Past Learnings
Why competition? 250 years of learning and forgetting in Political Economy
The notion that promoting competition is a Good Thing has become a consistent theme in economic policymaking in recent
June 17, 2024
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Past Learnings
Fairness, the Ultimatum Game and Public Policy
The notion of ‘fairness’ is widely referenced in public policymaking and enforcement, but with no settled meaning. What we
June 17, 2024
Insights into Regulation
Immigration and the Ultimatum Game
Alongside the Prisoners Dilemma, study of the Ultimatum Game (UG) and its variants is a rich source of experimental
May 28, 2024
Insights into Regulation
Securonomics: slogan and substance
Slogans can provide politicians with useful ways of signalling policy objectives. The “tough on crime, and tough on the
April 30, 2024
Documents
UK Defence Policy – ‘seeing’ the whole terrain
The human brain has evolved over eons into a hemispheric structure, allowing a lateralisation of attention to our surroundings.
March 18, 2024
Documents
Lao Tzu’s advice and UK Post Office governance
The Tao Te Ching is an ancient classic of Chinese Daoism whose authorship is conventionally attributed to a certain
January 22, 2024
Books
Airport Enterprises: An Economic Analysis
‘Airport Enterprises: An Economic Analysis’ frames the airport firm as a business platform for a broad spectrum of commercial
November 7, 2023
Insights into Regulation
Plans versus Strategies: what can we learn from the Robin Redbreast?
‘No battle plan survives contact with the enemy’ was a sentiment expressed by Field Marshall von Moltke (the Elder),
October 15, 2023
Letters and Notes
The slow-moving disaster of English land use rules
Prof. John Muellbauer has recently shown that the regulatory wedge in the UK between house prices and the construction
September 4, 2023
Insights into Regulation
The merits of Merits Review
As set out in To ‘see’, or not to ‘see’: that is the question. Moving on from a half-brained
August 8, 2023
Essays in Regulation
To ‘see’, or not to ‘see’: that is the question. Moving on from a half-brained system of economic governance
Why do similar mistakes appear to be repeated over and over again in the conduct of economic policy? Why
July 6, 2023
Insights into Regulation
Regulating net migration flows: the wisdom of Econ101?
Net migration flows (about the regulation of which members of the RPI have been writing since 2017) are again
June 6, 2023
Insights into Regulation
Technology Tussles: The Trilemma Strikes Back!
We have written before about the need for effortful and holistic thinking in the context of global decarbonisation, and
May 10, 2023
Insights into Regulation
Policy myopia – open your eyes (plural) and see
In a recent blog, the Insight Team highlighted the dangers of poorly constructed policies in terms of the increased
March 23, 2023
Insights into Regulation
The burdens (plural) of regulation
Policy debates about the burden of regulation have tended to focus on estimates of administrative costs imposed upon firms
March 14, 2023
Books
Airport Enterprises: An Economic Analysis
‘Airport Enterprises: An Economic Analysis’ frames the airport firm as a business platform for a broad spectrum of commercial activities, some of which enjoy the characteristics of two-sided markets