The criticism of the government in the online sphere tends to be simplistic, statist and illiberal. This is especially the case on TikTok, a platform where young people flock in high numbers, consuming content that the algorithm spits back at them. That’s why we have launched the Institute of Economic Affairs' TikTok!

Launching the IEA TikTok is a huge step towards increasing the IEA’s engagement with younger audiences. The number of TikTok users in the UK is 23.38 million per month, and the total number of UK TikTok users in the most popular age bracket, 18-24 year olds, adds up to just over 40 per cent. It is clear that Gen Z can’t get enough of scrolling on the TikTok app and clearly, there are a lot of people that we are now able to reach through the platform!

There tends to be some common misconceptions with TikTok, namely that it is flooded with synchronised dances and teenagers lip-syncing to the most popular song in the charts. Whilst these types of videos certainly exist, they are only the tip of the iceberg. There are videos circulating the algorithm which hit a myriad of particular niches. The hashtag ‘economics’ is currently sitting at 1.2 billion views, and the hashtag ‘government’ is at 4.5 billion views. Clearly, people are searching for these key words, and are watching the videos tagged with them at an incredibly high rate. Many young people use TikTok like a search engine.

The IEA was founded almost seventy years ago, long before the internet or social media. Today, we have the opportunity to promote our research directly to a much broader audience across many more platforms. We also have a responsibility to provide an alternative to the harmful and incorrect narratives that often dominate in the online sphere. 

Since the launch, we have received over 3,500 video views on TikTok. I am excited to grow our audience on the platform and to reach more young people with our ideas.

On a personal note, I am excited to have recently begun as the IEA’s Communications Officer. I am really looking forward to working with the rest of the team to promote the ideas of free markets and individual liberty.

Reem Ibrahim
Communications Officer, Institute of Economic Affairs

GREEN ALERT

EPiCENTER, the IEA’s European partner, has published 'Green Alert', a new paper with Danish partner think tank CEPOS. It urges EU decision makers to avoid entering a tit-for-tat subsidy battle with the Unites States in response to the US’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The paper highlights how the EU already provides significant green subsidies – 0.57 per cent of the EU’s GDP – compared to the IRA which will be just 0.15 per cent of US GDP. It also explains how state aid will struggle to deliver on green goals and could also escalate the trade conflict across the Atlantic.

IEA DIGITAL

The IEA's YouTube channel is home to all of your digital free market needs. From lectures with leading thinkers to informative public policy explainers, we have it all. On this week's schedule, we had:



Apocalypse now... The recent collapse of both Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank has many asking whether we are entering a financial crisis. This week, the IEA hosted a media briefing on the subject. On the panel was IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh (Chair), IEA Economics Fellow and Executive Director and Principal of Europe Economics Andrew Lilico, IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop and IEA Senior Research Fellow Jamie Whyte. 



Trickle-down metaphysics... In this episode of Parallax Views, IEA Head of Cultural Affairs Marc Glendening sat down with philosopher and author Gary Lashman to discuss the origins of postmodernism. 



Free cities... In this video, IEA Research Assistant Daniel Freeman spoke to Dr Vera Kichanova, Senior Economist at the Free Cities Foundation, about free cities and how they can benefit us.



IEA Podcast... The advent of AI programmes such as ChatGPT has made many concerned about its potential threats. But how scared should we be? In this week's podcast, Matthew Lesh discussed this with James Lawson, Senior Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute. 

IN THE MEDIA

A gentleman's agreement... In The Spectator, IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon writes about beating economist Jonathan Portes in a bet. Five years ago Portes bet Snowdon that child poverty would rise to 37 per cent, while it has in fact remained stable at 29 per cent. Describing his gratification, Christopher wrote:

“This humiliating defeat is particularly awkward for Professor Portes as he has spent the last few years telling me that I know nothing and he knows it all. As you can imagine, this is gratifying for me, not least because it wipes out gambling debts racked up during the World Cup in which I was badly let down by Belgium. My only regret is that I didn’t specify that the prize be adjusted for inflation. Thanks to the neo-Keynesian economic policies Professor Portes promotes, £1,000 in 2018 is only worth £828 today."




Sneaking inflation... IEA Chief Operating Officer and Energy Analyst Andy Mayer appeared on TalkTV to discuss the unexpected increase in inflation in February:

“Underlying energy inflation is still 130 per cent higher than a year ago, electricity prices about 50 per cent higher. What you’re seeing in high food prices is things like fertilizers have gone up in cost astronomically, things like the goods used to package foods has gone up: also oil and fossil fuel based. We are seeing the results of inflation filtering through very long and complex supply chains and some of it is still being driven by the conflict in Ukraine.” 

Watch here (from 54:57).



Envy of the world... IEA Senior Policy Advisor Sam Collins wrote for The Daily Telegraph discussing the NHS GP crisis:

“Earlier this week, we learned that eye patients were going blind because of backlog delays. And a Health Foundation study released today appears to show that, once again, the NHS is close to breakdown – this time in the family doctor and General Practitioner sector… Across ten high income countries, UK patients were the least likely to get face-to-face appointments."



Back to basics... IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh wrote for CityAM arguing that recent turmoil in the financial sector stemming from the end of the post-2008 low interest rate period should encourage banks to go back to basics:

“The era of ultra-low interest rates and cheap money created malinvestment and vulnerabilities that are now being exposed – from the LDI crisis last September to crypto scams and asset bubbles. We are walking through a field of financial and economic landmines, unsure of what crisis will explode next.



Managed decline... IEA Communications Officer Harrison Griffiths argued in CapX that there is nothing pragmatic about economic policies that perpetuate Britain’s decline:

“The Prime Minister has promised caution and pragmatism, and last week’s ‘steady as she goes’ Budget was no exception. But there’s nothing sensible about perpetuating the status quo. Britain is in decline, and we will not escape it by reflexively turning to higher taxes and increasingly elaborate spending plans."



Loose money... IEA Head of Political Economy Kristian Niemietz has been quoted in The New Statesman discussing the inputs behind our current high inflation. Kristian said:

“Inflation is the result of loose monetary policy… We’ve got too much money chasing too few goods. It’s a hangover from a long time of quantitative easing.”
 

IEA BOOK CLUB

The IEA Book Club is delighted to announce two upcoming events. 



The IEA Book Club will host Helen Joyce, author of Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women’s Rights, on Monday, 17^th April, from 17:30 – 19:30 at the IEA. IEA Head of Cultural Affairs Marc Glendening will chair the event. Joyce is the director of advocacy for the campaign group Sex Matters. She is a former senior journalist with The Economist and has a PhD in mathematics from University College London. 



The IEA Book Club is also hosting Bruce Caldwell, co-author of Hayek: A Life, 1899-1950. This event will occur on Monday, 24th April, from 17:30 – 19:30 at the IEA. The Chair is TBC. 
 
Bruce Caldwell is a research professor of economics and the director of the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University. He is the general editor of the Collected Works of F. A. Hayek series, published by the University of Chicago Press. 
 
These events are exclusively for IEA Book Club members. Find out more about the Book Club on our website or by contacting [email protected].

STUDENTS AND TEACHERS



Join the IEA's internship programme!... We are now welcoming applicants. From editorial work to aiding our operations team, there are a variety of opportunities on offer for sixth form and university students. Want to work for the UK's original free-market think tank? Click here to find out more and submit your application.

Our current cohort of talented interns put together a video providing an insight into what you can expect, which you can watch here.

Applications are still open for Camp Vinson, which will now run from 26-30 June at St Antony’s College, Oxford! You can submit applications until Friday 31 March for this exclusive residential programme run in conjunction with the IEA, Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity, Vinson Centre for the Public Understanding of Economics and Entrepreneurship and the Institute of International Monetary Research.

Find out more and apply here.



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.