Economics & Social Policy
Latest Economics & Social Policy Publications

Monetary response to the coronavirus crisis
Warwick LightfootThis paper focuses on how central banks have responded since March to the Covid crisis, explores the discrete episodes such as the liquidity crisis in the Spring and the evidence of companies borrowing to accumulate cash and the equity price boom that has followed the huge injections of liquidity into the international financial system. It offers an impression of where policy makers are and the limits that central banks confront in a low interest rate environment where monetary policy has no more space left and is not effective.

A labour market that works
Warwick Lightfoot and Jan ZeberThe Government should give anyone without a job who wants to start a new business £100 a week for a year, says a new report from Policy Exchange – published a day after unemployment surged to the highest level in over three years.
A labour market that works argues for a new 2020 Enterprise Allowance, based on a successful scheme launched in the 1980s.
It is backed by Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Rt Hon Lord Young of Graffham, architect of the original idea during the unemployment crisis of the 1980s, who warns: “it is highly probable that we shall shortly face the highest increase in unemployment ever known.”

Why the Government should spend more on capital
Dr Graham Gudgin, Warwick Lightfoot, Gerard Lyons and Jan ZeberThis paper argues that the Government should spend more on capital investment. The case was already strong before the Covid-19 crisis and has been strengthened since, as its financing has become more affordable. The paper highlights the importance of taking advantage of the present macro-economic environment afforded by low borrowing costs to provide stable – and sizeable – funding for new infrastructure through an increase in capital spending by the public sector. Additional capital spending, in excess of the fiscal rules, would be sustainable and affordable
Latest Economics & Social Policy Blogs

Putting consumer welfare at the heart of competition policy and market regulation
Related Content The UK competition authorities, having for years been behind the curve in taking competition and consumer welfare issues with the seriousness that they deserve, are now upping their game significantly. The CMA is demonstrating much greater vim and...

Effective competition policies – a key to prosperity
Historically, the UK has not had as effective competition policies as other countries – but that can change.

20 years of the euro
Twenty years after the creation of the euro, a powerful cocktail of forces have made the southern economies of Europe permanently uncompetitive compared to the northern economies and the wider international economy. Yet the currency may limp on for years yet
Latest Economics & Social Policy News

International Trade Secretary visits Policy Exchange for a keynote speech
Policy ExchangeRt Hon Liam Fox MP, Secretary of State for International Trade, visited Policy Exchange to deliver a keynote speech on free trade and the UK’s place in the world after its departure from the EU.

Mark Carney on “Capitalism in America”
Policy ExchangeBank of England Governor Mark Carney spoke at a Policy Exchange event with Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Adrian Wooldridge, The Economist’s Bagehot columnist, to launch their new book, Capitalism in America.

Warwick Lightfoot gives evidence on Intergenerational Fairness
Warwick LightfootWarwick Lightfoot, Policy Exchange’s Head of Economics, gave evidence to the House of Lords Committee on Intergenerational Fairness, answering questions on the balance of taxation between generations among other issues.
Latest Economics & Social Policy Events
Upcoming Events
- Monday, 30 April, 2018
12:00 - 13:30
The first launch of Sir Paul Tucker’s new book Unelected Power: The Quest for Legitimacy in Central Banking and the Regulatory State. Sir Paul introduced the book, and followed this with a panel discussion and Q&A.
- Friday, 6 April, 2018
8:45 - 10:00
Policy Exchange welcomed Siv Jensen, Norwegian Finance Minister and leader of the Progress Party, who said that British and Norwegian views on the single market in financial services have often been aligned and reflected on the challenges for monetary policy, including the lowering of inflation targets and an increase in interest rates to ensure credit risk is appropriately priced. Singling out the housing market, she argued that home ownership is cherished by people in both Norway and Britain – and that a balanced approach to regulation is required to avoid asset booms (and busts).
Venue: Policy Exchange
Address:
- Wednesday, 14 February, 2018
10:30 - 11:30
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, set out his vision for a liberal Brexit in a speech given at Policy Exchange.
- Tuesday, 30 January, 2018
8:00 - 9:00
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Rt Hon Liz Truss MP, made the case for the free market in an event at Policy Exchange. Truss said that free enterprise has huge economic benefits, driving down prices and creating growth and jobs, and is intensely democratic and open, breaking down monopolies, hierarchies and outdated practices.
- Thursday, 7 December, 2017
12:00 - 13:45
How can the UK ensure that it is competitive post Brexit? Dominic Raab MP joined an expert panel to offer answers to this question which will have a significant impact upon the wealth of the country following Brexit. This event marked the launch of Everyone has a part to play: Improving the UK’s competitiveness post-Brexit by enhancing the rule of law, a new report from Linklaters on this once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinforce the rule of law and hence the UK’s economic competitiveness and prosperity.
- Tuesday, 20 June, 2017
12:15 - 13:30
Policy Exchange was delighted to host a talk by Peter Cove on his strategy for ending poverty in the USA
Venue: Policy Exchange
Address: