Today the Cobden Centre blog covered a new research paper by two Harvard Economists, Alberto Alesina and Silvia Ardagna. The paper examined fiscal stimuli and fiscal adjustments, and what factors were correlated with their success.
Last week’s EU blog considered the limitations of the EU’s European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in light of the recent Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. As events in North Africa have continued to deteriorate, it seems appropriate to consider the EU’s response to Libya’s revolutionary efforts. Whereas Tunisia was the benchmark of stability in the South Mediterranean,… [Read More]
Less than a fortnight after MPs rightly staged a resistance against the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), political heavy weights have now turned their fire on the UK Supreme Court. Not only are the criticisms of our highest domestic court entirely unfounded, they betray, at best, a dangerous confusion about the relationship between… [Read More]
It was reported over the weekend that the Icelandic President Olafur Grimsson, has called for a national referendum on the new plan for repaying British and Dutch loans made as a result of the ‘Icesave’ fiasco. The two countries loaned Iceland €4 billion to bail out the country’s deposit insurance scheme, which could not afford… [Read More]
The announcement that unemployment levels have risen further at the end of last year is unwelcome but no surprise. There are an extra 44,000 out of work, creating an unimpressive total of 2.5 million. What should really set alarm bells ringing is not so much the volume of unemployed, but just who these people are… [Read More]
Democracy is frequently trumpeted as one of the EU’s core values and its promotion is a prominent feature throughout EU policy. This is all the more evident in the EU’s relations with third states, particularly the bilateral partners of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). But, with Tunisia’s pro-democracy revolution followed swiftly by Egypt and then… [Read More]
At first glance, a recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) seems to challenge the flurry of accusations of judicial expansionism fired at the Strasbourg court over the past weeks. However, a closer reading reveals a troubling subtext which largely belies the laudable national sensitivity the Court purports to possess.
Via Chris Dillow, we learn of another fascinating study by Francesco Drago and Roberto Galbiati based on Italy’s experience of its 2006 Collective Clemency Bill. It suggests that creating credible threats to return ex-prisoners released on license to prison if they re-offend does not just reduce their re-offending rate. It also reduces offending amongst their… [Read More]
It is perhaps fitting that on Valentine’s Day David Cameron attempted to stoke up love for the Big Society in the face of recent criticism. It is perhaps doubly fitting because the success of the Big Society may depend upon love, or largely altruistic feelings, in the short term at least.
Perhaps it was inevitable I should write about a namesake, albeit a bit of a black sheep. The surreally named Project Merlin, months in the making, has failed to deliver – it pulled in too many directions at once. The Government attempted to play ‘whack-a-mole’ with the banks, and deal with the twin issues of… [Read More]