When critics of industrial policy say the government can’t ‘pick winners’ they are echoing the arguments of the great free-market economist Frederich Hayek. In his seminal essay, ‘The Use of Knowledge in Society’, he argued that central planning does not work because governments do not have access to all the relevant information to make the… [Read More]
On two fronts, the Doctors’ Policy Research Group (DPRG) is currently seeking to spark debate about the future of the NHS; the need for a rethink of NHS funding and the need for a sensible approach to health and social care integration.
Professor Brian Jarman, the Imperial College statistician and former BMA president behind the Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio (HSMR) figures that first raised the alarm about possible problems in Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust and at around a dozen other trusts, released new figures last week in an exclusive with Channel 4 News that show the UK… [Read More]
The City will be breathing not one but three collective sighs of relief this week. EU initiatives which would have harmed London far more than any other member states. The Financial Transaction Tax, short selling restrictions, bond sales rules and Libor regulation all seem to be going Britain’s way.
In the months leading up to the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit in November, where Georgia, Moldova, Armenia and the Ukraine are expected to sign association agreements with the EU, Russia has been ramping up the pressure on its neighbours in what seems like an attempt to deter them from forging closer ties with the EU.
One of the key policy recommendations of the Wealth of Nations project here at Civitas has been to create a local-banking network based on the German Sparkassen model or the Swiss cantonal banks. So it was interesting to hear the Lloyds TSB chief executive, Antonio Horta-Osorio, announce to the media last weekend that TSB is… [Read More]
Over the weekend, Australia brought Tony Abbott and his conservative Liberal-National coalition to power after six years in the cold. Key issues in the election were the economy, the deficit, asylum and carbon taxation, but Medicare, Australia’s popular publicly-funded health system, was also debated. Further, following yesterday’s election in Norway, in which healthcare was a… [Read More]
Professor Alan Sked, who founded the United Kingdom Independence Party in 1993, has symbolically rejected his creation. Like the proverbial Dr Frankenstein, he’s afraid that Ukip has become monstrous, describing it as ‘anti-intellectual, anti-immigrant’, ‘too racist’ and ‘too extreme’. Sked, an international history professor at the LSE, actually left Ukip in 1997 but this new… [Read More]
The transfer of Welsh football player Gareth Bale from Tottenham to Real Madrid was one of astronomical proportions – the much-anticipated deal cost a staggering €100million, making it the most expensive transfer in the world. Real Madrid are known for signing big names, having made the top three most costly deals in history, with €94… [Read More]
The required level of skills in English and Maths depends partly on the job an applicant is aiming for.