so badly exposed during the 2008 financial crisis. While recent growth figures have been encouraging, little has been done on the more fundamental task of rebalancing the economy and tackling the chronic short-termism which has held the UK back. Patrick Diamond, a former Downing Street adviser under… [Full Details]

John Mills, October 2013

Recessions happen because there is insufficient demand to keep everyone occupied productively. The only solution is more demand, not less. Increases in demand, however, require major contributions from both the private sector as well as the public sector to be sustainable. Economists and policy makers, however, have a long history of looking the other way and ignoring the need for more demand to combat recessions… [Full Details]

John Mills, April 2013

It is increasingly being recognised that the over-valued pound is holding back the competitiveness of British exporters. While sterling has fallen since 2008, the advantages have not been felt because of continued uncertainty. In this urgent and insightful publication, the economist and entrepreneur, John Mills, argues that the government should set a competitive exchange rate target and take active measures to achieve it. As… [Full Details]

Greg Fisher and Paul Ormerod, April 2013

What is wrong with contemporary capitalism? Was the financial crisis of 2008 caused by deep structural problems in the way firms are organised? Here two of Britain's most creative thinkers tackle these questions head on, showing that the UK lacks diversity in its forms of corporate governance and is too reliant on the plc model, which has been shown in recent years to have… [Full Details]

Edited by Tristram Hunt, March 2013

No other country in the world - including the United States - has allowed such a strong anti-interventionist economic policy to take hold in recent years. We, in Britain, have been restricted by the economic disasters of the 70s - which eventually required a bailout of over $4billion from the IMF - to such an extent that laissez-faire has ruled our ideological roost for several decades. But… [Full Details]

Christopher Simpson, January 2013

Commentators across the political spectrum are pointing to the German system of local banks as a model for Britain to emulate. In this report, Christopher Simpson explains how these local German Savings Banks (Sparkassen) operate. He describes the history, structure and organisation of the Sparkassen, which are only allowed to lend within a geographically defined area and, as a result, develop close relationships with their… [Full Details]

Stephen L. Clarke & Georgia Plank, August 2012

Electronics products are pervasive but we tend to take their presence for granted. Those which do attract public interest are consumer electronics whose production is often dominated by companies in the Far East. This perhaps explains why Britain’s electronics industry has been undervalued, with the Government failing to recognise its significance in the UK’s struggle for economic growth. Selling Circuits Short is a… [Full Details]

Laurence Kotlikoff, July 2012

Over the last decade, the offshoring of UK industry has been well publicised. Now we are beginning to see a new trend: onshoring – the return of British manufacturers from overseas. In The Boomerang Economy, David Merlin-Jones examines the reasons why this is happening and how the UK government can encourage it… [Full Details]

Laurence Kotlikoff, July 2012

The Vickers Commission was meant to put a stop to this by safeguarding ordinary retail banks from the gambling of investment banks. Laurence J. Kotlikoff shows that the Vickers proposals fail to do this. Even banks deemed ‘good’ can turn bad, since no one can predict which ‘safe’ assets will actually be safe in the future. Moreover, ‘bad’ banks are still left too big and… [Full Details]

Stephen L. Clarke, May 2012

Imagine an industry dominated by businesses that offer poor service, enjoy a terrible public image and lose billions of pounds. They don't go bust, but increase their market share under a supportive regulatory system. A ludicrous scenario, of course - but it describes much of Britain's banking industry today. Street Cred examines the failings of the current British banking market and the lessons that… [Full Details]

David Merlin-Jones, February 2012

In this report, David Merlin-Jones argues that the only way to revive lending permanently is to go beyond restructuring commercial banks. Britain needs a new state-backed investment bank, described here as the 'Enterprise Bank' (EB). This would be able to raise cheap credit in the financial markets by using the UK's AAA credit rating and could pass this on to borrowers. It… [Full Details]

David Merlin-Jones, January 2012

Merlin-Jones argues that the EU's Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) will have no effect on many companies' emissions until 2016-18, over a decade after it came into force. It is so ineffective and expensive that attempts to patch it up are doomed to failure. A new approach to carbon reduction is required. He proposes a new flat carbon tax to replace the… [Full Details]

John Constable, August 2011

The move towards a low-carbon economy has been described as the second industrial revolution. As state mandates drive the adoption of renewable energy sources, we are assured that multiple benefits will result. In The Green Mirage, John Constable challenges this optimistic scenario. Constable marshals evidence suggesting that target-led, state-managed and subsidy-driven clean energy policies are likely to cause the remature adoption… [Full Details]

Alan Reece, July 2011

Alan Reece, an academic-turned-successful-manufacturer, argues that we must revive our manufacturing industry. However, the problems are enormous. Between 1997 and 2008 manufacturing output remained flat at around GBP150 billion a year. Allowing for inflation, this represents a real reduction of around GBP3.5 billion a year. Alan Reece argues that we need to increase our output of goods by GBP10 billion a… [Full Details]

David Merlin-Jones, May 2011

Drawing on interviews with experts in the chemical industry, Merlin- Jones argues that the chemicals sector is the key to reducing UK carbon emissions and ensuring economic prosperity. Britain needs a policy that ensures an even footing for chemical firms competing internationally, by keeping the UK's energy costs attractive. Only this will allow chemical firms to provide the products vital to combatting climate change… [Full Details]

David Green, April 2010

The recession has sparked a debate about the renewal of manufacturing. It is now generally accepted that the government should create the conditions in which manufacturing can flourish. How it should do so is strongly disputed. David Green presents new thinking on how to encourage economic growth without compromising our commitment to free enterprise.He advocates 'prosperity policy', which does not dismiss state aid, but… [Full Details]

Ruth Lea, July 2009

After years of being seen as outmoded, industrial policy is back on the political agenda, this time renamed 'industrial activism'. There is a widespread concern, fuelled by the crisis in the financial sector, that we have been too complacent about the decline in UK manufacturing, assuming that service industries would guarantee continuing prosperity with or without a vibrant manufacturing base. No one argues for protectionism… [Full Details]