This has been a week when a number of topics I'm interested in have been back in the news. Obviously one of them is the rash of strikes, which on Wednesday involved simultaneous ‘industrial action’ (an oxymoron if ever I saw one) in many different sectors, although not quite the General Strike some deluded activists may have hoped for.  

The strikes on the railways seem to have been going on since Methuselah was a lad, but presumably they'll end eventually. When they do, perhaps attention will focus properly on the future of our post-pandemic railway network. 

I argued in a CapX piece against the renationalisation which we seem to be drifting into. The franchise system is a dead duck, and nobody is weeping over its grave. That doesn’t mean, however, that we want to go back to the bad old days of British Rail.



I've been arguing that private enterprise is in rude health in the freight sector, where the private companies have responded with innovative services to the opportunities of the post-Covid economy, and also in 'open access' private rail services such as Lumo and Grand Central. We should be building on these achievements rather than imposing unimaginative management contracts which give train operating companies zero incentive to boost productivity and grow the passenger market. 

Recently, we have seen pressure to make the menopause a 'protected characteristic' and to give people time off work to handle divorce arrangements. These latest proposed additions to the obligations of employers to provide flexible work opportunities deserve proper discussion – and a dissenting voice to the HR-dominated world we seem increasingly to be living in. The IEA's Annabel Denham and I had an interesting discussion about this on Thursday – it’ll be up on our YouTube channel soon. 



Finally, the government seems to be reviving Tracey Crouch’s proposal to impose an independent regulator on English professional football. The IEA's former Head of Regulatory Affairs Victoria Hewson and I wrote about this at length last year and I had a short piece in The Times this week. I am far from convinced that football needs heavy-handed regulation of the kind Ms Crouch and various vociferous interest groups are demanding. The beleaguered Sunak administration has scored quite enough own goals recently, thank you. 

Professor Len Shackleton
Editorial and Research Fellow, Institute of Economic Affairs

CONTINENTAL CRISIS

As inflation tears across the continent, EPICENTER has released a new and timely report, titled 'Tackling Europe's Cost Of Living Crisis'. The publication explores the causes and potential solutions to Europe's inflationary crisis – and includes contributions from representatives from free market think tanks in France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Greece, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Romania.



The report argues that, while the loose European monetary policy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are undoubtedly drivers of inflation, they are not its only causes. High consumer prices are often the result of government intervention in the economy such as burdensome regulations and over-taxation. 

The regressive case studies described make for stark reading. In Romania, for example, the government has unnecessarily hiked up living costs by imposing alcohol taxes that can reach 56 per cent of the shelf price. 

Commenting on the report, Epicenter Director Adam Bartha said:

"As this Epicenter paper shows, governments could do much more than sitting on their hands and waiting for the inflationary pressures to ease. By implementing liberalising reforms and cutting certain taxes to boost supply and increase competitiveness – especially in the energy, housing, and lifestyle sectors – average Europe could save hundreds of euros a year."



Adam discussed the report with IEA Head of Public Policy Matthew Lesh on our weekly podcast, which can be watched here.

IEA DIGITAL



Do you have what it takes?... In this instalment of our THiNK 2022 lecture series, Peter Higgins, Co-Founder and Director of Charles Tyrwhitt shirts discusses the trials, tribulations, and successes of being an entrepreneur and why more people should consider starting their own business. 

Watch here.



The fight against authoritarianism... In this video, IEA Communications Officer Harrison Griffiths interviews Mohamad Machine-Chian, a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Governance and Markets and Middle East Public Choice Center, about the growing resistance against the Iranian regime and the origins of the state's despotism.

Watch here.

STARTER FOR TEN

In recent weeks, recordings of the IEA's Marc Glendening and Christopher Snowdon spreading the free market message at top UK universities have been published online.



In a rousing speech at the Cambridge Union, IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon argued for the motion that the NHS can no longer meet the needs of the people. Highlighting the frequency of crises faced by the NHS, Christopher commented:

"Perhaps it is unfair to pick on the NHS in this particular Winter. Healthcare systems across Europe are struggling for various different reasons, it is a very difficult time. However, these other systems do not have a crisis every single Winter, the NHS does."

Watch Christopher's appearance here.



IEA Head of Cultural Affairs Marc Glendening was hosted by the University of Sussex Libertas Society in November to discuss pervasive threats to freedom of speech. Marc stressed the importance of free speech in challenging offensive views and said:

"I want to see as many different views articulated as possible... because I believe that's healthy. In part, because its not just the right of individuals to express them, but also because crazy and bad ideas are then challenged publicly."

The recording, released on YouTube earlier this month, can be viewed here.

iN THE MEDIA



Doom and gloom... IEA Director General Mark Littlewood wrote for The Times evaluating the success of Brexit on the third anniversary of Britain’s exit from the EU. Mark questioned the notion that Brexit has failed and wrote:

“Any statistic that shows us performing marginally less well than the EU average is seized upon by Rejoiners as evidence of the self-harm of leaving... The truth is rather more nuanced. Exiting the European Union was bound to have a short-term dislocating impact: significant change always does."



International Monetary Fallacy... IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop was on Sky News to discuss the IMF's prediction that the UK economy will shrink by 0.6 per cent in 2023. Commenting the reliability of IMF forecasts, Julian said:

"We should take these forecasts with a fistful of salt. The IMF's track record here isn't great and many of the assumptions lying behind its forecast already look out of date."

Watch here.

Julian also wrote for CapX on the IMF's forecasting and questioned how seriously we should take them.



Monetary overkill... In other economic news, this week the Bank of England decided to raise interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 4 per cent. In a press release on the matter, IEA Economics Fellow Andrew Lilico acknowledged the Bank's rationale, but advised a cautious approach from now on. He commented:

“The Bank of England’s decision today to raise rates to 4 per cent was not unexpected. We should now be at or close to the peak of interest rates for the time being, otherwise the Bank risks monetary overkill... The Bank was too slow to raise rates initially, but it must beware of oversteering now in response to its initial error.”

Prior to the Bank of England's decision, the IEA's Shadow Monetary Committee (SMPC), of which Andrew is Chairman, voted that interest rates be held at 3.5 per cent. The Committee argued that, given the recent slowdown in the growth of broad money, too many further interest rates hikes risks inducing a recession.

Further information about the SMPC can be found here.



Hands off... The government recently rejected a number of proposals from the Women and Equalities Committee designed to protect menopausal women in the workplace – a move our Director of Communications Annabel Denham supports. While improving support for women is welcome, we need better healthcare, not more regulation for employers. Read Annabel's piece in CapX here.



A glaring omission... And in The Spectator, Annabel pointed out that public sector pensions are often ignored in the debate over pay for striking workers. Annabel wrote:

"The argument from the unions – that their hardworking members deserve a hefty pay rise (in order to ‘improve service’) – has captured the public imagination. But how many of those who complete YouGov or Opinium surveys stop to consider the discrepancy between public and private sector pensions?"

Comic book chaos... IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon also wrote for The Spectator. He commented on an article in the British Medical Journal castigating The Beano for exposing children to unhealthy food on their website. Outlining the absurdity of the situation, Christopher wrote:

"It turns out the Beano has a popular website that has been visited by nearly 48 million kids since its launch in 2016, according to the investigators. It stands accused of mentioning the brand names of various sweets, treats and fast food companies... It contains over a thousand quizzes, hundreds of games and countless jokes. I doubt any of them are funnier that the idea of earnest public health researchers spending days going through them one by one, looking for something to be offended by."




ULEZ sanctimony... IEA Chief Operating Officer and Energy Analyst Andy Mayer appeared on TalkTV to discuss the proposed expansion of London’s Ultra-Low Emissions Zone. Andy said:

"This is a £3,000 per year poll tax on white van man and school run mum... this is looking at trying to fill a hole in the finances of Transport for London... what it’s really about is that massive £3-4 billion per year hole that the Mayor created early in his tenure. He decided to freeze fares so that everybody else would subsidise those using public transport."

Watch here (1:56:52). 



Don't bite the hand that feeds... Andy also wrote for CapX on news that oil giant Shell recorded record profits. Andy urged policymakers to resist imposing punitive measures on the company and commented:

"We are becoming a country obsessed with killing our own industrial success rather than letting it evolve. Climate brats whose ingratitude to those paying our bills is expressed through shrill demands for more until we drive them away."

INITIATIVE FOR AFRICAN TRADE AND PROSPERITY

The Initiative For African Trade and Prosperity (IATP) has taken 2023 by storm! Last month, the IATP supported six fantastic events focussed on free trade across Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. See below for some highlights!



In a packed-out student event at the Catholic University at La Sapientia, the Centre for Development and Enterprises Democratic Republic of Congo spoke to over 200 students about the power of free trade to reduce poverty. All attendees also received a copy of Eamonn Butler's book, 'An Introduction to Trade and Globalisation'.



In another popular student event, this time held at the University of Burundi, the Centre for Development and Enterprises Great Lakes hosted a large conference with 200 students present. The lectures and discussions focussed on the need to end trade protectionism and liberalise Burundi's markets. 

The IATP has also released a variety of fascinating explainers and interviews on their YouTube channel. From videos exploring the pitfalls of foreign aid to the threats facing African free trade, all of the IATP's digital content can be found here.

TEACHER SEMINAR 2023

This Wednesday, 8 February, we will be holding our 2023 Teacher Seminar with IEA Head of Education Dr Steve Davies. The topic will be 'Productivity and Secular Stagnation'. 

The event will run from 9:45am-3pm, with lunch provided – though those unavailable to attend in person are welcome to join online. While it is aimed at A-level Economics teachers, all are welcome! To find out more and reserve your place, please contact [email protected]. 



And a reminder that applications for our Future Thought Leader Programmes for sixth-formers and undergraduates are now open. There will be two weeks for sixth formers in April, and one in July. The undergraduate programmes will take place in July and August.

You can find out more information on the programmes and how to apply here.