Welcome to the IEA Weekend Newsletter!

• Pass the remote
• Cure worse than the disease?
• Going live
• Zeroing in
• We have a winner!

Pass the remote

Could Covid-19 fast-track current trends and lead to a home working revolution? After all, employers have long sought to economise on office space. And workers are now fast-adapting to conference calls, virtual coffees, and no commute. 



Pass the remote: Why home working isn’t for everyone is the latest briefing paper from the Institute of Economic Affairs. Written by Professor Len Shackleton, our Editorial and Research Fellow, it sets out why such assumptions might be premature. 

While 3 million people class themselves as “home workers”, the majority are self-employed and in fact work in multiple locations while using home as a base.

It’s unlikely that plumbers, hairdressers, or dog walkers will celebrate the benefits Coronavirus restrictions have handed some workers. On the contrary, their jobs are near-impossible under the current circumstances. 

Home workers who spend all day in front of a computer are a distinct – and privileged – minority. They are disproportionately more experienced, with almost three-quarters in high-skilled roles. They are more likely to be male, white, and homeowners.

There is little meaningful possibility of working from home – either now, or in the future – for the large numbers of young people and those from some ethnic groups disproportionately employed in industries like hospitality or retail.

Nor will home working lead to the productivity increases some expect. One study, cited in Len’s paper, found an increase in productivity and a reduction in sick days during a nine-month home working experiment. But many workers returned to the office after the trials, citing loneliness as a major factor.

Len wrote for the Daily Telegraph, while Emma Revell, Head of Communications, covered the report for City A.M. Both Len and Emma joined talkRADIO to discuss the findings with Julia Hartley-Brewer and Mike Graham.

Cure worse than the disease?

Though we stand united in our battle against Covid-19, there is also increasing concern in some quarters about the economic consequences of fighting the disease. 

Commentators such as Toby Young or Max Hastings have questioned whether the UK has overreacted to the coronavirus by locking down the economy. 

On the IEA blog this week, IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop asks whether the lockdown has been worth it. He argues that while we should keep measures under review, a traditional cost-benefit analysis is not the most appropriate way to judge a national emergency. 

Looking to the future, IEA Senior Academic Fellow Prof Philip Booth argued in an article for CapX that the government has made the right spending decisions - but that we must be honest that printing money, taxation, or borrowing are the only options for financing it.

Going live

On Wednesday, the IEA hosted its first private webinar since we closed our offices. Dr Steve Davies, Head of Education at the IEA and resident economic historian, gave a fascinating talk on previous global pandemics and the impact they have had on society and the global economy.

By examining past experiences, Steve argued, we can attempt to answer key questions such as how long might this last, how bad might it get, how quickly the economy might recover and what might be some of the lasting impacts.

You can catch-up on here and subscribe to our YouTube channel where you can access our extensive catalogue of video content, including films, lectures and economics explainers. 

Dr Steve Davies also appeared in a two-part podcast series on the coronavirus, hosted by our Digital Manager Darren Grimes. You can listen here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Podbean.

You're invited

Our next private webinar will be with IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics, Christopher Snowdon, on 9th April at 5pm on the topic, “What’s the future of public health post-Covid 19?

Chris has long called for the World Health Organisation, Public Health England and other health agencies to focus on genuine public health issues rather than lifestyle regulation.

Has the pandemic proven PHE to be out-of-touch and ineffective? What should the role of health agencies be? What’s the future of public health in the UK? 



After Chris’ opening remarks, IEA Director General Mark Littlewood will chair the Q&A session.

This webinar is an invitation-only, private event, but if you would like to apply for a place, please email  [email protected].

Your one stop shop

Webinars, podcasts and vidcasts are just part of our new and enhanced online offering.

In case you missed it, we've also introduced iea DAILY, a sister publication to this Sunday newsletter.  Monday to Saturday, iea DAILY brings you the key stories of the day - plus the latest on all our online activities and recommendations on must-reads, must-listens and more.

We have a winner!

In other news, the IEA announced the results of our 2020 Budget Challenge this week. This is an annual competition, where we ask teams of up to four pupils from schools across the country to put together a budget for the coming financial year.

Out of an extremely impressive line-up of teams, pupils from Brighton College came up trumps, taking home the win and a £1000 cash prize for their outstanding presentation.

The runners up were teams from Withington Girls’ School, Queen Elizabeth’s Schools Barnet, and Fortismere School, whose presentations were all very impressive and showed an excellent understanding of economics.

Christiana Stewart-Lockhart, IEA Director of Education, Outreach and Programmes, said:

“This year the teams selected for the final all had to record their presentations remotely. This was quite a challenge but they all did very well and there were several presentations that were outstanding by any measure.

“We give our congratulations to Brighton and the three runners up and to all of the teams who made it to this stage in the face of very tough competition”

Congratulations to all schools who - prior to the lockdown - were invited to the final at the IEA, including Bedford Modern School, Colchester Royal Grammar, The King’s School (Worcester), Merchant Taylors, Reepham College, and Sutton Grammar School. 

With a little help from our friends...

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