The out-of-the-blue move to a living wage in the UK exemplifies the ditching of methodical public policy processes for manipulative hype and spin, the ‘hyper-democracy’ that brings politics into disrepute.
Christian Hilber, London School of Economics and Political Science
George Osborne’s bid to boost home ownership in Britain might look like an effort to give young people a leg-up onto the housing ladder, but the evidence suggests they will be sorely disappointed.
John Van Reenen, London School of Economics and Political Science
What the chancellor didn’t mention is that UK GDP per person is 16% lower than we would have expected on pre-crisis trends and the major factor is lousy productivity growth.
Eunice Goes, Richmond American International University
As expected, chancellor George Osborne pulled a handful of small rabbits out of his hat as he announced his pre-electoral budget. Lowering the tax allowance, cutting taxes to middle-income earners together…
With only 50 days between the Budget and the general election, we may well see unprecedented political posturing from not just the opposition, but the coalition’s junior partner too.