Welcome to the IEA Weekend Newsletter!

• Nanny doesn't know best...
• Reversing the injustice
• i on the Media
• When politics overrides economics...
• You’re Invited!

Nanny doesn't know best...

EPICENTER, our network of European think tanks, hosted its annual Nanny State Index Conference in Brussels this week.

The event featured 15 speakers from all across Europe, with leading politicians, trade associations, and think tankers including our Head of Lifestyle Economics, Christopher Snowdon. 

The heated discussion started with an overview of current lifestyle regulations by domestic policy experts during the first panel; then the discussion moved to a debate of political vs corporate vs individual responsibility during the second panel. 

The final discussion of the day featured the newly released Shadow Economy Index by our Lithuanian member think tank, which provided the opportunity to review the unintended consequences of overregulation.



The conference was closed by Dr Katalin Cseh MEP, Vice President of Renew Europe, who highlighted the issues around regulations being intertwined with corruption in her home country, Hungary.

Follow EPICENTER on Facebook to view the conference pictures and keep an eye on its Twitter account to see the short interviews with the speakers in the upcoming days.

Reversing the injustice

International students are to be offered a two-year work visa after graduating from a British university, government has announced, overturning a key plank of former Home Secretary (and Prime Minster) Theresa May’s restrictive immigration policies.

Currently, graduates with bachelors or master’s degrees are allowed to look for work for only four months. Expanding that timeline will increase their chances of finding long-term employment after studying.

The measure goes further than the Home Office’s latest immigration white paper, which proposed extending the four-month limit to six months, and the limit for those with doctorates to one year.

It is the return of a policy that was scrapped by the coalition government in 2012. May as Home Secretary said the two-year post-study work visa was “too generous”.

This week on the podcast, Digital Manger Darren Grimes speaks to two IEA staff members, who have been through different immigration processes to come to the UK: the IEA’s Head of Political Economy Dr Kristian Niemietz and Associate Director Kate Andrews. 

You can download our podcast here, and subscribe to our channel, IEA Conversations, here.

i on the Media

Rise of the robots...

Mark Littlewood, IEA Director General, wrote his fortnightly column for The Times on the rise of robots and the impact on future policymaking.



Mark argued that robots are not to be feared, as the human factor will always be essential. He also noted that previous technological advances didn’t result in mass unemployment, because new jobs are created in new sectors.

Policy here, policy there...

Meanwhile, Labour announced a raft of policies – including legislating for a four-day week and instituting ‘right to buy’ for private tenants – which IEA spokespeople reacted to.

Kate Andrews, Associate Director, said the plan to expropriate private property violated “the fundamental principle of property rights” in City A.M. and Dr Kristian Niemietz, Head of Political Economy, said the pledge to end austerity is nothing more than “gimmicks and giveaways” in The Sun.

As well, Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow and former IEA Chief Economist, was quoted in Property118 calling the ‘right to buy’ proposals “just plain wrong” and Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics, spoke to BBC Talk Back about Labour’s plans to hand over company shares to workers.

The high life...

Chris also spoke about cannabis de-regulation and the United States's moves to limit and ban vaping. Speaking to the Volteface podcast, he discussed his recent visit to Canada to see what lessons can be learnt from their legal, but highly regulated, cannabis market; he also wrote for Spiked! on the ‘Great American Vaping Panic’ which has led to plans for a nationwide ban.

Build, build, build

IEA publication ‘Raising the Roof’ was praised by Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake, who quoted it in a piece for Conservative Home to highlight the unintended consequences of state interventions in the housing market.

In other news...



Kate Andrews took part in the Sky News paper review, and the Nanny State Index conference was featured in the Politico EU Daily Briefing.

When politics overrides economics...

This week on the blog, our Editorial and Research Fellow Prof Len Shackleton has warned of the dangers of creating a more rigid labour market, in light of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn promising the TUC a huge extension of trade union power and influence.



Len argues that the Labour Party’s policies in the area of employment law seem more worrying than most. Lower productivity and much higher unemployment seem likely to follow if rigidity replaces flexibility and politics overrides economics, he says.

Read the full blog here.

You're Invited!

Making the case again...




Come along to the Institute of International Monetary Research's Annual Public Lecture: The case for fiscal policy restated, by Lord Skidelsky on 12th November 2019.

Secure your place by RSVPing to: [email protected]