The UK’s public spending on housing benefit, which helps low-income families with housing costs, is out of control, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Paul Johnson notes that the government spent £22 billion a year on the benefit, double what it was in the early 2000s. Alongside soaring housing prices and collapsing rates of […]
Author: Erik Sass
Austria NEEDS a productivity reboot
Most developed countries have seen their productivity growth slow in recent years, but the problem is especially acute in Austria, Klaus Weyerstrauss of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna points out, due to the country’s lack of natural resources and already high wages. Weyerstrauss outlines a number of key policies to boost productivity growth.
French public finances in peril
As if Emmanuel Macron needed any more headaches, French public finances remain in a perilous state, warns the Institut Molinari. France could fall into the same trap as other countries with high debts, as debt service eats into social spending.
Public sector “under work” costs France E1.5B
Surprise, surprise, the public sector is a powerful source of inefficiency in France (as elsewhere). “Under-work” or underemployment by public sector workers — read, absenteeism and loafing — costs France E1.5B according to iFRAP.
The South China Sea, a UK interest?
The Henry Jackson Society explains why the South China Sea, where the Royal Navy has recently conducted freedom of navigation operations, remains a vital British interest.
Yes, the digital regulation is a really bad idea
If you need to hear more reasons, bend your ear to the Hayek Foundation’s analysis, which hammers home the numerous flaws of the recent proposed EU laws.
Communism’s curse: lasting inequalities in Germany
A new report from the IWH in Halle documents lingering economic disparities between the former West and East Germanies, including lower productivity in the former East. The report also recommends focusing investment on cities as vehicles for technological innovation.
Hungarian economy raced in 2018, but challenges mounting
Hungary’s economy grew at the smoking rate of 4.8% in 2018, second only to Poland, according to GKI Research. But economic headwinds are growing: GKI notes that Hungary’s deficit and inflation rates are among the highest in Europe, while a new raft of government spending is now rolling out.
ECB expansion policy at odds with German perceptions
According to the DIW the ECB’s return to expansionary policy is both correct and likely to contrast significantly with the German public’s perceptions, which skew financially conservative. Might this be a new source of tension between Germany and the EU?
Don’t worry, French intellectuals just as abject over Venezuela
Generation Libre points out that French intellectuals have been just as craven in their apologies for the Venezuelan regime. And further reminds us that such apologetics have a long history, both in France and elsewhere.