Home ownership in the UK comes in two varieties: freehold and leasehold. Freehold is undivided, unconditional, and permanent home ownership. Leasehold is a more limited form, which is not permanent and shared with the freeholder who retains residual property rights. While leasehold has its...

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Scotland had a stable financial system. Its stability arose from the pressure that private banks, which had the right to issue bank notes, placed on each other to behave prudently. Unlike in England, the Scottish banking system had no central...

Entrepreneurs play a pivotal role in boosting progress, productivity, and prosperity. They drive economic growth and create new opportunities. Their innovations transform people’s lives. Yet, their enormous contribution is not widely understood and is often overlooked in economics textbooks....

The five-year average tax burden in the UK is now at a 70-year high. The impact and opportunities of Brexit, coupled with the need to revitalise the economy in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, mean 2021 would be a good time for the government to embark on a tax-cutting programme. This paper...

The government has launched a review into British gambling law "to make sure it is fit for the digital age". A coalition of activists has proposed a range of anti-gambling measures, including an advertising ban, low stake limits, a monthly spending cap, slower gameplay, and a ban on VIP schemes,...

While not formally a regulator in the strict sense, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) exercises de facto regulatory powers in retail financial services, as its rules and determinations direct the behaviours of firms. While intended to be independent, the FOS has a close relationship with the...

Since March 2020, central banks in major economies have been monetising government deficits by purchasing a significant part of the new debt issued by the government. In the UK, this has resulted in the rate of growth of money broadly-defined (M4) reaching an extraordinary 14% in 2020. Advocates...

National debt figures need perspective. This can come from viewing them as a ratio to national income. That ratio has surged in the last twenty years. But despite many assertions, the debt-to-income ratios of the past few years are not unprecedented. When the ratio reached such peaks in the...

Public Sector Pensions Commission final reportIn its final report the Public Sector Pensions Commission finds that the true value of the main unfunded public sector pension schemes is over 40 per cent of salary. The report also finds that a lack of transparency over the true costs of public...

Government spending:The government’s Spending Review will be far from comprehensive. With the triple-lock for state pension increases and NHS, per-pupil funding for schools, international aid and the defence budget all protected, the overwhelming majority of government spending has been...