Posts Tagged Economics
Response in Full Fact to concerns over wind power
Posted by Nigel Williams in Economics, Environment on 02/02/2012
The web site Full Fact ran a feature on their blog about Ruth Lea’s report, Electricity Costs, the Folly of Wind Power. They kindly published a Civitas response, which is reproduced below:
How Big was Gordon Brown’s Raid on Pensions?
Posted by Nigel Williams in Economics, Tax and Spend on 03/10/2011
When people mention personal pensions, Gordon Brown and the Dividend Tax Credit get mentioned soon afterwards. This note takes a look at how big an effect that change in taxation had on individual pensions.
Forget quantitative easing, why not try the Billion Pound Drop!
Posted by Nick Cowen in Economics on 26/08/2011
As the world economy teeters on the edge of another recession, Keynesian-inclined economists are coming up with more and more outlandish ideas for stimulating the economy, from encouraging shoplifting, to faking an alien invasion as an excuse to ramp up military spending. These mechanisms, I will try to argue, while insane, do indicate how current approaches to economic stimulus might be improved.
Government mis-selling green economy as job creator
Posted by Nick Cowen in Economics, Environment on 05/08/2011
Contrary to Government claims, EU green energy policies are predicted to destroy tens of thousands of British jobs
Green economic policies mean more pain than gain for Britain, according to a new Civitas report. The Green Mirage, by John Constable, finds claims that the low-carbon economy can deliver so-called ‘green collar’ jobs are staggeringly far-fetched and unsupported by official measures.
Money to Burn
Posted by Nigel Williams in Economics on 08/06/2011
The Scale of the Issue
As is well known, energy costs are rising. The next questions from a business perspective are by how much and how easy is it to cope with. In the Blue Book, the Office for National Statistics publishes calculations for contributions to the economy by each business sector. The most recent data, from the 2010 publication, relate to 2008. In the ‘Combined Use’ matrix are estimates of each sector’s intermediate consumption, meaning the things they buy from other businesses in the course of their own production. Four subsections are predominantly energy-related, namely “Coal extraction”, “Coke ovens, refined petroleum & nuclear fuel”, “Electricity production and distribution” and “Gas distribution”. The total of a business sector’s purchases from these categories gives a reasonable estimate of its energy costs. The table also shows “Gross operating surplus and mixed income”, which is the difference between a business’s sales and its costs. For ease, I shall refer to it as “surplus”.
That’s not a growth plan, this is a growth plan!
Posted by David Merlin-Jones in Economics, Foreign Affairs, Politics, Press Release, Social Cohesion, Tax and Spend on 16/03/2011
‘Rebalancing the economy’ and ‘promoting growth’ have been flagship phrases for the new Government. On Budget Day its strategy for growth will be announced, but a report by independent think tank Civitas shows that current plans do not go far enough. In Economic Growth – Could the Government do more?, David Green and David Merlin-Jones argue that some of the Government’s own policies are major obstacles to recovery.
The full press release is available here
Economic Growth – Could the Government do more? is available here