“It’s the economy, stupid.” The mantra coined by James Carville for Bill Clinton’s 1992 election campaign and adopted by western politicians has largely lost credibility among analysts of next year’s British general election prospects; but it may be regaining relevance in the context of the current Scottish independence referendum. Seldom has a solitary opinion poll […]
I view the prospects of the Chinese economy in the coming years with guarded optimism – guarded because distortions are rampant in the economy – from the vast misallocation of resources to the highly distortionary macroeconomic structure that propels a vicious cycle – but optimistic, for exactly the same reason. The existence of important and pervasive distortions means that there […]
The Commonwealth is thriving, as the successful Games that closed in Glasgow earlier this month illustrated. Might it be time for the UK to improve its trade links with these former colonies and other friends outside Europe? At present Great Britain’s largest trading partner is the US; or the EU if you consider the whole […]
It is now five weeks since I participated in the Conference organised by the Centre for Policy Studies, dedicated to the memory of Margaret Thatcher. I still remained impressed by the seriousness of purpose that dominated the occasion. The speeches were devoted to explicating the first principles of political organisation, and they frequently made explicit […]
History has proven that free market capitalism may be imperfect but it is undoubtedly more efficient than any alternative economic invention. Even after the 2008 financial crisis, no rational leader or enlightened economist suggests replacing the free market with socialism. Populist mavericks such as Joseph Stiglitz or Paul Krugman advocate more regulation but are no […]
We’re getting to that time of year when the media pickings start to thin out for the summer, and even the liveliest editor feels the siren call of that old fallback, the “list” article. Best holiday books? Mountain getaways? Beachwear? Manifesto policies? OK, so I made that last one up. But if political policies could […]
The 1981 air traffic controllers dispute marked the beginning of a counter-revolution against union power in the United States. Twenty two times in the post-war years various American unions had violated no-strike agreements. These violations had gone unpunished by repeatedly meek politicians, until in 1981 the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organisation (PATCO) launched the 23rd […]
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