Sam makes the case against prohibition

Research director Sam Bowman argued against drug prohibition Conservative Home.

Read the article here.

Charlotte explains why inheritance tax is bad in City A.M.

Digital policy editor Charlotte Bowyer made the case against inheritance tax in City A.M.

Read her argument here.

Eamonn quoted in City A.M.

ASI director Dr. Eamonn Butler was quoted in City A.M., blaming the rise in the use of food banks on the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.

Read the piece here.

ASI: still lots of slack in the labour market

Commenting on today's Labour Market release from the ONS, ASI Head of Macroeconomic Policy Ben Southwood said:

"Though the labour market looks strong, the Bank of England must not be complacent and it would be crazy to tighten policy now.

"Employment was up 193,000 on the quarter and 396,000 on the year, and the rate was up 0.3 percentage points; unemployment was down 125,000 on the quarter, 161,000 on the year, and the rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 7.2%.

"But the labour market is not yet what we'd call tight. Nominal wage growth is still running far too slow, suggesting the existence of substantial slack. Total earnings grew just 1.1% over the year to the last three months. By comparison earnings grew 4-5% for nearly every month of the 16-year great moderation.

"This, combined with well-below-target core inflation, suggests the Bank of England's policy is not too loose, and it would be premature to raise rates or roll back QE now."

For further comment email ben@adamsmith.org or phone 02072224995.

The Adam Smith Institute is an independent libertarian think tank based in London. It advocates liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.

Land Registry privatisation report from 2010

Nigel Hawkins' 2010 report on privatising the Land Registry feature in recent commentary on privatising the body. Story from Today's Conveyancer here, and the Guardian here.

Read the research here.

More coverage for our work on Scottish independence

Sam's work on Scottish monetary arrangements if they went independent was covered further: on ITV.com, the Scottish Evening Times, the International Business Times, pro-Independence blogs (also here, and here), Realradio Scotland. He also debated Mark Wallace over whether these should and would worry Scots and change the course of the referendum.

Read Dr. Eamonn Butler's blog post on the issue here. And Read Sam's blog post here.

Sam's comments on Scottish independence and sterling widely featured

ASI research director Sam Bowman's comment that Scotland could keep the pound without British consent was widely carried: in the Scottish Sun, twice in the Guardian, in at least 24 local papers, in The Herald, and on Opendemocracy.net.

Read his whole statement here.

Comment: An independent Scotland would be better off using the pound without permission

Commenting on the Chancellor George Osborne’s announcement today that is likely to rule out an English currency union with an independent Scotland, the Adam Smith Institute’s Research Director Sam Bowman said:

“An independent Scotland would not need England’s permission to continue using the pound sterling, and in fact would be better off using the pound without such permission.

“There is very little that an English government would actually be able to do to stop Scottish people from continuing to use the pound sterling if they wanted to.

“As the American economist George Selgin has pointed out, what the Prime Minister really means is that the Bank of England would not act as a guarantor for Scottish banks or the Scottish government. Lucky Scotland: the implied promise of a bailout from the European Central Bank is exactly what allowed Eurozone banks and governments to borrow cheaply and get themselves into a debt crisis.

“Scotland’s position would be closer to that of countries like Panama, Ecuador and El Salvador, which use the US Dollar without American “permission”, and, according to research by the Federal Reserve of Atlanta, consequentially have far more prudent and stable financial systems than if they were part of a formal currency union.

“An independent Scotland that used the pound as its base currency without the English government’s permission, with banks continuing to issue notes privately and private citizens free to choose any currency they wanted, would probably have a more stable financial system and economy than England itself.

“It’s up to Scots to decide whether they want independence, but the Chancellor’s announcement today should be seen as a feature, not a bug.”

For further comment email sam@adamsmith.org or phone 02072224995.

The Adam Smith Institute is an independent libertarian think tank based in London. It advocates liberal public policies to create a richer, freer world.

Madsen argues that technology will not destroy white collar jobs

ASI President Dr. Madsen Pirie made the case, in City A.M.'s debate section, that new technology will not destroy jobs permanently.

Read his argument here.

Sam Bowman debates Will Hutton on the minimum wage

Our Research Director Sam Bowman debates the minimum wage with political economist and author Will Hutton on the BBC World Service.

Starts at 7:06. This was also aired on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio.