This week, the IEA was delighted to appoint Tom Clougherty as our new Executive Director and Ralph Harris Fellow

Logo

I cannot tell you how delighted I am to be appointed the IEA’s new Executive Director and Ralph Harris Fellow (a position I will take up in December). The IEA has been a source of inspiration and enlightenment throughout my career, so it is a huge privilege to be asked to lead it into a new era. There is, truly, no job in the world I would rather do.

I will be joining the IEA with more than seventeen years of think tank experience. During that time, I have held senior positions at free market non-profits on both sides of the Atlantic and have worked in just about every area of think tank activity. I think it was that background, my commitment to the IEA’s classical liberal principles, and my deeply-held belief in its mission that persuaded the Board of Trustees that I was the right man for the job. Naturally, I plan to repay their faith in spades.

I am, of course, an optimist about the capacity of free individuals and enterprise to change the world for the better. That belief in people and progress is at the heart of the classical liberal worldview and is what sets us apart from our opponents on both the left and the right. But even an optimist cannot ignore the fact the intellectual tide seems to have turned against us.

We are told an ageing population must mean ever-higher tax and spend. That only an activist state can deliver economic growth and environmental sustainability. That free markets are engines not of dynamism and progress, but of risk and insecurity. These ideas are wrong but powerful. And they aren’t just held on the left; increasingly, they are the consensus of the ‘sensible’ centre.

Britain needs the IEA to once again lead an intellectual counter-revolution. Our goal must be to genuinely advance classical liberal thinking – and to show beyond doubt that markets can solve the big problems that we as a society are set to face in the years and decades ahead. That means producing top-quality, ground-breaking research, communicating it effectively, and patiently advancing public understanding of economics.

I am joining the IEA because I am confident that we can succeed in that mission and do again in the 21st century what our predecessors did in the 20th: change the prevailing climate of ideas and so shift the course of politics and society in a more liberal, free market direction.

You will be hearing more from me in the months ahead. Some of you already know me, of course. But I look forward to seeing you all in the not-too-distant future – and learning more about your hopes for the IEA's (and Britain's) future. For now, let me just say thank you for everything you have already done to support our cause. We have much more to do.

Tom Clougherty

Incoming IEA Executive Director & Ralph Harris Fellow
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

Tom Clougherty Appointed Executive Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs ([link removed])

Guido Fawkes & The Times

Wonk Watch… News of Tom’s appointment spread fast, far, and wide. In addition to media coverage, many of Tom’s colleagues and IEA staffers past and present wished him well.
[link removed]
[link removed]


** IEA essay competitions are open!
------------------------------------------------------------

After a blockbuster summer of student programs, our outreach team ([link removed]) have put together a stellar line-up of essay competitions for 2023 and 2024. With policymakers failing to come to grips with some of the key economic issues facing the UK and the world, our essay competitions give the next generation a chance to put forward new ideas and different ways of approaching complex problems.

This year is no different, with pressing issues like inflation and national deficits featuring prominently, as well as some of the key theoretical and methodological challenges in the economics field.

Are you a student who thinks they’re up to the challenge or a teacher who knows someone that is? Read on to find out more.
[link removed]

The Dorian Fisher Memorial Prize 2023-24 ([link removed])

Strong points mean prizes… We are delighted to announce this year’s competition for A-Level and IB students, with a 1st prize of £500 and £250 each for three runners up. There is also a prize of £500 for the school with the highest number of entrants.

To enter the competition, send one 1,200-word essay and two 500-word essays to [email protected] by Friday 29th July.

Find out more about the contest and essay questions here ([link removed]) .

Budget Challenge 2024 ([link removed])

Calling all teachers and students… The IEA’s 2024 Budget Challenge is now open. Teams of four students submit entries outlining the key challenges facing the UK’s economy and proposing a budget to solve them. Top entries will be invited to the Budget Challenge semi-final at the University of Buckingham’s Vinson Centre in February, followed by the final at the IEA’s offices in March.

The deadline for entries is 11:59pm on 26th January and should be no longer than 5,000 words. Find out more here ([link removed]) .
[link removed]
[link removed]

The Monetary Policy Essay Prize ([link removed])

Always and everywhere… Each year, we host two monetary essay contests - one for sixth formers and one for undergraduates - with our friends at the Vinson Centre. After years of monetary policy complacency, inflation has returned, making it a key challenge once again.

To enter the competition, send one essay of no more than 2,500 words to [email protected] by Friday 26th January.

This year’s question: What causes high inflation, and is the Bank of England responsible for the current inflation episode? If so, how would you make it more accountable?

Think your up to the challenge? Find out more here ([link removed]) .

IEA Latest.
[link removed]


** Several economists are predicting that the Bank of England will not raise interest rates higher, following today’s GDP report ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Economics Fellow Julian Jessop, The Guardian

Time to pause… Weak economic growth should rule out any resumption of interest rate hikes from the Bank of England.
[link removed]

Are we finally going to solve the housing crisis? | IEA Podcast ([link removed])

Communications Officer Harrison Griffiths and Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz, IEA YouTube

Light at the end of the tunnel?… After decades of constrained housing supply, Sir Keir Starmer’s latest proposals may get Britain building again. Kristian also spoke recently on a panel discussing London’s housing crisis, hosted by the Social Democratic Party. Watch here ([link removed]) .
[link removed]

How to Revive Liberalism in an Age of Conformity ([link removed])

Head of Cultural Affairs Marc Glendening and Lord Frost, IEA YouTube

A new fusionism?… The future of liberalism may lie in embracing the nation state.
[link removed]

UPF campaigners move the goalposts ([link removed])

Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon, talkTV

The new frontier… A crackdown on so-called ‘Ultra-Processed Food’ seems to be the latest fad for paternalist campaigners. Is there any evidence for the panic or are nanny statists simply manipulating lanaguage?
[link removed]

Figures showing Russian economy growing faster than UK blasted as ‘outdated’ ([link removed])

Economics Fellow Julian Jessop, The Daily Express

Updating your priors… IMF forecasts should always be taken with a pinch of salt.
[link removed]

An overlooked side effect of ULEZ? ([link removed])

David Starkie, IEA Blog

Externalities and internal consistency… At its core, ULEZ is a tax on a negative externality, pollution. But if the tax drives more people onto the London Underground, we could make the problem worse in certain areas.

Marc Glendening: Woke Hunter

Head of Cultural Affairs Marc Glendening, Le Point

Je ne regrette rien… Marc’s resolute defence of liberal values has been noticed across the English Channel. You can find the piece in October’s Le Point’s magazine print edition.
[link removed]


** ‘You’ve got bricks, I’d love a brick’ ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Communications Officer and Linda Whetstone Scholar Reem Ibrahim, CapX & IEA Blog ([link removed])

Locked out… Burdensome planning restrictions and funding the pensions triple lock have created a society of haves and have nots based on age.
[link removed]


** UK to defy calls for vaping ban - as ministers defend ‘swap-to-stop’ quit aid for smokers ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon, The Sun & Communications Officer and Linda Whetstone Scholar Reem Ibrahim, City AM ([link removed])

Fighting on two fronts… As shown by the Nanny State Index 2023 ([link removed]) , the UK’s evidence-based approach to vaping is one of its few redeeming features on lifestyle policy. But anti-vaping sentiment from the WHO and opposition politicians threatens to derail that effort.

IEA Insider.

Market Distortions in Privatisation Processes

The legacy of big government… This week, we hosted a lunch to discuss IEA International Trade and Competition Fellow Shanker Singham’s new book, Market Distortions in Privatisation Processes ([link removed]) . Shanker’s book warns that if competition does not guide privatisation policy, some economic distortions from state intervention may still remain.

John Galt School England applications open ([link removed])

Who is John Galt?… Applications for the Ayn Rand Center Europe and Prometheus Foundation’s John Galt Schools are open for England-based students. John Galt Schools are educational programs offering an introduction to the philosophy of Ayn Rand. Applications close on 23rd October and the first lecture will begin on 30th October. All lectures are online and completely free of charge.

Find out more and sign up here ([link removed]) .
[link removed]
[link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed]
Logo

© 2023 Institute of Economic Affairs. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email from the Institute of Economic Affairs
Registered in England 755502, Charity No. CC/235 351, Limited by Guarantee

View in browser ([link removed]) | Update ([link removed]) | Unsubscribe ([link removed])