Director of The Entrepreneurs Network writes for City AM

Director of The Entrepreneurs Network, Philip Salter, writes for City AM - "The workspace, the incubator, and the accelerator: What you need to know" Read the article here.

"It's a truism of entrepreneurship that the road to riches is full of at least as many lows as highs. That’s why many entrepreneurs don’t take the leap until they meet the right partner to jump into business with. This isn’t just about co-founders having complementary skills; the support of a business partner can be invaluable. For better or worse, it is often the difference between giving up and persevering."

Ben Southwood is quoted in City AM on the Bank of England's inflation policy

The Adam Smith Institue's Head of Policy, Ben Southwood, was quoted in City AM this morning on the Bank of England's inflation policy. Read the article here.

"Ben Southwood, head of policy at the Adam Smith Institute, argues the opposite. "Under half of the population can tell you who sets the base interest rate", says Southwood, implying that policy simply isn't well understood. As for working well throughout the business cycle, he says that a regime of inflation targeting has seen spending growth "anemic" since the financial crisis. NGDP growth still remains below its long-term trend."

Ben Southwood writes on NGDP targeting for Conservative Home

The Adam Smith Institute's Head of Policy, Ben Southwood, wrote a comment piece for Conservative Home about the importance of nominal GDP targeting.

His article follows the annual Adam Smith Lecture, at which Prof Scott Sumner delivered an address on the same topic.

Read the article here.

"Monetary policy may seem dry, but it has the power to put economies on life support, or if done correctly, bring them back to life."

Dr Eamonn Butler is quoted in the Telegraph

Dr Eamonn Butler, Director of the Adam Smith Institute, was mentioned in Sue Cameron's article on the disconnect between Whitehall and policy makers.

Read the article here.

"Margaret Thatcher was an Oxford graduate but she used to boast that “I never let it hold me back”. When she was PM, the university spitefully refused to give her an honorary degree. Now, though, attitudes there are changing. Earlier this year the Oxford Union held a debate on the motion: “This House believes that Margaret Thatcher saved Britain.” I was one of the speakers supporting the motion in a team led by Tom King and ably supported by the Tory MP Conor Burns and Eamonn Butler, director of the Adam Smith Institute.

"All of us struggled to make the students understand what life had been like in the Seventies, with endless strikes and nationalised industries that had no concept of competition or consumer choice. The clincher came from Butler, who said: “It was like North Korea – but without the hope.” The motion was carried by 176 to 103."

Ben Southwood debates corporation tax in City AM

Head of Policy at the Adam Smith Institute, Ben Southwood, wrote a debate piece for City AM arguing that all corporation tax should be abolished as soon as possible.

Read the debate piece here.

"Cutting corporation tax on small businesses is a start, but it would be better to get rid of it altogether."

ASI's guest lecturer appears on BBC Radio 4's Today programme

Prof. Scott Sumner, who delivered the speech at the Adam Smith Institute's annual lecture, appeared on BBC Radio 4's Today programme to discuss the importance of nominal GDP targeting. Listen to the interview here. (start time 8:14)

Press Release: Central banks can revive the global economy, says economist who inspired QE3

Professor Scott Sumner will be hosted by the Adam Smith Institute from 17th June - 21st June. To arrange an interview with Prof. Sumner, contact Kate Andrews, Communications Manager: kate@adamsmith.org / 07584 778 207

Central banks can revive the global economy by targeting spending levels instead of inflation, Prof. Scott Sumner said this evening (TUESDAY 17TH JUNE) at the 2014 Adam Smith Lecture held by the free market Adam Smith Institute in Westminster.

Prof Sumner said that:

• Cuts and hikes to government spending are economically irrelevant when the central bank is trying to hit a target
• Central bank policy is highly effective even when interest rates hit zero
• Central banks should abandon inflation targeting and instead guarantee the stability of the total amount of spending in the economy

Prof Sumner added that nearly all top monetary economists agreed how to deal with recessions in 2008, but they appear to have forgotten what they knew then, despite events since the crisis highlighting the power of monetary policy and the irrelevance of fiscal policy.

Prof Sumner argued that, done right, monetary policy can totally offset the macroeconomic cost of government spending cuts. The Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said that the US economy's performance in 2013 was a 'test' of this – Sumner argued that the US's economic revival that year following QE3 was evidence that central banks have enormous power to stabilise the economy, far more than most politicians realise.

The best monetary policy, said Sumner, was for central banks to target nominal GDP instead of inflation. This would mean that after a shock, like an oil crisis, central banks would pledge to keep the level of spending constant along its growth path. Even though the real spending power would fall, it would avoid the 'musical chairs' problem created where spending levels fall and, combined with wages that take time to fall in nominal terms, leads to widespread unemployment.

Sumner, who is a professor of economics at Bentley University in the US, was called 'the blogger who saved the US economy' by The Atlantic (his blogging at themoneyillusion.com was a major factor behind QE3), and in 2012 Foreign Policy ranked him 15th in their Global Thinker index – joint placed with then-Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke. He is considered the father of the 'Market Monetarist' school of macroeconomics, which argues that economic stability can be safeguarded if central banks target the level of nominal GDP instead of inflation.

Sam Bowman, Research Director of the Adam Smith Institute, said: "If anyone doubts the importance of monetary policy, they should compare the plight of the Eurozone with that of Japan. The Eurozone was driven into a second recession after the ECB raised interest rate hikes, while Japan is booming after Shinzo Abe's government began to pursue a policy of easy money through low rates and quantitative easing.

"Scott Sumner is one of the most brilliant economists of his generation, and his speech last night should be listened to carefully by policymakers around the world."

The Adam Smith Institute is an independent libertarian think tank based in London. It advocates classically liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.

Philip Salter writes for City AM on angel investors

Director of The Entrepreneurs Network, Philip Salter, writes for City AM.

Read the op-ed here.

ASI research on tax featured in the Sunday Telegraph

Research from the Adam Smith Institute on flat taxes was featured in the Sunday Telegraph.

Read the article here.

"A flat tax is radical but not impossible to implement. Back in 2005, Chancellor George Osborne spoke out in favour of a flat tax, while a study by the Adam Smith Institute suggested introducing it at 22pc, supported by a higher personal allowance of £12,000 (up from £4,740), would yield long-term benefits despite an initial £40bn black hole. More recently, the 2020 Tax Commission called for a 30pc flat rate of income tax, with National Insurance, inheritance tax and stamp duty on shares scrapped altogether."

Charlotte Bowyer is quoted in City AM

The Adam Smith Institute's Head of Policy, Charlotte Bowyer, was quoted in City AM, commenting on the black cab protest against Uber.

Read the article here.

"Charlotte Bowyer of the Adam Smith Institute, a think-tank based near the area in which the protest was held, added: “Black cab drivers argue that they are regulated to within an inch of their lives, which may be true – so it’s sad that they just want others to face the same treatment.”