Sam Bowman discusses the 1.8% spending cuts to local council budgets on The Jeremy Vine Show

Deputy Director of the Adam Smith Institute, Sam Bowman, spoke to The Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2 about the 1.8% spending cuts for local English councils. Listen here. (Starts 39:55)

The ASI's work on immigration policy is featured in the Daily Telegraph

The Adam Smith Institute's pro-immigration work was featured in the Daily Telegraph: 

Meanwhile back on the immigration debate, Boris is hardly alone in his argument that the free movement of people across borders enriches us. While Ukip, the Conservative leadership and at least some of the Labour Party talk up their willingness to restrict immigration, a curious band of political actors is putting the contrary view.

Among the most enthusiastic supporters of a more liberal approach to immigration are the Institute of Directors and the Adam Smith Institute, generally perceived as bastions of the free-market Right.

Read the full article here.

Kate Andrews debates the gender wage gap on Sky News

Communications Manager at the Adam Smith Institute, Kate Andrews, debated comedian and left-wing activist Kate Smurthwaite on Sky News over the real reasons behind the gender pay gap.

TEN's report "Made in the UK" is featured in the Huffington Post UK

Recent research published by The Entrepreneurs Network, Made in the UK, was featured in Tim Farron MP's blog for the Huffington Post UK:

The Government has tried to make provision for entrepreneurs who want to stay and generate businesses and jobs here, creating a new visa - the Graduate Entrepreneur Visa - to allow business-minded graduates a limited time to start their business here. But take up is pitiful. A recent survey by The Entrepreneurs Network found that "Just 2% of respondents intending to start a business following graduation applied for the UK Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur) visa, with almost two thirds, 62%, saying they didn't even consider it... only 18% think that the UK has better post-study processes in place for international students than other countries; 32% think it is worse than other countries."

Read the full article here.

As vendors count the cost of the Amazon 1p glitch, is more protection needed for sellers? - Charlotte Bowyer argues no in CityAM Forum

The Adam Smith Institute's Head of Digital Policy, Charlotte Bowyer, argues against further regulatory protections for sellers in the CityAM Forum. 

Charlotte Bowyer, a digital policy researcher at the Adam Smith Institute, says No.

The RepricerExpress pricing glitch is a devastating and expensive error, but fortunately a rare one. Certainly, an hour’s glitch affecting third-party Amazon software is not enough to warrant new seller protection.

Ultimately, RepricerExpress customers voluntarily agreed to their terms of service, which state that vendors are liable for losses.

While outsourcing can reduce costs, it presents risks – especially when used for both pricing and fulfilment.

Requiring firms to insure against every hypothetical disaster would be prohibitively expensive. Increasing seller protections beyond the market level would reduce the choice and functionality of vendor software, while significantly raising the cost of these tools.

The best regulation here is reputation. Amazon has already gone beyond its obligations, averting a PR disaster by cancelling orders and protecting vendor feedback.

And if people no longer trust a service or disagree with its terms, they don’t have to use it.

Read the full article here.

Is the OECD right that inequality has significantly curbed economic growth? - Ben Southwood argues 'no' in the CityAM Forum

Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute, Ben Southwood, argued against the recent OECD report that found income inequality curbs growth in the CityAM Forum: 

Ben Southwood, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute, says No.

International cross-sectional studies like the OECD’s – which compare different countries at one point in time – are prone to errors. This is true even if you look at a group of similar (rich) countries like the OECD, which includes Sweden on the one hand and Mexico on the other.

Countries that punish crime harshly may have more crime, but that doesn’t mean punishing crime harshly increases crime.

Countries with more doctors may have more disease, but we’d expect that doctors are a response to disease, not a cause.

Similarly, countries with less inequality may have more growth, but cutting inequality may not boost growth.

For such questions, it’s better to use time-series data. And if you look at countries or regions where inequality jumps, growth typically jumps as well.

A highly-cited paper by Kristin Forbes, for example, found “an increase in a country’s level of income inequality has a significant positive relationship with subsequent economic growth.”

Read the full debate here.

Dr Eamonn Butler discusses the demand for food banks on BBC radio 5 Live

Director of the Adam Smith Institute, Dr Eamonn Butler, spoke to BBC radio 5 Live about the growing need for food banks and the government's inability to provide benefits in a timely manner. Listen to the interview here. (Starts: 06:10)

Kate Andrews' comments on Osborne's proposed spending cuts feature on BBC News online

Communications Manager at the Adam Smith Institute, Kate Andrews, was quoted in a BBC News article on where spending cuts should be implemented and whether the Chancellor can achieve his projected spending goals:

If the government is going to achieve its projected spending goals by 2020, then it's going to have to reform the big-ticket items: welfare, pensions, and the NHS.

It's not realistic to expect that policing and other unprotected areas will be cut by 50%; if the arithmetic is going to add up, the meaty parts of the budget are going to have to be cut too.

Local government cuts should fall precisely where the community and local council feel they can best handle a decrease in spending.

Westminster is not in an effective position to decide the level of services needed in local communities throughout the UK.

The solution is to devolve taxation and spending powers to local communities, where funding for public services and benefits can be better, and more efficiently, allocated.

Kate Andrews, communications manager and research associate, Adam Smith Institute

Read the full article here.

Ben Southwood's comments on the Autumn Statement feature in the Daily Express, Huffington Post UK, and This is Money

The Adam Smith Institute's Head of Research, Ben Southwood, was featured in the Daily Express, Huffington Post UK, and This is Money on the Chancellor's abolishment of the stamp duty slab system: From the Daily Express:

It is a victory for the Daily Express End The Stamp Duty Rip-Off crusade and was hailed by economists and property experts yesterday.

Ben Southwood, head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute, said: “The old stamp duty slab system was one of the worst taxes Britain had, and we welcome the Chancellor’s radicalism in abolishing it, rather than simply tinkering around the edges.”

From the Huffington Post UK:

Ben Southwood, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute, said it was an end to "one of the worst taxes Britain had."

"According to the best economic research, raising £1 through stamp duty imposes £2-£5 of cost on the economy. This is a tax cut for the squeezed middle that will make a big difference to a lot of people's lives. Politically, it could be a game-changer."

From This is Money:

Ben Southwood, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute, said: ‘The old stamp duty slab system was one of the worst taxes Britain had, and we welcome the Chancellor's radicalism in abolishing it, rather than simply tinkering around the edges.

‘According to the best economic research, raising £1 through stamp duty imposes £2 to £5 of cost on the economy.Though it will still, as a transactions tax, cost the economy heavily, the reform will reduce the economic cost substantially.

‘This is a tax cut for the squeezed middle that will make a big difference to a lot of people's lives. Politically, it could be a game-changer.’

The ASI's reaction to the Autumn Statement features in Conservative Home and the IBTimes UK

The Adam Smith Institute's commentary on the 2014 Autumn Statement were featured in Conservative Home and International Business Time UK: From Conservative Home:

The Adam Smith Institute welcomed the roads, stamp duty and ISA announcements, but said that Osborne’s R & D proposal “riskscrowding out private sector solutions” and argued that the Chancellor should make raising the National Insurance threshold “one of his top priorities”.  It concuded that his plans to reduce the deficit “still seem credible”.  On business rates, it said -

“A cap on business rate rises is welcome but the rates system itself needs more fundamental reform. The longer rates take to be revalued, the more distortionary the system is, penalising firms located in areas that have done badly since the last valuation. The longer the gap between rates revaluations, the greater the penalty for businesses in poorer areas and the effective subsidy for businesses in richer ones. Ideally the government should move towards a system of constantly rolling rates revaluations. If Zoopla can judge land values accurately on a rolling basis, so can HM Treasury.”

From IBTimes UK:

In the immediate aftermath of Osborne's Autumn Statement announcement in the House of Commons, economists, lobby groups and taxpayers hailed the radical move as one of the Conservative-led coalition government's best yet.

"The old stamp duty slab system was one of the worst taxes Britain had and we welcome the chancellor's radicalism in abolishing it, rather than simply tinkering around the edges," said Ben Southwood, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute.

"According to the best economic research, raising £1 through stamp duty imposes £2 to £5 of cost on the economy.

"Though it will still, as a transactions tax, cost the economy heavily, the reform will reduce the economic cost substantially. This is a tax cut for the squeezed middle that will make a big difference to a lot of people's lives. Politically, it could be a game-changer."