ASI Fellow is quoted in The Telegraph on Bitcoin's recent decrease in value and volume

Adam Smith Institute Fellow Preston Byrne was quoted in The Telegraph, discussing the historically high price of Bitcoin and its recent decrease in value and volume.

Preston Byrne, a fellow of the Adam Smith Institute and a commercial lawyer specialising in securitisation and cryptocurrency in the City of London, says that speculative investment in the currency has pushed up its price...

...Mr Byrne suggests that while lower than a year ago, historically elevated prices and equivalently high fees have been enough to put off many new buyers. As such, daily transaction volumes have slumped, falling to levels typical for 2012 - when Bitcoin was relatively unknown.

Read the full article here.

New 'Incentive to Invest?' report is featured in The Times Educational Supplement

The Adam Smith Institute's new education report "Incentive to Invest: how education affects economic growth" was featured in The Times Educational Supplement journal.

Increase private education to boost GDP, study says:

Sending more children to private schools would add billions to the British economy, according to research released this week. GDP per capita int he UK could have been more than 5,000 higher in 2007 if access to private education had been opened up using taxpayer-funded vouchers, the report claims. This is because greater competition between private schools promotes better quality education, thus improving the economy, it argues. In the UK, 7 per cent of students attend private schools. But the study by right-wing think thank the Adam Smith Institute claims that if between 1960 and 2007 the attendance level had matched that of the Netherlands, where two-thirds of students are independently educated, the UK's annual growth rate would have been nearly 1 percentage point higher.

The report, “Incentive to Invest: How education affects economic growth”, reveals that Britain could add billions of pounds to its long-term economic growth by increasing access to private education.

Read the report here.

ASI's Head of Digital Policy is quoted in City AM, defending Uber from allegations of tax avoidance

The Adam Smith Institute's Head of Digital Policy, Charlotte Bowyer, was quoted in City AM, defending the Uber app from a Labour MP's accusation of tax avoidance.

The Adam Smith Institute's head of digital policy, Charlotte Bowyer, said:

'The anti-Uber establishment's previous attempts to quash the company have all failed, so their new tactic is to play the tax card. This is a sign of an increasingly desperate industry. Allegations of tax avoidance sound serious but are unlikely to stick: it is not unheard of - or illegal - for companies operating in the UK to pay tax elsewhere.

'Hodge falsely claims that Uber has negatively impacted the taxi and private drivers of London. In fact, Uber's innovative service has created a new segment of both casual taxi users and part-time drivers, growing the private transportation market and creating new opportunities for the drivers of London.'

Read the article here.

Kate Andrews debates the use of 'sobriety tags' to monitor offenders on Sky News

The ASI's Communications Manager, Kate Andrews, debates the Deputy Political Director of the Centre for Social Justice on Sky News over the legitimacy of tagging offenders with electronic alcohol monitors. She argues that the Mayor of London's plan to pilot this form of policing in four major London boroughs is an infringement on minor offender's civil liberties and sets a dangerous precedent that could allow the government to police consumption in a free society.

ASI Research Director discusses "Incentive to Invest?" report on Voice of Russia

The Adam Smith Institute's Research Director, Sam Bowman, discusses the ASI's new report "Incentive to Invest: How education affects economic growth" on Voice of Russia. He argues that widening access to independent schooling increases the quality of education children receive. Listen to the interview here.

Sam Bowman discusses the proposed regulations on bankers' bonuses on LBC

Sam Bowman, Research Director at the ASI, argues against the proposed regulation to claw-back bankers' bonuses and calls for a distinction between ignorance and fraud. Listen to the debate here.

Ben Southwood debates proposed regulations on bankers' bonuses on BBC World Service

Ben Southwood, Head of Policy at the Adam Smith Institute, debates the Deputy Director of the High Pay Centre over the proposed regulation to claw-back bankers' bonuses. Listen to the debate here.

ASI Fellow argues against the 'bankers' oath' in the City AM debate

Adam Smith Institute Fellow Mikko Arevuo takes part in the City AM debate, arguing against the notion that making bankers take an oath is the best way to restore trust in the financial system.

The idea that we can restore consumer trust and confidence, or prevent the next crisis, by requiring bankers to swear an oath is excessively naive.

Such a pledge trivialises the ethical issues that banks and their employees face in the real world. It gives a false sense of confidence that implies that expressing a few lines of moral platitudes will equip bankers to resist the temptations of short-term gain that can exist in financial services.

Moreover, changing organisational culture is a long and ambiguous process.

Bankers operate within tight regulatory frameworks; the quickest way to drive behavioural change is through regulatory interventions.

Alternatively, banks should change compensation policies to focus on sustainable shareholder value creation rather than short-term gain, as well as enforce bonus claw-back clauses to limit reckless risk taking.

Read both sides of the debate here.

ASI Research Director writes for The Spectator Coffee House: The state should send many more poor children to private schools

Research Director of the Adam Smith Institute, Sam Bowman, wrote a comment piece for The Spectator detailing the links between education quality and long-term economic growth found in the ASI's new report "Incentive to Invest: How education affects economic growth".

Better capital makes us richer. That’s uncontroversial when it comes to fixed capital like machine tools and computers, but it’s also true of human capital. Better educated workers create more productive jobs, increasing the total amount of wealth in an economy.

In a new Adam Smith Institute report released today, Incentive to Invest: How education affects economic growth, we found a very significant relationship between improvements in education and growth. In our model, a 10 per cent increase in TIMSS Advanced test scores generates a long-term 0.85 per cent increase in annual economic growth. We argue that getting more children into independent schools through vouchers may be the easiest way of improving outcomes, and thus growth.

Read the full article here.

The report, “Incentive to Invest: How education affects economic growth”, reveals that Britain could add billions of pounds to its long-term economic growth by increasing access to private education.

ASI “Incentive to Invest?” report featured in The Times

The Adam Smith Institute’s latest report – which finds education quality has a direct impact on long-term economic growth – was featured in The Times.

Sending more children to private school would add billions of pounds to Britain’s economy, a new report claims.

Increased competition between independent schools could have raised GDP by £5,800 per person, according to Incentive to invest: how education affects economic growth, a study from the Adam Smith Institute.

The report compared Britain, where about 7 per cent of children are privately educated, with the Netherlands, where the state pays for about two thirds of children to attend independent schools.

Read the article here.

The report, “Incentive to Invest: How education affects economic growth”, reveals that Britain could add billions of pounds to its long-term economic growth by increasing access to private education.