How to watch

Each morning, IEA DAILY will contain news of our very latest vidcasts. You can subscribe here.

Time to relax?

The UK lockdown has been extended for three weeks, but on the continent several nations are – with some trepidation – relaxing restrictions. 

In our latest IEAsolation vidcast, we ask whether the government is right to keep the current measures in place. 

Is the risk of deepening the downturn justified – if it helps flatten the curve of coronavirus infections, eases pressure on the NHS and ultimately saves lives?

Sam Bowman, Director of Competition Policy at the International Center for Law and Economics, and Julian Jessop, IEA Economics Fellow, discuss how we balance the public health risks of easing the lockdown against the economic damage caused by Coronavirus. 

You can watch IEAsolation on our YouTube channel –  and be sure to subscribe to avoid missing an episode.

Julian also examined the issue further in a fascinating blog debate with the IEA’s Senior Academic Fellow Professor Philip Booth. Julian argues the extension is a price worth paying, while Philip takes the view that by experimenting, cautiously, we can gradually establish the optimal strategy. 

You can read “Is the UK government right to extend the lockdown by three weeks?” here. 

Philip also wrote for Spectator Life on how we emerge from the crisis – outlining the options for repaying the debts being accumulated to support the economy and examining the possible impact of high inflation.

Hungary for freedom

EPICENTER – our sister network of European think tanks – has been keeping a close eye on Europe’s reaction to the coronavirus, with director Adam Bartha identifying areas for concern across the continent.  

Hungary, Adam’s home country, passed legislation granting its Prime Minister the powers to rule by decree indefinitely, punish ‘fake news’ with five years’ imprisonment, and condemn those who do not obey quarantine orders to eight years behind bars.

Adam’s commentary has been featured in New Europe and his personal assessment of the situation written for 1828 has been translated into seven European languages. Catch-up with the developments on talkRadio, Timbro’s podcast or Civismo’s webinar discussion.

Full steam ahead

In the midst of a crisis – and after unveiling a £330bn Coronavirus support package – the government’s decision to greenlight construction work on HS2 has come under fire.

The IEA’s Head of Transport, Dr Richard Wellings, who has authored three reports on the project, said:

“The economic case for HS2 was always weak. With the country in the midst of a Covid-19 induced economic downturn, the cost of this rail project – predicted to reach a mammoth £106 billion – is simply unjustifiable.

“At a time of crisis, the government should not be spending taxpayers’ money on deeply unpopular vanity projects that offer very limited value for money.”

Eco-austerity

For the green left, the recent slowdown in economic activity – and the subsequent fall in pollution – has brought a sense of comfort in an otherwise dark time. 

The British public has willingly relinquished civil liberties and sacrificed modern luxuries to help combat Covid-19 – leading some to question whether a similar, albeit less draconian, public policy response could be applied to climate change.



To discuss this and his latest blog on the subject, Andy Mayer, IEA Chief Operating Officer joined our Media Manager Emily Carver on the IEA Podcast.

Webinar of the week

This coming Thursday, 23rd April, from 5-6pm, the IEA is holding an exclusive webinar to discuss international responses to Coronavirus. 

Leading think tankers from across Europe will join us to analyse the different ways the crisis is being handled across the continent – and debate the merits of policies and approaches being deployed. 

Panellists include Martin Agerup, President of CEPOS (Denmark) and Juan A. Soto, Director of Civismo (Spain) and Jacob Lundberg, Chief Economist at Timbro (Sweden).