The Tobin tax: Reason or treason?
The Condensed Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations is one of the most important books ever written. Smith recognised that economic specialization and cooperation was the key to improving living standards. He shattered old ways of thinking about trade, commerce and public policy, and led to the foundation of a new field of study: economics. And yet, his book is rarely read today. It is written in a dense and archaic style that is inaccessible to many modern readers. The Condensed Wealth of Nations condenses Smith’s work and explains the key concepts in The Wealth of Nations clearly. It is accessible and readable to any intelligent layman. This book also contains a primer on The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith’s other great work that explores the nature of ethics. You can buy your copy here!
How Basel III threatens small businesses
- Basel III requires an increase in the size of banks' equity relative to their loans and a more formal assessment of risk. It is built on the same foundations as Basel I and II. The reasons why those initiatives failed may well apply also to Basel III, not least because the adjusment of assets for risk cannot be conducted with any certainty.
- Soverign debts once considered safe are not necessarily safe any longer.
- The rules agreed in September 2010 are to be phased in between 2014 and 2019 to give banks time to adjust. Most of the capital adjustment will come from banks lending less but better and with increased margins - that is, higher interest rates to customers.
- Big companies will be able to shop around within the competitive international markets. However, in a situation where five big banks dominate the UK market, Britain's smal and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be hit both by the reduced aviailability of loans and by higher interest rates.
- Since SMEs drive the UK economy, the consequence of Basel III is negative for the UK.
Read the full briefing paper here.
Does Inequality Matter?
Reflections on regulation: Experience and the future
Profit-making Free Schools: Unlocking the Potential of England's Proprietorial Schools Sector
In this groundbreaking report, James Croft argues that the crisis of school places can only be met by giving true freedom to Free Schools and allowing profit-making schools to operate within the Free Schools programme. In his study of profit-making school outcomes, he shows that schools charging fees on a par with the average state expenditure per pupil equal or exceed the performance of average independent schools. As the report shows, unlocking the power of profit within the Free Schools programme would be a revolution in schooling in England.
The Case for Nominal GDP Targeting
The recent economic crisis has exposed important flaws with inflation targeting, particularly the form practiced by real world central banks. A nominal GDP target can address the dual concerns of macroeconomic policy – inflation and jobs – with a single policy target. Had central banks pursued nominal GDP targeting during 2008, it is quite likely that both the financial crisis and the recession would have been much milder. Nominal GDP targeting works best when “level targeting” is used, which means making up for past underor overshoots, and also if the central bank targets market expectations of nominal GDP growth.
To see the full PDF, click here.