Thinking outside the blue box on recycling
In response to receiving a brown bin, blue box and some green bags, John writes a letter to Cherwell District Council questioning the rationale of recycling paper and calling for more practical environmentalism initiatives.
Saintly lies and the devil that lurks in double talk
Nothing so much undermines public regard for politics and business as the increasingly widespread practice of equivocation. In the light of the spectacle surrounding the Hutton report, this wisdom should be extended beyond the tale of St Athanasius.
Nobody wins when there are too few taxis
Most bad economic policies can be abandoned, but the harmful effects of restrictive licensing systems are usually irreversible. By illustrating the flaws of taxi regulation, John explains why governments and licensing authorities should think twice before being caught in a transitional gains trap.
Why a privatised railway drew bad reviews
David Hare’s play on rail privatisation, The Permanent Way, offers drama along classical Shakespearean lines – what is foredoomed to fail, fails. However, as an intriguing conversation reveals, Hare seems to have missed a key point.
Give state funding to students not their colleges
Europe once took 75 per cent of Nobel prizes; today the US does. It is less widely appreciated that this is the triumph of autonomous institutions over government-controlled ones.
Miracle on 34th Street
Not everyone likes Miracle on 34th Street. However, as we review the demise of Andersen, and as the lessons of Enron and WorldCom sink in, there are worse ways to end the year than by revisiting the maudlin but incisive economic analysis of one of the most loved Christmas films.
The end of the pact could turn out to be a blessing
The end of the stability and growth pact will be a victory rather than a defeat if it leads to new ways of monitoring and controlling fiscal policy. John explains the need for governments to delegate responsibility for setting taxes.
When natural resources are a curse
It is in human, rather than natural resources, that the origins of material prosperity are to be found. John describes why natural resources may be a burden rather than a blessing for some developing countries.
The public always comes last in trade talks
What went wrong at Cancun? The core problem is that industrial pressure groups have gained too much influence on economic policy.
Electricity failures should come as no shock
Are the increasingly frequent failures in electricity supply the result of privatisation and deregulation?