IEA Podcast

This year, Saturday November 10th is Equal Pay Day - the day the Fawcett Society calculates that women, on average, essentially start working for free, because of the gender pay gap. 

But Office for National Statistics calculated just a few weeks back that the pay gap is the lowest it’s ever been on record. Yet Equal Pay Day hasn’t moved. It’s the same day as it was last year. 

A new IEA briefing, written by Associate Director Kate Andrews and Chief Economist Julian Jessop, argues that this is a result of calculating the gender pay gap in order to obtain a figure nearly 60% higher than the official data. 

Today, Kate Andrews has put together a podcast to provide ‘alternative listening’ for those who don’t want to engage in fear-mongering around women in the workplace. 

Kate brings together women from across the political spectrum, with diverse background and views, but who all agree on one thing – that’s that there’s a posisitve story to tell about women who work.

She asks them all: ‘What positive message do you want to send to women today’, and also asks them for a practical policy proposal to help tackle the issues that working women still face. 

If you like what you hear, subscribe to our iTunes channel, IEA Conversations. 

Download the IEA briefing, ‘The Gender Pay Gap: 2018 Briefing”, for free here.

“The era of austerity is finally coming to an end”, announced Philip Hammond in his Budget Day speech to the House of Commons yesterday. Well it certainly seemed like it, judging by the Chancellor’s policy announcements, which included a slew of new spending commitments – all with very little detail on how any of it was to be funded.

There were pledges of more than £20bn in additional annual funding for the NHS by 2023, an extra £779m for social care, £1bn for the armed forces and £675m for a ‘Future High Streets’ fund, to name but a few. But with UK debt still approaching 88%, the highest level since 1966, is it fair or just to turn on the spending taps and ask the next generation to carry the burden and eventually foot the bill.So, was this an almost-Halloween Budget full of taxation tricks and unfunded treats? Joining me to give their take on yesterday’s Budget, policy changes and spending commitments is Mark Littlewood, Director General at the IEA and Kate Andrews, Associate Director at the IEA.

If you like what you hear, subscribe to our iTunes channel.

This week on Live from Lord North Street, the IEA’s Digital Manager Darren Grimes sat down with the Director of FREER, Rebecca Lowe and the IEA's Editorial Manager Madeline Grant.Are millennials giving top marks to Marx - or could they be more libertarian than we think? Rebecca and Madeline put the stereotype of the millennial Marxist under the spotlight and examine where things might not be so clear cut. Finally, they look at ways free markets can craft a positive case for capitalism.

If you like what you hear, subscribe to our iTunes channel.

This week on Live from Lord North Street, the IEA’s Editorial Manager Madeline Grant sat down with the Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, Todd Lamb. The Lt Governor talks about his trip to London and why he’s so passionate to explore the future trading opportunities between the UK and his state of Oklahoma, as well as the US overall.Also joining the podcast are Steve Baker MP and the Director of the IEA's trade unit Shanker Singham.The three discuss the strength of the Special Relationship and how the United Kingdom can reap the benefits of Brexit through a free trade agreement, with the US being one of the biggest prizes.The Lt Governor made clear that there are many in the USA who are eager to get started on a trade deal.If you like what you hear, subscribe to our iTunes channel.

On our podcast this week, Digital Manager Darren Grimes discussed the relationship between capitalism and Christianity with our Senior Academic Fellow Philip Booth and Father Marcus Walker, Rector of St Bartholomew’s Church in London.

Following recent, seemingly anti-capitalist, interventions by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, they assessed the extent to which the Church of England can still be considered the “Conservative Party at Prayer”.

They also examined the treatment of markets, free exchange and private property in scripture.

Finally, they hypothesised that the decline of religion in our society has coincided with the growth of the State, and a growing sense that the government, not private institutions or families, should take responsibility for societal ills.

The IEA’s International Trade and Competition Unit has released a major new report, outlining an alternative plan for Brexit.

Today we're joined by the report’s authors, director of the trade unit Shanker Singham, and senior research analyst Radomir Tylecote.

The pair outline their proposals, which include recommendations in a range of different areas, from trade policy, our regulatory environment, the Irish border question and areas like defence.

They explain what is really at stake, arguing that - to our detriment – the UK has lost sight of the global prize that Brexit has to offer.

If you like what you hear, subscribe to our iTunes channel, IEA Conversations.

On our podcast this week, Digital Manager Darren Grimes discussed the relationship between capitalism and Christianity with our Senior Academic Fellow Philip Booth and Father Marcus Walker, Rector of St Bartholomew’s Church in London.

Following recent, seemingly anti-capitalist, interventions by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, they assessed the extent to which the Church of England can still be considered the “Conservative Party at Prayer”.

They also examined the treatment of markets, free exchange and private property in scripture.

Finally, they hypothesised that the decline of religion in our society has coincided with the growth of the State, and a growing sense that the government, not private institutions or families, should take responsibility for societal ills.

It was almost exactly 200 years ago that David Ricardo first outlined the principle of comparative advantage that helped lay the groundwork for repealing the corn laws here in Britain, and the free-trading consensus that later emerged.

But free trade is coming under attack around the world - since the Financial Crisis especially, tariffs and protectionism have become the ‘new normal’.

Joining us today is the IEA's Head of Research Dr Jamie Whyte, who reminds us of the basic arguments for free trade and takes a look at where and why free trade is coming under attack.

Finally, he examines why there are so many common misperceptions about free trade - with many people having a false sense that there must always be ‘winners and losers’ in all forms of exchange.

Today marks the launch of a major new IEA paper outlining an alternative plan for Brexit.

We’re joined by the report’s authors, Shanker Singham, Director of the IEA’s International Trade and Competition Unit, and Senior Research Analyst Dr Radomir Tylecote.

With the government’s Chequers proposals looking increasingly unworkable and coming under fire from the EU, Shanker and Radomir outline their proposals - which make recommendations on a range of different areas, from trade policy, our regulatory environment to the Northern Irish border and areas like defence.

Shanker and Radomir explain what is really at stake - arguing that, to our detriment, we have lost sight of the global prizes associated with Brexit.

The idea of the “Entrepreneurial State” or the “state as investor” has taken off in recent years - following the release of an influential book by the economist Mariana Mazzucato.

This view that state investment weighs very heavily in economic growth, now forms the basis of contemporary public policy. Our government’s Industrial Strategy effectively proposes that the state should play a key role in “rebalancing the economy”.

Joining us today, the IEA’s Head of Research Dr Jamie Whyte and James Price, Campaign Manager at the Taxpayers’ Alliance put this totemic idea under the spotlight. They weigh up how much growth can actually be attributed to state-led investment as is often claimed.

Interviewed by Editorial Manager Madeline Grant, they question a number of common assumptions about state-led investment and provision of services - and ask whether contemporary attempts to ‘rebalance the economy’ differ from the old-school industrial strategy of the 1970s - or are merely re-packaging the same bad ideas?