Economic Education: February 1998
John describes five groups of reasons why economic education is an indispensable part of any general education.
Frontiers of fashion
We overestimate the importance of short-term political change, and underestimate the significance of deep-seated societal difference.
Question of duty
It is not satisfactory that the Hampel Report can only offer an account of directors’ duties which is confusing and fundamentally incoherent.
A mystery solved
Gordon Brown should be criticised if he does not propose a root and branch reform of corporation tax within the life of this parliament.
Called to account
What are the responsibilities of Shell to society at large? There is a simple answer - and it’s wrong.
Don’t just do it
When should a government intervene in the market? It is not clear what New Labour thinks is the answer.
Private finance initiative
Public investment is now prioritised according to whether it can be disguised by the private finance initiative: Goodhart’s Law has come into play once again.
A German lesson
The great German experiment teaches us a great deal. One of the lessons is that microeconomic policy is of critical important.
A Theory of the Social Market
The communitarian view of politics and society - whereby our actions and views are inseperable from the communities in which we live - is not incompatible with mainstream economic thinking. Rather, it heightens our understanding of how markets work.
Now mind the gap
The Bank of England should get on with the job of setting interest rates and other monetary activities, and be held accountable for how well it performs. Instead, everyone wants to retain control over decisions while shedding responsibility for outcomes.