It’s good to pause at the end of the year and remind ourselves of some of the fractures the UK Referendum revealed, not least between young and old. There was a clear divide between older (55+) and younger voters. Some of the youngsters seemed to think we oldies should have been disenfranchised, because: “Once again … More Older, and wiser? The old, old story
Representatives on behalf of the London School of Economics recently interviewed Joseph Stiglitz, formerly Chief Economist at the World Bank, about his book, The Euro: And its Threat to Europe. The interview is published here: His conclusion is that “The cost of keeping the Eurozone together probably exceeds the cost of breaking it up”. Here … More Euro: zone in or zone out?
Perhaps it’s time we looked more closely at the reasons so many people support the EU, notably its benefits. We haven’t been able to find a convincing argument ourselves so we offer a few ideas from well-known sources. We begin with some praise for the most obvious achievements. The EU has, by its own lights: … More Benefits of the EU Project
We follow up our recent post, To veto or not to veto, with more discussion on democracy and the EU (see also Discontented Democrats). Meanwhile here is the definition of the term ‘democratic deficit’ from the EU’s own glossary: “‘Democratic deficit’ is a term used by people who argue that the EU institutions and their … More Democratic Deficit
Today it is exactly six months since the UK Referendum, in which a majority of those who voted chose that Britain should leave the EU. We celebrate this half-anniversary with a long post on an issue – democracy – that goes to the heart of what’s wrong with the EU today. The Electoral Reform Society … More Discontented Democrats
The EU, stung by criticism of its “democratic deficit”, tried to improve control over its unelected Commission. It hasn’t worked. Two academics, one German and one American, have published a review of legislative procedures in the EU. Their article can be found on a website of the London School of Economics: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2016/10/25/a-dearth-of-legislative-vetoes/ “Several reforms have … More To Veto or not to Veto?
A review, with quotations, of an analysis of the EU’s pet fundamental, by a legal expert. This blog: http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.my/2016/11/eu-free-movement-law-in-10-questions.html offers useful clarification on the contentious issue of freedom of movement of persons/labour (the two words are widely used indiscriminately but are obviously different. Treaties refer to ‘persons’ but in practice freedom is restricted mostly to workers … More Freedom of Movement (1)
Uncertainty still rules One thing we know for certain – the future is uncertain. Economic forecasts are certainly unreliable, as we’ve pointed out before (in Economics and Economic Forecasts are wrong), and any uncertainties in the data dramatically disturb the mathematical models used to predict the outcomes of decisions. Likewise, extraneous events in our uncertain … More Shorties-4
hard, soft or just right? Diane Abbott, Labour’s shadow Home Secretary, repeated a lie this week: “… the truth is you cannot have access to the Single Market without a measure of freedom of movement” (BBC, Andrew Marr Show, 11 Dec 2016). Let’s put that more generously, she is another who needs to mind her … More How would you like your Brexit:
The distribution of the benefits of globalisation is uneven, distorted. Those who favour globalisation are among the beneficiaries; they have paid too little attention to all those who have not benefited, and not just the losers. Finding ways to offset the damage to those who lose their jobs is important. Finding ways to spread the … More Globalisation: Ins and Outs
This EU Won't Work 