This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs restates the moral, philosophical and theological case for free-market capitalism. This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs introduces On Morality, Human Behaviour and Economics, a new volume edited by Professor Juan Castañeda and Lord Kamall that restates the moral, philosophical...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs concludes that prosperity emerges from spontaneous market coordination, not conscious direction. In a new paper, academic Dr Erik Lidström examines the evolutionary mismatch between human hunter-gatherer psychology and the demands of modern capitalist economies. Our brains evolved over two million years for small tribes...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs examines the case for wealth taxes and asks why they have failed across Europe. While Britain does not have a simple 'wealth tax', it raises more from wealth-related taxes than any other OECD economy. UK wealth inequality is not especially high or rising—the top...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs examines public understanding of British economic performance and attitudes to pro-growth policies. Most Britons (87%) want the UK to focus more on economic growth, and would back free market reforms to deliver it, including: reducing energy costs (77%), cutting taxes on workers (72%) and...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs makes one of the twentieth century’s most important works of political philosophy available to a wider audience. F. A. Hayek (1899–1992) was one of the most important social thinkers of the last hundred years. Law, Legislation and Liberty (1973–79) is one of his most...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs Since the 2008 financial crisis, environmental policy has shifted away from simply managing negative externalities and gradually converged with regular industrial policy. Various ‘green deals’ have been launched around the world with the aim of achieving a combination of economic and environmental development. Economists,...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs examines Britain's inheritance tax system and asks if reform is enough. Britain has fifth highest tax in the OECD on what parents leave to children, placing it in a small group of high-tax outliers and far above where headline comparisons often suggest.The tax is...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs marks the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. In the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith argues that individuals pursuing their own self-interest can promote the public good when channelled through his ‘system of natural liberty.’ Smith’s ‘system of natural...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs examines the economic and environmental consequences of ending domestic oil and gas production. No credible forecast shows UK oil and gas demand falling to zero by 2050, even under net zero scenarios – oil and gas are essential ingredients in plastics, fertilisers, medicines and...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs examines the costs and benefits of flexible working. The costs of flexible working requirements have rarely been properly assessed and could extend to undermining growth, increasing unemployment and the rise in post-Covid withdrawal from the workforce. Employers and employees, negotiating in the ‘particular circumstances...