| From | Institute of Economic Affairs <[email protected]> |
| Subject | Fat Cats or Top Dogs? |
| Date | January 12, 2020 8:59 AM |
Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
Links have been removed from this email. Learn more in the FAQ.
Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. ([link removed])
IEA logo
January 2020
[link removed] [link removed]
Welcome to the IEA Weekend Newsletter!
**
* Fat Cats or Top Dogs?
* Sloping off to Davos...
* A Tale of Two Economies
* Interested in interning?
* Short-Cummings...
* Calling all undergraduates…
* Calling all teachers...
* You’re Invited!
------------------------------------------------------------
** Fat Cats or Top Dogs?
------------------------------------------------------------
This week, the High Pay Centre released an analysis of FTSE 100 CEO salaries, noting that while the average CEO had seen their pay fall, they are still earning 117 times the average worker’s salary.
[link removed]
Our Director General Mark Littlewood responded to the report saying “comparing CEO salaries to the average salary serves to stoke public hostility, and misleads workers to believe that cuts at the top end will directly translate to top-ups at the bottom”.
Mark’s comments were carried across the national and regional media, including Sky News ([link removed]) , the Mail Online ([link removed]) , the Metro ([link removed]) and the Independent ([link removed]) .
He said: “In today’s globalised economy, the role of the chief executive has become significantly more important; the successes, failures and sudden departures of CEOs can increase or diminish a company’s worth by billions of pounds – which can also result in the gain or loss of thousands of jobs.
“By continuing our obsession with high pay, we dismiss the achievements of successful CEOs which benefit employees and customers alike; and we distract ourselves from tackling the critical issue of low pay and the cost of living crisis.”
[link removed]
Last year, we released Top Dogs and Fat Cats ([link removed]) , a collection of essays examining the high pay debate. Edited by IEA Editorial and Research Fellow Len Shackleton, the book looks as this heated and multifaceted debate from a number of perspectives.
Download the collection for free, here ([link removed]) .
In other n(EU)ws…
MPs finally gave their backing to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill that will implement the UK government’s Brexit deal.
[link removed]
But European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen said it would be ‘impossible’ reach a full UK-EU trade deal by the end of 2020.
However, the IEA’s Head of Regulatory Affairs Victoria Hewson argued on STV’s Scotland Tonight that there’s a strong incentive on both sides to meet the new deadline.
[link removed]
Discussing the potential outcomes of the Brexit trade talks, she noted UK consumers will benefit from “better and cheaper goods from around the world” as we open up our markets and “adopt a freer trade policy”.
[link removed]
To find out more about the IEA's vision for a prosperous post-Brexit UK, why not read our Plan A+ report by Shanker Singham and Radomir Tylecote.
Downloadhere ([link removed]) .
** Sloping off to Davos...
------------------------------------------------------------
Davos 2020: Should Javid leave it to the skiers?
$52,000 to spare? In the mood for some bubbly? Well then Davos is the place for you!
[link removed]
Despite the apparent ‘Boris Ban’, Chancellor Sajid Javid is expected to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos later this month.
The glamorous Swiss resort is famous for attracting big names - but should the Treasury be leaving Davos to the skiers?
[link removed]
The conference has always been a controversial one; at $52,000 per ticket, does it really fulfil the Forum’s mission of “improving the state of the world”, or is it just another gathering of the ‘champagne’ elite?
The image of government cosying up to billionaires and big business is not new - isn’t it time to break away from this forum of apparent rent-seekers?
These questions and more are explored in this week’s IEA podcast, featuring our Deputy Research Director, Dr Richard Wellings.
Richard gives his take on the event, as well as the growth of the ‘crony capitalism’ it’s associated with.
[link removed]
In conversation with IEA Digital Manager Darren Grimes, Richard suggests how we could deal with this issue, and outlines the powerful ways in which a free-market economic approach could help.
Listen here ([link removed]) .
You can subscribe to this podcast onApple Podcasts ([link removed]) ,Spotify ([link removed]) andhttps://iea.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fae61921d1ab0da1107b079d2&id=1a15d2b667&e=66588bfb61Podbean ([link removed]) .
** A Tale of Two Economies
------------------------------------------------------------
On Wednesday 22nd January from 6pm - 8pm, the IEA Book Club ([link removed]) is delighted to host Neil Monnery, to discuss his latest book ‘A Tale of Two Economies: Hong Kong, Cuba and the Two Men who Shaped Them'.
[link removed]
As the world entered the turbulent 1960s, two men, half a world apart, both foreigners far from home, were charged with shaping the economic strategy of their adopted countries.
One, Che Guevara, is well known as a revolutionary. The other, John Cowperthwaite, is largely unknown today. These two men are arguably the originators of the most significant natural economic experiment of the last century, pitting the free-market model of Hong Kong against the state interventionism in Cuba.
This book looks at the very different paths chosen by Hong Kong and Cuba, and the central role of Ernesto, ‘Che’ Guevara and Sir John James Cowperthwaite.
If you would like to know more about the IEA Book Club ([link removed]) , and attend the event, please email
Also coming up Trumps...
IEA Academic Advisory Council Member, and upcoming IEA Book Club speaker, Dr Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, is about to release his latest work, 'Trump’s World: Geo Deus'.
[link removed]
Co-authored with Felipe Cuello, The book takes you inside Trump’s presidency - examining his populist outlook and his approach to such matters as foreign affairs. It seeks to identify his primary motivations, and how they influence his political thinking, his economic model, and more.
The book, to be released on 21st January, can be pre-ordered on Amazon following the linkhere ([link removed]) .
[link removed]
The IEA Book Club ([link removed]) will also be hosting an event with Dr. Malloch to discuss this fascinating work.
Look out for more details in our upcoming newsletters.
** Interested in interning?
------------------------------------------------------------
With the New Year just over a week old, what better way to start the new decade than by joining us here at the IEA on one of our acclaimed internship programmes ([link removed]) !
[link removed]
We have a wide range of programmes - from week-long internships for Sixth Formers to longer-term general internships.
All of our internships will introduce you to free market ideas and expand your knowledge of free markets and free society.
[link removed]
But don’t take our word for it. Here’s just one of the many testimonials we’ve received from former interns:
“Joining the internship scheme ([link removed]) at the IEA was a truly rewarding experience and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in economics and freedom.
"I learned valuable skills in logistics, events planning and team management, whilst being academically stimulated through discussions, seminars and lectures with other interns and staff.”
Click here ([link removed]) to learn how to apply for an internship in the new year, and be sure to pass on the details to anyone you know who might be interested!
** Short-Cummings...
------------------------------------------------------------
On our blog this week, IEA Chief Operating Officer Andy Mayer gives his take on No10 adviser Dominic Cummings’ appeal to “assorted weirdos” to shake up the civil service.
[link removed]
While Cummings’ now famous blog post referenced his own back catalogue of thinking on the state and politics, Andy chooses to focus on the microeconomics references in the piece, bad Nash equilibriums in Game Theory and Bayesian inference.
The former, in this context, is “the problem” – why does government keep failing to deliver big projects on time and on budget, and then never learn from its mistakes – or more rarely successes – to do better in future?
[link removed]
The latter is a mathematical tool ([link removed]) for updating our beliefs, based on evidence that when applied repetitively, particularly via machine learning within Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, then communicated effectively in the right environment ([link removed]) for maximum impact ([link removed]) , might enable government to make better decisions, faster.
This is contrasted with asking a generalist senior “public school bluffer” with no expertise or evidence for their best guess, and getting an answer that approximates to what they think you want to hear, while they assiduously bury bad news, then promoting them for their wisdom in not rocking the boat, rather than any evidence of competence or concern for public service.
[link removed]
That at least appears to be his characterisation of the culture he is trying to change, while recognising the efforts of “brilliant individuals” within the system who are trying to help.
Andy argues that it would be good if the future Downing Street Red Team ([link removed]) included a few non-Reds to ask the difficult questions of any project proposal, “should we be doing this?” and “what if we did nothing?”, with their conclusions regularly published.
If that were a part of the project, alongside better managed mega missions, both could be genuinely transformative.
Read his full post here ([link removed])
Cover
** Calling all undergraduates..
------------------------------------------------------------
With less than a week to go, don’t forget to enter the IEA’s joint essay competition ([link removed]) with the Institute of International Monetary Research and the Vinson Centre at the University of Buckingham. You could win £1000!
[link removed]
The Monetary Policy Essay Prize 2020 ([link removed]) is open to all undergraduate students at UK universities.
All entries to the competition should be submitted by 11.59pm on Friday 17th January 2020 - click here ([link removed]) for more details!
#
Cover
** Calling all teachers...
------------------------------------------------------------
How best to measure an economy’s success?
The IEA is to host two upcoming events for teachers ([link removed]) , examining the ways we can measure economic success - including GDP, growth, productivity and inequality.
[link removed]
Aimed at teachers of economics and related topics at A-Level/IB/Scottish Higher, the events will include talks from IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop and our Head of Education Dr Stephen Davies.
There are two dates and locations available:
12th February, 09:45 - 14:30 (London)
Register here ([link removed]) .
10th March, 09:45 - 14:30 (University of Buckingham)
Register here ([link removed]) .
If you’d like to reserve a place, follow the links above or email Ralph Buckle at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Please also include the name of the school you teach at.
#
Cover
** Your Invited!
------------------------------------------------------------
Plan A+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK
LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE
On Tuesday 21st January from 6pm - 8pm, the IEA will be hosting a panel discussion ([link removed]) ([link removed]) on
‘Plan A+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK’.
[link removed]
The opportunity before the UK as a result of Brexit is a great one: but if the UK squanders it, what has been described as the ‘new normal’ of limited economic growth could prevail, with an EU system that does not appear to be responding on a competitive level to the challenges of the modern economy.
‘Plan A+’ proposes the adoption of a four-pillared trade policy strategy to deliver a more competitive and thriving UK economy.
[link removed]
Panelists include:
* Andy Mayer: Chief Operations Officer, IEA (Chair)
* Shanker Singham: Director of the International Trade and Competition Unit (IEA) and co-author of ‘Plan A+’
* Steve Baker MP: Member of Parliament for Wycombe and Chairman of the European Research Group
* Dr Holger P. Hestermeyer: Shell Reader in International Dispute Resolution at King’s College London and author of ‘How Brexit will Happen’
* Professor Jeremy Clegg: Professor of European Integration and International Business Management at Leeds University Business School
Spaces are filling up very fast, so register here ([link removed]) to ensure your spot at what is sure to be a lively discussion about the possible options for Britain’s post-Brexit future, including those proposed in ‘Plan A+’.
#
GET INVOLVED
Invest in the IEA. We are the catalyst for changing consensus and influencing public debate.
Please support our work.
[link removed]
Subscribe
to publications
[link removed]
Subscribe
You are receiving this email from the Institute of Economic Affairs
Unsubscribe ([link removed]) from this list.
© 2019 Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
2 Lord North Street
London, London SW1P 3LB
United Kingdom
Registered in England 755502, Charity No. CC/235 351, Limited by Guarantee
Forward ([link removed]) this email to a friend
IEA logo
January 2020
[link removed] [link removed]
Welcome to the IEA Weekend Newsletter!
**
* Fat Cats or Top Dogs?
* Sloping off to Davos...
* A Tale of Two Economies
* Interested in interning?
* Short-Cummings...
* Calling all undergraduates…
* Calling all teachers...
* You’re Invited!
------------------------------------------------------------
** Fat Cats or Top Dogs?
------------------------------------------------------------
This week, the High Pay Centre released an analysis of FTSE 100 CEO salaries, noting that while the average CEO had seen their pay fall, they are still earning 117 times the average worker’s salary.
[link removed]
Our Director General Mark Littlewood responded to the report saying “comparing CEO salaries to the average salary serves to stoke public hostility, and misleads workers to believe that cuts at the top end will directly translate to top-ups at the bottom”.
Mark’s comments were carried across the national and regional media, including Sky News ([link removed]) , the Mail Online ([link removed]) , the Metro ([link removed]) and the Independent ([link removed]) .
He said: “In today’s globalised economy, the role of the chief executive has become significantly more important; the successes, failures and sudden departures of CEOs can increase or diminish a company’s worth by billions of pounds – which can also result in the gain or loss of thousands of jobs.
“By continuing our obsession with high pay, we dismiss the achievements of successful CEOs which benefit employees and customers alike; and we distract ourselves from tackling the critical issue of low pay and the cost of living crisis.”
[link removed]
Last year, we released Top Dogs and Fat Cats ([link removed]) , a collection of essays examining the high pay debate. Edited by IEA Editorial and Research Fellow Len Shackleton, the book looks as this heated and multifaceted debate from a number of perspectives.
Download the collection for free, here ([link removed]) .
In other n(EU)ws…
MPs finally gave their backing to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill that will implement the UK government’s Brexit deal.
[link removed]
But European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen said it would be ‘impossible’ reach a full UK-EU trade deal by the end of 2020.
However, the IEA’s Head of Regulatory Affairs Victoria Hewson argued on STV’s Scotland Tonight that there’s a strong incentive on both sides to meet the new deadline.
[link removed]
Discussing the potential outcomes of the Brexit trade talks, she noted UK consumers will benefit from “better and cheaper goods from around the world” as we open up our markets and “adopt a freer trade policy”.
[link removed]
To find out more about the IEA's vision for a prosperous post-Brexit UK, why not read our Plan A+ report by Shanker Singham and Radomir Tylecote.
Downloadhere ([link removed]) .
** Sloping off to Davos...
------------------------------------------------------------
Davos 2020: Should Javid leave it to the skiers?
$52,000 to spare? In the mood for some bubbly? Well then Davos is the place for you!
[link removed]
Despite the apparent ‘Boris Ban’, Chancellor Sajid Javid is expected to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos later this month.
The glamorous Swiss resort is famous for attracting big names - but should the Treasury be leaving Davos to the skiers?
[link removed]
The conference has always been a controversial one; at $52,000 per ticket, does it really fulfil the Forum’s mission of “improving the state of the world”, or is it just another gathering of the ‘champagne’ elite?
The image of government cosying up to billionaires and big business is not new - isn’t it time to break away from this forum of apparent rent-seekers?
These questions and more are explored in this week’s IEA podcast, featuring our Deputy Research Director, Dr Richard Wellings.
Richard gives his take on the event, as well as the growth of the ‘crony capitalism’ it’s associated with.
[link removed]
In conversation with IEA Digital Manager Darren Grimes, Richard suggests how we could deal with this issue, and outlines the powerful ways in which a free-market economic approach could help.
Listen here ([link removed]) .
You can subscribe to this podcast onApple Podcasts ([link removed]) ,Spotify ([link removed]) andhttps://iea.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fae61921d1ab0da1107b079d2&id=1a15d2b667&e=66588bfb61Podbean ([link removed]) .
** A Tale of Two Economies
------------------------------------------------------------
On Wednesday 22nd January from 6pm - 8pm, the IEA Book Club ([link removed]) is delighted to host Neil Monnery, to discuss his latest book ‘A Tale of Two Economies: Hong Kong, Cuba and the Two Men who Shaped Them'.
[link removed]
As the world entered the turbulent 1960s, two men, half a world apart, both foreigners far from home, were charged with shaping the economic strategy of their adopted countries.
One, Che Guevara, is well known as a revolutionary. The other, John Cowperthwaite, is largely unknown today. These two men are arguably the originators of the most significant natural economic experiment of the last century, pitting the free-market model of Hong Kong against the state interventionism in Cuba.
This book looks at the very different paths chosen by Hong Kong and Cuba, and the central role of Ernesto, ‘Che’ Guevara and Sir John James Cowperthwaite.
If you would like to know more about the IEA Book Club ([link removed]) , and attend the event, please email
Also coming up Trumps...
IEA Academic Advisory Council Member, and upcoming IEA Book Club speaker, Dr Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, is about to release his latest work, 'Trump’s World: Geo Deus'.
[link removed]
Co-authored with Felipe Cuello, The book takes you inside Trump’s presidency - examining his populist outlook and his approach to such matters as foreign affairs. It seeks to identify his primary motivations, and how they influence his political thinking, his economic model, and more.
The book, to be released on 21st January, can be pre-ordered on Amazon following the linkhere ([link removed]) .
[link removed]
The IEA Book Club ([link removed]) will also be hosting an event with Dr. Malloch to discuss this fascinating work.
Look out for more details in our upcoming newsletters.
** Interested in interning?
------------------------------------------------------------
With the New Year just over a week old, what better way to start the new decade than by joining us here at the IEA on one of our acclaimed internship programmes ([link removed]) !
[link removed]
We have a wide range of programmes - from week-long internships for Sixth Formers to longer-term general internships.
All of our internships will introduce you to free market ideas and expand your knowledge of free markets and free society.
[link removed]
But don’t take our word for it. Here’s just one of the many testimonials we’ve received from former interns:
“Joining the internship scheme ([link removed]) at the IEA was a truly rewarding experience and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in economics and freedom.
"I learned valuable skills in logistics, events planning and team management, whilst being academically stimulated through discussions, seminars and lectures with other interns and staff.”
Click here ([link removed]) to learn how to apply for an internship in the new year, and be sure to pass on the details to anyone you know who might be interested!
** Short-Cummings...
------------------------------------------------------------
On our blog this week, IEA Chief Operating Officer Andy Mayer gives his take on No10 adviser Dominic Cummings’ appeal to “assorted weirdos” to shake up the civil service.
[link removed]
While Cummings’ now famous blog post referenced his own back catalogue of thinking on the state and politics, Andy chooses to focus on the microeconomics references in the piece, bad Nash equilibriums in Game Theory and Bayesian inference.
The former, in this context, is “the problem” – why does government keep failing to deliver big projects on time and on budget, and then never learn from its mistakes – or more rarely successes – to do better in future?
[link removed]
The latter is a mathematical tool ([link removed]) for updating our beliefs, based on evidence that when applied repetitively, particularly via machine learning within Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, then communicated effectively in the right environment ([link removed]) for maximum impact ([link removed]) , might enable government to make better decisions, faster.
This is contrasted with asking a generalist senior “public school bluffer” with no expertise or evidence for their best guess, and getting an answer that approximates to what they think you want to hear, while they assiduously bury bad news, then promoting them for their wisdom in not rocking the boat, rather than any evidence of competence or concern for public service.
[link removed]
That at least appears to be his characterisation of the culture he is trying to change, while recognising the efforts of “brilliant individuals” within the system who are trying to help.
Andy argues that it would be good if the future Downing Street Red Team ([link removed]) included a few non-Reds to ask the difficult questions of any project proposal, “should we be doing this?” and “what if we did nothing?”, with their conclusions regularly published.
If that were a part of the project, alongside better managed mega missions, both could be genuinely transformative.
Read his full post here ([link removed])
Cover
** Calling all undergraduates..
------------------------------------------------------------
With less than a week to go, don’t forget to enter the IEA’s joint essay competition ([link removed]) with the Institute of International Monetary Research and the Vinson Centre at the University of Buckingham. You could win £1000!
[link removed]
The Monetary Policy Essay Prize 2020 ([link removed]) is open to all undergraduate students at UK universities.
All entries to the competition should be submitted by 11.59pm on Friday 17th January 2020 - click here ([link removed]) for more details!
#
Cover
** Calling all teachers...
------------------------------------------------------------
How best to measure an economy’s success?
The IEA is to host two upcoming events for teachers ([link removed]) , examining the ways we can measure economic success - including GDP, growth, productivity and inequality.
[link removed]
Aimed at teachers of economics and related topics at A-Level/IB/Scottish Higher, the events will include talks from IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop and our Head of Education Dr Stephen Davies.
There are two dates and locations available:
12th February, 09:45 - 14:30 (London)
Register here ([link removed]) .
10th March, 09:45 - 14:30 (University of Buckingham)
Register here ([link removed]) .
If you’d like to reserve a place, follow the links above or email Ralph Buckle at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Please also include the name of the school you teach at.
#
Cover
** Your Invited!
------------------------------------------------------------
Plan A+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK
LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE
On Tuesday 21st January from 6pm - 8pm, the IEA will be hosting a panel discussion ([link removed]) ([link removed]) on
‘Plan A+: Creating a prosperous post-Brexit UK’.
[link removed]
The opportunity before the UK as a result of Brexit is a great one: but if the UK squanders it, what has been described as the ‘new normal’ of limited economic growth could prevail, with an EU system that does not appear to be responding on a competitive level to the challenges of the modern economy.
‘Plan A+’ proposes the adoption of a four-pillared trade policy strategy to deliver a more competitive and thriving UK economy.
[link removed]
Panelists include:
* Andy Mayer: Chief Operations Officer, IEA (Chair)
* Shanker Singham: Director of the International Trade and Competition Unit (IEA) and co-author of ‘Plan A+’
* Steve Baker MP: Member of Parliament for Wycombe and Chairman of the European Research Group
* Dr Holger P. Hestermeyer: Shell Reader in International Dispute Resolution at King’s College London and author of ‘How Brexit will Happen’
* Professor Jeremy Clegg: Professor of European Integration and International Business Management at Leeds University Business School
Spaces are filling up very fast, so register here ([link removed]) to ensure your spot at what is sure to be a lively discussion about the possible options for Britain’s post-Brexit future, including those proposed in ‘Plan A+’.
#
GET INVOLVED
Invest in the IEA. We are the catalyst for changing consensus and influencing public debate.
Please support our work.
[link removed]
Subscribe
to publications
[link removed]
Subscribe
You are receiving this email from the Institute of Economic Affairs
Unsubscribe ([link removed]) from this list.
© 2019 Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
2 Lord North Street
London, London SW1P 3LB
United Kingdom
Registered in England 755502, Charity No. CC/235 351, Limited by Guarantee
Forward ([link removed]) this email to a friend
Message Analysis
- Sender: Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)
- Political Party: n/a
- Country: United Kingdom
- State/Locality: n/a
- Office: n/a
-
Email Providers:
- MailChimp