This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs looks at foreign aid spending in regions that are richer than parts of the UK. UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending has gone to regions of upper-middle-income countries with GDP per capita figures equal to or in excess of those reported in large parts...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs looks at whether rent control works. Rent controls have well-intentioned goals, including reducing rental burdens and ensuring access to affordable housing. But these regulations can generate unintended consequences, stifling housing supply, reducing labour mobility, and driving up rents in unregulated dwellings. Market distortions caused...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs looks at the unintended consequences of food reformulation. Since 2015, the UK government has worked with the food industry to reformulate a wide range of food products to reduce sugar, fat and calorie content. The industry has been given the target of lowering the...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs explores the principles that would define a better and simpler tax system. Taxation may be necessary to fund public services, but policymakers must consider its moral and economic costs. Most taxes are overly complex, politically skewed, and often cause more economic harm than good....

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs discusses why a trophy ban would hurt conservation and development. The rationale for import prohibitions or restrictions is normally protectionism, e.g., protecting domestic industry from foreign competitors. The rationale for the prohibition on hunting trophy imports could better be described as ‘illiberalism.’ In its...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs provides a list and numerical count of regulatory measures across the six largest parties by vote share. The general election campaign has focused on tax and spending promises, with much less attention paid to proposed regulatory measures. Regulations often have well-intentioned goals, including protecting...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs emphasises the importance of a broadly defined money aggregate in the determination of nominal national income and wealth. The overwhelming majority of economists were wrong in their forecasts about the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. They believed that it would result in years of...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs offers a fresh perspective on the George Orwell classic dystopia 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the UK publication of George Orwell’s classic dystopia Nineteen Eighty-Four (8 June 2024), the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is republishing the novel with a new...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs examines the economic and social consequences of anti-money laundering regulation. Debanking became a news story in 2023 when Nigel Farage alleged that Coutts had closed his account because its executives disapproved of his political opinions. A study by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs offers a cost–benefit analysis of western colonialism. In recent years, we have seen a renewed interest in Britain’s imperialist past: the British Empire, the slave trade and the Caribbean slave labour plantations. More precisely, we have seen a revival of the idea that the...