liberalism

March 1, 2014

Sin Taxes: the Examples of Alcohol and Tobacco

So‐called “sin” taxes are very much in fashion in France and elsewhere. With the aim of reducing “sinful” behaviour and financing the health care system, public authorities are planning to raise the tax load on alcohol and tobacco even higher.
January 1, 2014

Income From Work – The Fourth Pillar of Income Provision in Old Age

The benefits of increasing labour participation rates in old age flow both to the individual – in terms of improved health and increased incomes – and to society as a whole as greater employment at older ages will reduce the costs of ageing populations.
May 1, 2013

Work Longer, Live Healthier: The Relationship Between Economic Activity, Health, and Government Policy

Higher state pension ages are not only possible (given longer life expectancy) and desirable (given the fiscal costs of state pensions) but later retirement should, in fact, lead to better average health in retirement.
March 1, 2013

Euro Puppets: The European Commission’s Remaking of Civil Society

With public confidence in the European project waning, the idea of initiating a ‘civil dialogue’ with the public emerged in the mid-1990s as a way of bolstering the EU’s democratic legitimacy. Citizens have been ventriloquised through ‘sock puppet’ charities, think tanks and other ‘civil society’ groups which have been hand-picked and financed by the European Commission (EC).
November 1, 2012

Barriers to Prosperity – Developing Countries and the Need for Trade Liberalisation

Non-tariff barriers are an important impediment to trade for less developed countries. They need to be brought to the forefront of the trade debate if developing countries are to move into the export of higher value added products.
October 1, 2012

The Scrapping of the Telecoms Network

The break-up of the Telecom Italia network, while positive from a market competition perspective, could yet reveal itself as a tool for the former monopolist to determine the manner and time-frame in which it should take place.