This album is a landmark account of the life of F.A. Hayek, Nobel Laureate Austrian economist.
Find the full album here
Passbook to Security
This paper describes the main features of the Passbook Pension, its costs and benefits, its relationship to today's personal and occupational pensions, the appropriate tax and regulatory regime, and the speed and costs of introducing the reforms.
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Who Owns the Past?
Archeology has suffered from an increase of state intervention and subsidies since 1973. Moves away from the traditional treasure trove solution to wipe out looting will only serve to promote it. The answer is to 'amateurize' archeology and resist all temptations to nationalise Britain's heritage. The report advocates 'Independence Impact Statements' before government funds are channeled into projects from archeological digs to operatic productions. It offers solid proposals for a more cost-effective and consumer friendly Arts, Heritage and Culture policy.
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Underground Revolution
Private finance can save London Underground from crisis. The report proposes that three to five, probably four investment-led contracts, or "concessions", should be offered to private sector consortia to design, modernize, finance and operate services, stations and infrastructure.
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None of the Above
With the funding of political parties hitting the headlines, suggestions have been made for the state to contribute to campaign costs. Such calls are misguided. Confidence in the UK's political system can be restored through the provision of information about funds, rather than through costly, bureaucratic measures paid for by the unwilling taxpayer. This paper urges the Neill Committee to reject all forms of state subsidy and to avoid premature answers to an important question.
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Deregulated Decade
The achievement of the bus industry in the last decade has been 'truly remarkable', emerging from a long period of managed decline to become market-led, quality minded, and capable of ending three decades of loss of custom to the car. This report assesses how innovation is winning people back to buses.
The Passbook Pension: meeting all the objectives for pension reform
This Adam Smith Institute briefing paper addresses the challenges and requirements laid down by Harriet Harman's statement from July 1997 relating to stakeholder pensions. While retaining the guarantees of state provision, it offers people a voluntary, funded, simple alternative to SERPS and the basic pension. Assuring everyone of security and dignity, not dependancy, in retirement.
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The Great Escape
There is growing agreement that our state pension system must be underpinned by proper funding. The only worry about such a reform is the belief that "one generation must pay twice" - once to pay what is due to today's elderly and once more to build up funds for its own retirement. New research shows this fear to be unfounded. The economic gain from a funded system is so large that we could make the transition within a generation and still leave everyone better off.
Read the full paper here.
Beyond Pension Plus: Developing the fortune account
The future of the welfare state is now firmly at the centre of public debate. Its seeming inability to conquer poverty,despite an annual budget of £100 billion, provokes many to question whether a system designed in the 1940's is up to the challenges of today. The Adam Smith Institute argues that we need a completely different approach - replacing our collectivized state pensions and national insurance scheme with a system of personal lifetime fortune accounts, competitively provided.
What's Wrong with the Welfare State?
The history of the welfare state is a record of failing attempts to curb the costs of over optimistic promises made by politicians. This early welfare state was, like today's contributory and compulsory; but its benefits were neither comprehensive or universal. As we can see today the financial balance was well out of tilt. This report lays out a solution to the problems.
Read it here.