Going for Growth

Events

Recession or Recovery: What Policies are Best for Britain?

4th September 2012

The UK – and other economies – can go for growth, provided they take certain proven steps.

That’s the message from Dr Ludger Schuknecht, Director General, German Ministry of Finance, in Politeia’s recent lecture in the 2012 series, which took place on Tuesday, 4th September at 6.30 p.m.

Dr Schuknecht explained how clear and proven policies can lead to growth. He focused on the structural role of the state and the size and quality of government, outlining a three-pronged strategy for rapid reform which:

Focuses on the public finances and the reduction of public spending.
Liberalises the economy and strengthens the institutional framework including the law
Cuts dependency and tackles ‘rent-seeking’ – where people concentrate on playing the system rather than create new wealth

Dr Schuknecht illustrated his argument with examples from the recent crisis countries, including Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and lessons for advanced economies including the Eurozone, the UK and the US.

Ludger Schuknecht is Director General at the Ministry of Finance in Germany and was previously Senior Advisor at the European Central Bank.

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The Defenestration of Stephen Hester: What Now for the RBS?

writes David B. Smith

Friday 14th June: Stephen Hester may be leaving RBS: but the problems with which the Chancellor must grapple are of a different order. Large banks, be they public or private, avoid the discipline of competition. When it comes to the RBS, even a monolithic ‘good’ bank would be too large on normal competition grounds. RBS should therefore be brought to market as a series of small retail banks.

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Next Events

The UK and the EU: What principles should guide re-negotiation?
Martin Howe QC
25th June 2013, 6pm