**
------------------------------------------------------------


** Sunday 17th May 2020 View this email in your browser ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------


** Welcome to the IEA's Weekend Newsletter!
------------------------------------------------------------
* TALKING POINT: Track and Trace
* Coronomics
* Live with Littlewood – Take Two
* The Path to Prosperity
* You're Invited

TALKING POINT: Track and Trace
By the IEA’s Head of Regulatory Affairs, Victoria Hewson

Centralised or decentralised? No, not a debate about reforming Whitehall, but a question about the optimal approach to contract tracing.

Digital contact tracing, using mobile phones to identify who people diagnosed with the coronavirus have been in contact with, has been held out as a potential game changer that could help government lift lockdown restrictions.

This week, I wrote on the IEA blog ([link removed]) about the UK’s effort, developed by NHSX (the technology joint venture between the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care) that has been under scrutiny from Parliamentary committees, civil liberties campaigners and lawyers.

[link removed]

I have previously ([link removed]) expressed concerns that in the early clamour for mass testing, important questions of the wider uses of testing data were being neglected. Would test results be used to allow people who have had the virus to move freely on public transport and in workplaces, for example? When combined with an app operated by government, which the entire population will be urged to download, these questions have become more pressing.

NHSX has been criticised for using a centralised approach, where it will collect the contacts of people with symptoms, rather than a decentralised system that is less invasive of privacy because contact data is only ever stored on each individual’s device.

We had Jim Killock from the Open Rights Group ([link removed]) on the IEA podcast ([link removed]) to discuss the difference between these models, whether either of them can actually work, and whether mass surveillance is a proportionate response to the public health need.

Hosted by IEA Head of Communications Emma Revell, the podcast also covered the somewhat conflicted role of privacy watchdog the Information Commissioner, as she both advises NHSX on its app and is responsible for enforcing its compliance with data protection law.

[link removed]

Over on IEA YouTube, I also joined Allie Renison (Head of EU & Trade Policy at the Institute of Directors), Christian May (Editor of City AM) and the IEA's Emily Carver for a discussion on the government's Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Watch here ([link removed]) .

Coronomics

On Friday, IEA Senior Academic Fellow Professor Philip Booth gave evidence in a Treasury Select Committee hearing.

He said that the economic risks of the lockdown multiply the longer that it lasts, and that the question of policy uncertainty makes it difficult for businesses to plan, as they are running through their capital and facing bankruptcy.

And in a new briefing for the IEA, ([link removed]) the economist and author Paul Ormerod argued that economists have been conspicuous by their absence from the policy debate over the easing and ultimate ending of lockdown. Model Behaviour was covered in The Times ([link removed]) .

Economists have expertise in analysing how people alter their behaviour when either incentives change or the set of information which they have changes. They need to get involved right now in these key policy issues, Ormerod concludes, while the "seeming certainties proffered by some prominent epidemiologists need to be exposed". Read the briefing paper in full here ([link removed]) .

[link removed]

The IEA discussed Coronomics far and wide this week. Professor Len Shackleton, Editorial and Research Fellow at the IEA, addressed the impact of extending the furlough scheme in an op-ed for the Telegraph ([link removed]) , and he was quoted in the Mail Online ([link removed]) and The Sun ([link removed]) .

IEA Economics Fellow Julian Jessop wrote for, and was quoted in, theDaily Express ([link removed]) outlining why government must "step aside as soon as possible and allow markets to work". And our Head of Political Economy Dr Kristian Niemietz penned anop-ed for Reaction ([link removed]) on how entrepreneurial ingenuity and adaptability will get us out of this crisis.

Live with Littlewood – Take Two

On Thursday, the IEA held its second Live with Littlewood webinar. Catch up here ([link removed]) on our YouTube channel ([link removed]) , watch our two-minute preview here ([link removed]) , and tune in this Wednesday, 20th May at 6pm for the next edition.

[link removed]

Panellists included CapX Editor John Ashmore, CPS Director Robert Colvile, City AM's Comment and Features Editor Rachel Cunliffe, IEA Head of Education Dr Stephen Davies, Comedian and Writer Dominic Frisby, the Telegraph's Madeline Grant, ASI Head of Research Matthew Lesh and Toby Young, General Secretary of the Free Speech Union ([link removed]) (FSU).

Toby also joined Mark for a discussion on free speech. Is it in peril? What does the FSU hope to achieve? And why is unbridled free speech necessary? You can watch the conversation here ([link removed]) .

[link removed]

For more information on the Free Speech U ([link removed]) nion ([link removed]) and why it is needed, click here ([link removed]) .

The Path to Prosperity

On Wednesday, the IEA hosted a Book Club webinar, chaired by our Director General Mark Littlewood, with former MEP Dan Hannan and Daniel Lacalle, author of "Freedom or Equality: The Key to Prosperity through Social Capitalism".

Capitalism is quickly falling out of favour with the middle class in the Western World. The next decades will present numerous challenges – including the acceleration of technology and use of robots, an ageing population, the sustainability of education, or health care costs. “Freedom or Equality” addresses these while examining Social Capitalism—a "moderate option that can deliver superior growth and prosperity worldwide". Watch here ([link removed]) .

[link removed]

And today we posted our Book Club webinar, with Nick Timothy CBE and chaired by IEA Academic and Research Director Professor Syed Kamall, on our YouTube Channel ([link removed]) . Timothy discussed his latest book: “Remaking One Nation: The Future of Conservatism”.

Drawing on Timothy's experience as former Downing Street joint Chief of Staff, "Remaking One Nation" traces the crisis of Western democracy back to both the mistaken assumptions of philosophical liberalism and the rise of ideological ultra-liberalism on left, right and centre.

Sparing no sacred cows, Timothy proposes a new kind of conservatism that respects personal freedom but also demands solidarity. Catch up here ([link removed]) .

[link removed]


** Your one-stop shop
------------------------------------------------------------

"We're watching at least one IEA event each day and it's getting hard to choose from such a smorgasbord of delicacies from so many talented chefs"

Monday to Saturday, IEA Da ([link removed]) ily ([link removed]) 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.

"The IEA really is excelling itself at the moment. I haven't encountered a single other company or institution that has stepped up so comprehensively and ramped up its public footprint to such an extent"

[link removed]
If you haven't yet subscribed, click here ([link removed]) .


** You're Invited
------------------------------------------------------------

On Tuesday 19th May at 12.45pm, IEA Director General Mark Littlewood will discuss the future of the union with Andrew Bowie MP (Conservative) Angus MacNeil MP (SNP) and IEA Senior Academic Fellow Professor Philip Booth. Will Covid-19 lead to increasing fragmentation, strengthening voices for independence? Or could a federal Britain emerge? Register here ([link removed]) .

[link removed]

Later on Tuesday 19th May (6pm-7pm), the IEA is hosting a webinar with economist and author Vicky Pryce and The Spectator's Economics Correspondent Kate Andrews. Chaired by the IEA's Director of Communications Annabel Denham and drawing on the themes of Pryce's recent book, Women vs Capitalism, it will examine the compatibility of free markets and feminism. Sign up here ([link removed]) .

On Wednesday 20th May, from 1pm-2pm, the IEA will host Professor Mark Pennington for a webinar on the distinction that Hayek makes between "simple" and "complex" phenomena, and how this distinction can help us understand the challenge facing policymakers working to address the coronavirus pandemic. Register here ([link removed]) .

[link removed]

And on Thursday 21st May, from 5pm-6pm, three distinguished guests will be joining our Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon for what promises to be a fascinating webinar on Prohibition and the Pandemic. Dr Jeffrey Miron, Virginia Berridge and Dr H. Westley Clark will examine whether the pandemic has provided a vital cover and opportunity for nanny statists to push through their agenda. Are any of the new restrictions justified and are they likely to remain in place after the crisis has passed? Sign up here ([link removed]) .

And don’t forget to tune into our next Live with Littlewood webinar, Wednesday, 20th May, 6pm onwards.


** With a little help from our friends...
------------------------------------------------------------

These are difficult times for every individual and organisation, including the IEA. Understandably, your priorities will be to look after your loved ones, your family, your work or your business.

[link removed]

But if you do have a little extra cash available to help the IEA during these uncertain times, your contribution – no matter how small – would be deeply appreciated.

As an educational charity, the work we do work is entirely funded by donations. If you are able to help please click here ([link removed]) or contact [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?body=Dear%20Angela%2C) . Thank you.

And why not get Amazon to donate too? All you have to do is to start shopping on [link removed] and pick the IEA as your chosen charity. The IEA will then receive 0.5% of your spending on most items. Everything else remains the same (and at no additional cost to you).

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** LinkedIn ([link removed])

You are receiving this email from the Institute of Economic Affairs
** Unsubscribe ([link removed])
from this list.

© 2020 Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs 2 Lord North Street London, London SW1P 3LB United Kingdom

Registered in England 755502, Charity No. CC/235 351, Limited by Guarantee

** Forward ([link removed])
this email to a friend

This email was sent to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
why did I get this? ([link removed]) unsubscribe from this list ([link removed]) update subscription preferences ([link removed])
Institute of Economic Affairs . 2 Lord North Street . London, London SW1P 3LB . United Kingdom