Search results for ""Institute of Economic Affairs""

Employment law has been growing rapidly. This has not exclusively or even mainly come from the European Union. Recent UK governments have added such significant new measures as the National Living Wage, workplace pensions and the Apprenticeship Levy. The costs of such regulation are frequently assumed - by both advocates and opponents - to fall on business profits. This isn't so, except in the very short run. They are instead transferred in part to consumers, but mainly to employees themselves. Mandated benefits - longer holidays or extended maternity leave, mean reduced pay growth and fewer job opportunities. Anti-discrimination laws lead to fewer openings for disadvantaged groups, while employment protection legislation worsens job prospects for the young. Excessive regulation acts as a barrier to entry, shielding incumbents and deterring the foundation of new enterprises. Attempts to restrict new types of employment in the 'gig' economy are counterproductive, serving 'insiders' at the expense of 'outsiders'. This book combines a history of employment laws with analysis of the troublesome effects of various interventions. The author argues for a fundamental rethink. Some basic labour market regulation may still be necessary, but far less than we currently have.

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Classical liberalism is one of the most important political and social philosophies. Indeed, this set of ideas was crucial in bringing the modern world into existence. It fostered a political climate in which economies were free to develop and government limited in scope, essential conditions for the unprecedented increases in living standards seen over the last two centuries. Yet despite its huge contribution, today classical liberalism is poorly understood and often misrepresented, its insights neglected in an era of pervasive state intervention. Eamonn Butler's primer is therefore extremely welcome. It is an extremely clear and well set out introduction to this way of thinking. As such, it is highly suitable for students of the social sciences and makes a valuable contribution to greater understanding of a perspective that is enjoying a long overdue revival.

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Universities in the UK have traditionally operated under a common system which institutionalises important restrictive practices. They have operated in a cartel whose output had been regulated by government. The individual firms (ie universities) are allocated quotas of students by government, and fees and salaries are set in ways that are typical of a classic cartel. The university cartel is underpinned by a further monopoly, granted as of right to each university. In the UK nobody can award degrees unless empowered to do so by royal charter. Professor Douglas Hague takes this argument a stage further by stating that current stage of economic development is strongly based on the acquisition, analysis and transmission of information and on its application. Universities will therefore be forced to share, or even give up, part of their role as repositories of information and as power bases for ideas transmitted through teaching and writing. In this richly original Hobart Paper, Professor Hague identifies the challenges which universities will have to meet and argues that, if these can be overcome, universities should be able to survive both as competitors and complements of the knowledge industries over the coming decades. First published in 1991, with a second impression in 1996, this book has stood the test of time and is remarkably prescient given technical change over the last ten years.

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'Market failure' is a term widely used by politicians, journalists and university and A-level economics students and teachers. However, those who use the term often lack any sense of proportion about the ability of government to correct market failures. This arises partly from the lack of general knowledge -- and lack of coverage in economics syllabuses -- of Public Choice economics. Public Choice economics applies realistic insights about human behaviour to the process of government, and it is extremely helpful for all those who have an interest in -- or work in -- public policy to understand this discipline. If we assume that at least some of those involved in the political process -- whether elected representatives, bureaucrats, regulators, public sector workers or electors -- will act in their own self-interest rather than in the general public interest, it should give us much less confidence that government can 'correct' market failure. This complex area of economics has been summarised in a very clear primer by Eamonn Butler. The author helps the reader to understand the limits of the government's ability to correct market failure and also explains the implications of public choice economics for the design of systems of government -- a topic that is highly relevant in contemporary political debate. This text is an important contribution for all who seek to understand better the role that government should play in economic life.

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The political debate about poverty is entirely dominated by groups calling for more income transfers to the poor. However, now that the scope of our welfare state has reached - or even surpassed - Scandinavian levels, surely this approach has run its course. Award-winning author Kristian Niemietz lays out another approach to dealing with the problem of poverty - one that focuses on addressing the problems caused by government interventions that raise the cost of living. These interventions are enormous in their effect on the poor. As the author points out, the poverty lobbies are more or less silent on these crucial matters. This has not always been the case. In the past, free-trade movements, for example, had been seen as pro-poor movements. Alongside radical market reforms, the author proposes wide-ranging welfare reform to encourage work and remove the penalties on family formation. This would include a form of negative income tax system and the localisation of welfare decisions.

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In the last fifty years, many aspects of socialism have been rolled back around the world. Indeed, in the 1990s, following the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, it seemed as if classical liberal ideas had triumphed. But this did not happen by accident. The role of free-market think tanks was critical. This volume draws on the experiences of thirteen authors involved in classical liberal think tanks in different parts of the world. The contributors identify the strategies that have proved successful in influencing the public policy and explain how they can be adapted to local circumstances. Indeed, though the 'war of ideas' has been hard fought, it has been only partially won. New threats to freedom have emerged, including environmentalism and big-government conservatism. In some countries the burden taxation and regulation has never been greater. "Taming Leviathan" is essential reading for anyone involved in the battle against resurgent collectivism.

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It is often assumed that government intervention is required to bring to fruition large scale infrastructure projects because the large initial capital outlays such projects require must be funded from the public purse. In "Wheels of Fortune", Fred Harrison shows that large scale infrastructure projects can be made self-funding. Infrastructure projects almost always bring about a large increase in the value of adjoining land. For example, it is estimated that the London Underground Jubilee Line extension increased adjoining land values by close to GBP3 billion. When such infrastructure projects are funded by government, they therefore involve a substantial transfer of wealth from a large number of taxpayers to a small number of property owners. Harrison argues that a fairer and more efficient means to fund infrastructure projects is to capture and use the increases in land values that they bring.

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This book is the latest annual review of utility regulation and deregulation, published by the IEA in association with the London Business School. It contains a series of chapters from leading practitioners in the field which comment on the most significant and up-to-date developments. Two viewpoints are presented on each issue: the first by a distinguished academic or industry expert and the second, a shorter comment, usually by the relevant regulator. Together they show how regulation and deregulation are evolving, and highlight the successes which have been achieved and the failures which must be overcome. The book will be of considerable value to practitioners, policymakers and academics involved in regulatory reform and regulatory economics. It will also be of interest to anyone wishing to gain an overview of international regulatory policies.

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The British Government has focused the discussion on the adoption of the euro on its economic consequences. Whilst there are economic arguments for the UK joining the euro, those arguments are not a matter of 'life and death'. The political implications of the UK joining the euro are much more important. Here the most crucial aspects of the debate are not notions of 'sovereignty' on the one hand or 'maintaining influence' on the other: the key reason to maintain sterling should be to ensure 'monetary competition'. Competition between currencies will make it less likely that central banks will create inflation. Monetary competition should form part of a more general political package. Monetary arrangements will strongly influence the kind of European Union we build, and the arguments in The Euro as Politics can be applied to a wide range of European policy areas. Professor Schwartz argues that the UK should seek to build a free-trade Europe based upon competition and not based upon harmonisation of regulation and laws.

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The teaching of economic history is in decline in our schools and universities. Yet much can be learned from the analysis of historical economic events. In railway.com Robert Miller combines such analysis with an explanation of the technological developments in order to draw parallels between the early British railways and the ICT revolution. Study of the former enables us to understand likely trends in the latter. Furthermore, a number of important policy implications can be drawn from the study of the economic history of both events. Robert Miller shows too how stock market bubbles do not necessarily lead to economic losses. The use of central planning for allocating capital in network development has simply led to technological networks being under-provided. The author also considers the issues of technology 'lock in' and examines how markets, even in apparently unsophisticated economies, can solve complex resource allocation problems.

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The first edition of this pioneering book produced surprising conclusions from research around the world into the extent of private education. James Tooley challenged the prevailing wisdom that private education fosters social and economic inequality. On the contrary, he found that the private sector, as well as being innovative, often provides creative social responsibility programmes, subsidised places and student loan schemes. He concluded with a proposal about the role of for-profit education enterprises in promoting equitable development. In this second edition, Professor Tooley contributes a new preface which shows how his work has developed and extended into other countries. In particular, he provides a fascinating account of how private education is flourishing in China.

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University courses in environmental economics tend to focus almost exclusively on the role of the state in protecting the environment. However, as these essays show, some less trepid students have discovered that individuals can and do protect the environment through the use of property rights, markets and the rule of law (see especially the essay by Giuliano d'Auria). Indeed, private property is crucial for environmental protection, as testified by the human and environmental tragedy that befell the collectivized USSR (see the essay by Catherine Gillespie). Moreover, state regulation of the environment can have the perverse consequence of undermining private protection and thereby harming the environment (see the essay by Joseph Thomas). Environmentalists often claim that trade is harmful to the environment, citing the decline of the elephant as being a result of the ivory trade. As Nicola Tynan shows, however, trade itself is not usually the problem; rather it is a lack of private property rights which reduces the incentives of individuals to conserve species, be they elephants or seahorses.

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For half a century the US Congress effectively evaded its constitutional duty by allowing the US President to take the lead in the formulation of trade policy. The result was a system which avoided the danger of log-rolling exercises when setting tariffs. It facilitated the growth of trade and thus encouraged economic growth and rising living standards. For some, however, the system has shown signs of fragmentation arising from new pressures and challenges and is producing policy outcomes that lack coherence and rationale. New pressures include demands for trade protection arising from America's mounting trade deficit, as well as jolts to the system caused by the struggle to create a North America Free Trade Agreement. More recently, new demands largely unrelated to trade have perversely affected the policy as non-governmental organisations have demanded a role in its formulation, including those concerned with environmental, social and labour issues. To a significant extent they have effectively 'privatised' the policy process. Moreover, the US government has increasingly used trade policy for non-trade purposes - principally as a tool of foreign and security policy. The pro-liberalisation forces within Congress and the administration have been comprehensively outplayed. In the absence of political leadership and a greater public awareness of the issues at stake the stage is set for the still greater abuse of trade policy by narrow special interest groups in pursuit of particularist ends. In the circumstances, the best that can be hoped for may be a series of international agreements which could constrain the abuse of US domestic policy formulation. But even this will require greater courage and resolve by the advocates of free trade than has recently been shown.

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In Britain the costs of justice - to taxpayers and litigants - have been rising faster than GDP. For efficiency reasons and to encourage innovation, reform is required and some action is already underway. But reform is complicated because 'justice' is a complex product - bought on 'trust' by many consumers and with precedent and spillover effects. Some good ideas for reform are already in circulation. But there is a case for experimentation rather than trying to work out in advance which ideas should be implemented. Market forces should have a bigger role in the civil justice system and there should be more competition in the provision of dispute resolution services. Probable features of a reformed judicial system would be competitive tendering, better information for clients about alternative ways of proceeding and more power for trial judges to control the passage of a case. The supply of judges also needs to be addressed: court fees could be determined by market forces and the proceeds ploughed back into judicial capacity. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures allow parties a choice of jurisdictions. ADR produces precedents, to the extent they are required, and does not need the threat of litigation in the background. A big advantage of ADR is that it avoids monopolized law which otherwise tends to produce inflexibility, bad rules and politicization.

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Utility regulation in Britain has now entered a phase in which debate is no longer so much concerned with whether it is preferable to rival systems but with how to shape the'regulatory contract' in monopoly areas and, in potentially competitive areas, how to ensure rivalry.

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The root causes of land degradation are the actions of political entrepreneurs, aid agencies, and governments of developing countries who misuse 'aid' money. Only when individuals are permitted to own property, especially land and water, to engage in free trade, and to resolve disputes through customary law, will the problems of land degradation, poverty, and hunger be reduced to acceptable levels.

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This Hobart Paper addresses one of the great economic and social problems of our time: the suboptimal allocation of resources that has arisen from the incompatible financial, fiscal and regulatory regimes for the various modes of inland transport. In order to simplify the argument, it concentrates on the movement of people, whose demand for access to satisfactions gives rise to the derived demand for mobility with with the paper is concerned. The argument rests on the assumption that such satisfactions can only be assessed subjectively and that there is no planning technique which will ensure the provision of the required mobility at a quality and price that will clear the market. Having reviewed the various 'means to mobility', the paper concludes that measures to harmonise their investment, taxation and regulatory regimes so as to create an integrated market form the basis for the only 'national transport policy' that can have either meaning or success.

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In this study the authors examine the so-called scientific 'consensus' about global warming. They argue climate change is a problem of great complexity, and such analysis as has been made by no means supports the view that climate change would place intolerable burdens on future generations.

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Drawing on data from various European colonial empires, Niemietz casts doubt on the claim popular among both 19th-century imperialists and modern-day progressives that empire was a crucial factor in the West's rise to prosperity. Instead, he shows that its immorality aside Western colonialism was simply bad economics.

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The Covid-19 pandemic was, and remains, a global disaster – claiming countless lives and wreaking economic havoc that still reverberates today. But it could have been worse. Much worse. Author Stephen Davies contends the planet ‘dodged a bullet’ this time around. But he warns this was no black swan event: The conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East already threaten global stability. And the next existential threat to mankind could happen much sooner than we think – with the chances of it happening increasing exponentially. Here he analyses the potential catastrophes – from nuclear war and climate change to further pandemics, the misuse of Artificial Intelligence and more – that could jeopardise our planet and its people. In this fascinating and at times frightening work, he examines how we assess these risks – and what we can do about them. But Davies is no Jeremiah. He firmly believes the ingenuity, imagination and innovation of millions of people around the world will ultimately secure mankind’s continued existence.

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How can health services in the UK and Europe be improved? And can costs be reduced at the same time? Over the years, many ideas have been put forward – from increased spending on preventive healthcare to the better use of technology to reduce bureaucracy and ‘pay for performance’ schemes. But author Nima Sanandaji says this is merely tinkering at the margins. What’s needed, he argues, is a completely new approach – one which embraces disruptive innovations from a new breed of entrepreneurs. Allowing true entrepreneurialism in healthcare might be considered extreme in a Western setting – but he points to a spectacular wave of success in the East to support his case. In India, Thailand, China and the Middle East, entrepreneurs have drawn inspiration from the motor industry to streamline procedures and create economies of scale. In areas such as heart surgery, they’ve dramatically driven down costs – and dramatically improved outcomes. So much so that the new market economies of the East are now, he contends, many steps of ahead of the West. In The Henry Fords of Healthcare Sanandaji outlines the lessons the West can now learn from the East, making a radical, compelling and controversial contribution to the debate on our own ailing health systems.

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Today should be a Golden Age for free speech – with technology providing more ways of communicating ideas and opinions than ever before. Yet we’re actually witnessing a growing wave of restrictions on freedom of thought and expression. In Having Your Say a variety of authors – academics, philosophers, comedians and more – stress the fundamental importance of free speech, one of the cornerstones of classical liberalism. And they provide informed and incisive insights on this worrying trend, which threatens to usher in a new, intolerant and censorious era.

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Scandinavian countries have been praised for their high levels of welfare provision and their economic and social outcomes. It is true that they are successful by most reasonable measures. However, Scandinavia's success story predated the welfare state. For example, Sweden began to fall behind as the state grew rapidly from the 1960s. Between 1870 and 1936, Sweden enjoyed the highest growth rate in the industrialised world. However, between 1936 and 2008, the growth rate was only 13th out of 28 industrialised nations. Between 1975 and the mid-1990s, Sweden went from being the 4th richest nation in the world to the 13th. Many analyses of Scandinavian countries conflate correlation with causality. It is clear that many of the desirable features of Scandinavian societies, such as low income inequality, low levels of poverty and high levels of economic growth predated the development of the welfare state. These and other indicators began to deteriorate after the expansion of the welfare state and the increase in taxes to fund it.

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Whilst it is impossible to argue that the earth is flat without fearing ridicule, fallacies in economics are widespread. Such fallacies pervade the intellectual sphere and even influence policy. Professor Geoffrey Wood of the University of Buckingham exposes such popular economic fallacies in this revised edition of Fifty Economic Fallacies Exposed. Professor Wood looks at, for example, the supposed dangers of free trade, the abilities of governments to control the economy, the effects of government regulation and whether millions of jobs depend on our continued membership of the European Union. These lucid and stimulating articles are invaluable to students struggling to master some of the complexities of economic theory and its applications, who often find that the most effective way to learn economic analysis is to see such fallacies exposed. It is a text particularly suitable for first-year economics students, complementing existing textbooks as it does, and clarifying basic concepts in economics while demonstrating the practical uses of economic theory

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By any measure, the privatisation and liberalisation of the UK energy industry was an enromous success. And yet the public are not convinced. As energy expert Carlo Stagnaro shows in this important book, the re-regulation of the market in the UK, together with policy developed at the EU level, has undermined all the important developments of the 1990s and early 2000s. The result has not only been poorer outcomes in the energy market but a very inefficient approach to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The EU has also only been partially successful in promoting liberalisation and competition in electricity markets and the time is ripe for change. The author shows how the EU must learn the lessons from the UK's successful recent past - and the UK must re-learn them. Therein lies the route to a competitive energy market that serves the ends of consumers rather than the ends of politicians and other interest groups.

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Ronald Coase is one of the most important economists of the twentieth century. Amongst other great achievements, Coase taught us why firms exist and how we can better understand how to solve environmental problems. He also made a profound contribution to our understanding of the provision of so-called "public goods" and helped join the often distinct intellectual fields of law and economics. Coase coined the phrase "blackboard economics" to describe an approach to economics that involved ignoring what happens in practice and, instead, led the profession to obsess with theory. He once said: 'If economists wished to study the horse, they wouldn't go and look at horses. They'd sit in their studies and say to themselves, "what would I do if I were a horse?"'There is much that students, teachers, policymakers and regulators can learn from the economics of Ronald Coase, and he will, no doubt, provide a rich seam of material for decades to come. The authors of this short book have taken up the challenge. They apply Coase's ideas to a number of different areas of economics and, in doing so, provide a practical and very readable introduction to a number of topics that have direct relevance for regulation and for public policy.

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The subject of advertising is often treated with indifference by economists and disdain by the public. Indeed, from time-to-time, there have been calls to ban advertising. Though there has been no general ban, advertising has been prohibited in some sectors and further regulation in this field is continually being considered. Given the importance of advertising in political discussion and the lack of evidence regarding its role and effectiveness, Ralph Harris and Arthur Seldon published Advertising in a Free Society in the late 1950s. This seminal work provided a dispassionate and serious analysis of the subject. It concluded that advertising played a positive role in communicating information and building brand loyalty. Interestingly, some of the most dishonest forms of promotion came from politicians. Christopher Snowdon has skillfully abridged Harris and Seldon's work whilst adding important modern insights. Perhaps the most important of these is his critique of the claim that advertising coerces people into acting against their best interests. He also finds that the modern economic literature largely supports Harris and Seldon's view that advertising facilitates competition and lowers prices. This new study is an important work for all interested in public policy as well as for those studying marketing in business schools or as part of a professional qualification.

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Price controls across many sectors are currently being hotly debated. New controls in the housing market, more onerous minimum wages, minimum prices for alcohol, and freezes on energy prices are very high up the agenda of most politicians at the moment. Even without any further controls, wages, university fees, railway fares and many financial products already have their prices at least partly determined by politicians rather than by supply and demand in the market. Indeed, barely a sector of the UK economy is unaffected in one way or another by government controls on prices. This book demonstrates why economists do not like price controls and shows why they are widely regarded as being amongst the most damaging political interventions in markets. The authors analyse, in a very readable fashion, the damage they cause. Crucially, the authors also explain why, despite universal criticism from economists, price controls are so popular amongst politicians. This excellent book, edited by Christopher Coyne and Rachel Coyne, should be of great value to all those with an interest in minimum wages and other forms of price control. cheers

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New forms of private monies regularly hit the newspaper headlines. However, there is relatively little discussion of whether such innovations will last the pace and perform effectively the functions that we expect of money. This monograph, by one of the leading scholars in the field of private money and free banking, examines new innovations such as Bitcoin, the Liberty Dollar and e-gold. Kevin Dowd concludes that competition in this field is welcome given the lamentable history of state money which has seen its purchasing power shrink greatly over the years. However, the author also concludes that, whilst recent developments in private monetary systems are welcome and may herald a forthcoming revolution, new monies face many challenges. Some of those challenges relate to the nature of the private monies themselves. Other challenges come from law enforcement agencies that are determined to prevent competition with state money. Kevin Dowd outlines the regulatory and legal changes that will be necessary if beneficial innovation is to thrive and discusses how developments in private money are part of a more general movement amongst people who wish to reduce the role of the state in their lives. This monograph is essential reading for anybody interested in new developments in money, finance and banking.

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Measurement of the shadow economy is notoriously difficult as it requires estimation of economic activity that is deliberately hidden from official transactions. Surveys typically understate the size of the shadow economy but econometric techniques can now be used to obtain a much better understanding of its size. The shadow economy constitutes approximately 10 per cent of GDP in the UK; about 14 per cent in Nordic countries and about 20 - 30 per cent in many southern European countries. The main drivers of the shadow economy are (in order): tax and social security burdens, tax morale, the quality of state institutions and labour market regulation. A reduction in the tax burden is therefore likely to lead to a reduction in the size of the shadow economy. Indeed, a virtuous circle can be created of lower tax rates, less shadow work, higher tax morale, a higher tax take and the opportunity for lower rates. Of course, a vicious circle in the other direction can also be created.

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This monograph provides a detailed explanation how the Great Depression and the current financial crisis and economic contraction in the United States were both caused by and exacerbated by government, not by capitalism. The monograph provides a well-reasoned free market alternative to current statist policies with respect to economic recovery in the United States.

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The recent accession of the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe to the European Union significantly changed many of its social and economic characteristics. For example, a situation was created where income differences between regions in the EU are on a par with those between Britain and some African countries. Regional differences in productivity and employment levels within the EU are even more stark than income differences. This monograph examines the policies that should be used to address the poor economic performance of New Europe's old industrial and agricultural regions. The author finds traditional regional policy wanting, but feels there might be a role for the 'new regionalism' that is focused on trying to boost the productivity of peripheral regions. However, using Poland as a case study, he is able to show that, if new-style regional policies are introduced without policies aimed at liberalisation, lower taxes and reduced employment protection, then nothing of substance will be achieved. This analysis has profound implications for the EU more widely. If there is to be economic liberalisation within the EU then there probably has to be political reform too. This study is essential reading for anybody interested in the future of the EU and the role of regional policy in economic development.

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Politicians will go to any lengths to persuade the voting public that the National Health Service is safe in their hands. Alternative policy models cannot be placed before the electorate unless political parties take huge risks. Yet, at the same time, we see even a Labour government drawing private finance into the health service and giving patients rights to use the private sector. This groundbreaking new study shows that, although the politicians do not feel confident in proposing radical new models of healthcare, elite opinion in the media, in political circles, in academia and in policy think tanks has fallen out of love with the idea of a centrally planned health service provided and financed by government. Elite opinion does not, as yet, warm to a free market in healthcare. Although aspects of a market-based system are accepted, ideas of 'market failure' loom large - especially amongst the political-class. Nevertheless, the author shows how some groups of opinion formers are prepared to be more radical. These groups, she believes, may in time be effective in promoting a vision of a market in healthcare that is free from government interference and from the stifling power of government-granted professional monopolies.

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Sub-Saharan Africa has received tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid over the last fifty years, yet economic development has remained elusive. In many countries absolute poverty has increased and life expectancy has declined. Karol Boudreaux and Paul Aligica argue that instead of traditional approaches to development policy, the focus needs to be on adoption of sound political and legal institutions, with clearly defined and enforced private property rights to encourage entrepreneurship and economic growth. The authors examine several case studies of property rights reform in the developing world and suggest that universal policies applied regardless of local culture and tradition tend to fail. Reforms are more likely to succeed when they evolve gradually and are tailored to local norms and values rather than imposed from above by governments, aid agencies and supranational institutions.

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This book continues the series of annual books which critically review the state of utility regulation and competition policy. With contributions by some of the leading figures in the field, this important new book presents incisive chapters on a number of prominent topics. A key feature of the series is the contribution of not only academics and independent commentators, but also of the regulators and heads of the competition authorities themselves.

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The only significant road pricing scheme in the UK is that introduced by Ken Livingstone in London. But the technology now exists to develop a nationwide scheme of road user charging, with prices to road users varying with the level of congestion in a given area at a given time. The only obstacles to implementing road user charging would seem to be political. Stephen Glaister and Daniel Graham have used sophisticated geographical and economic modelling to examine the potential effects of different types of road user charging schemes. The results of the modelling are explained lucidly and clearly. Using the results of the authors' models, policymakers should be able to find an approach which is acceptable given the practical realities they face. The authors also look carefully at the implications of road user charging and identify other policy areas that policymakers would need to consider.

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In Unshackling Accountants, Professor D R Myddelton of Cranfield School of Management looks at the history of and the arguments for and against detailed accounting standards. Myddelton concludes that, while there may be a case for the accounting profession to develop voluntary guidelines, the imposition of rigid standards is likely to prevent the art of accounting from evolving. Myddelton believes that the argument that more regulation and more uniformity are necessary to avoid scandals such as those at Enron and WorldCom is flawed. He argues that those scandals happened at a time when accounting practices were more regulated than ever before and in jurisdictions where practices were laid down in the greatest detail. Very often, in fact, bad practice is imposed by regulation and accounting standards.

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This book charts the development of the new rural economy and considers whether government policy has similarly developed. In the rural economy, tourism now employs more people that agriculture, and the agricultural sector itself has become much more diverse. But the government bodies charged with delivering countryside policy very often seem wedded to a view of the rural economy and the traditional agricultural sector as synonymous. In "The New Rural Economy", Professor Berkeley Hill of Imperial College London analyzes the appropriate roles of the public and private sectors in the developing rural economy and questions whether evidence of 'market failure' necessarily justifies government intervention, if 'government failure' imposes greater costs than the problems intervention was intended to remedy.This book is an essential reading for those concerned with the development of the countryside and the proper role of government in creating a sustainable, long-term future for those living and working in rural Britain.

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The energy challenges of resource depletion, security of supply and pollution have been effectively addressed by market entrepreneurship, technology, and measured regulation. The remaining sustainability issue for carbon-based energy reliance is anthropogenic or man-made climate change. "Climate Alarmism Reconsidered" demonstrates how the balance of evidence supports a benign enhanced greenhouse effect, and how the case for mandatory greenhouse gas reductions depends on unrealistic assumptions. Government intervention in the name of energy sustainability is the major threat to real energy sustainability and the provision of affordable, reliable energy to growing economies worldwide.Free-market structures and the wealth generated by markets help communities to best adapt to climate change. This multi-disciplinary study concludes that climate alarmism and its corollary, policy activism, are unwarranted and counterproductive for the developed world and particularly for the world's energy poor. Every few decades the intellectual community becomes obsessed with some energy 'problem' to which it can see no solution and calls for intervention by governments and international bodies to save the world. In the 1970s, the perceived problem was an imminent energy shortage; today the issue is climate change.

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This book provides an analysis of the current problems of pension provision in the UK and a radical plan for reform. The authors believe that the system of retirement income provision in the UK is so mired in complexity that nothing less than wholesale change is necessary. The authors believe that state pensions should only be offered on a contributory basis - there should be no automatic right to a 'citizen's pension', as has been proposed by many commentators. Attention should also be paid to the social security system to remove the perverse incentives of means testing. Anomalies and special treatment of favoured groups in the tax system should also be removed. The Way Out of the Pensions Quagmire proposes a holistic approach to pension reform that takes proper account of the interaction between pensions, tax, social security and financial regulation.

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From the mid 1950s to the late 1980s, Ralph Harris and Arthur Seldon, as general director and editorial director respectively of the IEA, battled against a conventional wisdom which was hostile to markets. Eventually, by force of argument, they overcame much of the resistance to market ideas, and in the process established the Institute's formidable influence in shaping both opinion and policy. This Occasional Paper begins with a transcript of a conversation with Harris and Seldon which provides many insights into how they worked and what obstacles they encountered. Eight distinguished scholars, each familiar with the work of the Institute, then provide commentaries which assess its influence on thinking and the challenge to government which it constituted during the Harris/Seldon years.

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The rising tide of government regulation in most countries is provoking a reconsideration of the extent to which the state whould lay down rules for others. Self-regulation and other forms of voluntary rule-setting are being examined as substitutes for regulation by government. Readings 52 begins with a paper by John Blundell and Colin Robinson which analyses the forces behind government regulation, its shortcomings and the scope for voluntary regulation. Seven papers by distinguished commentators on regulation then examine Blundell and Robinson's conclusions.

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Statements of standard accounting practice (SSAPs) should be limited to disclosure requirements for listed companies and should not attempt to prescribe rules on measurement. There is little evidence that the growth of standards has produced any measurable benefits to the public.

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Utility regulation has become not only a major area for academic research but an important economic policy issue. Every year the Institute, in conjunction with the London Business School, publishes a volume of Readings which provides an intellectual foundation for discussions about regulation. It reviews regulatory problems in Britain, considers how they might be solved and draws on the experience of other countries.

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The author argues that public sector policing has largely failed to prevent crime and catch offenders. Alternative solutions include the encouragement of individuals to buy more protection in the market place, and the extension of the private provision of prison.

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Lal analyses the effects of minimum wages on unemployment and training, and concludes that they increase unemployment and reduce the incentive to acquire skills

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There is still a consensus that British workers are unskilled in relation to their foreign counterparts and a considerable increase in government expenditure on training is needed if our relative economic performance is to be improved. This consensus exists even though it is difficult to find any positive correlation between the resources a country devotes to training and its rate of economic growth. State expenditure on training has risen from less than GBP1 billion in 1978 to nearly GBP3 billion by 1991 without any thought being given to the economic principles which should govern such expenditure. As a result, a large government-funded training industry has emerged, depending significantly on increased contributions from the taxpayer. If there has been a market failure in training, is it legitimate to argue that more money ought to be spent centrally? It is possible that the government is already spending too much on training or is diverting expenditure into the wrong channels. Unless there is clear evidence of the extent of market failure, we cannot judge whether the government is doing too much or too little to assist training provision. Education and training are vital to the economic prosperity of a nation but whenever government action is suggested as a remedy for market failure, the extent to which government fails should also be considered. Governments do have a powerful incentive to be seen helping the labour market at times of high unemployment but we should be sceptical of those who claim to know the labour market's training needs better than the individuals and firms involved. First published in 1992, the issues raised in this controversial publication are perennial. Shackleton's robust economic analysis of the economics of training ensure this books contemporary relevance.

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