| Adam Smith Institute | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Abbreviation | ASI |
| Formation | 1977 |
| Type | Public policy / Think tank |
| Headquarters | 23 Great Smith Street |
| Location | London, UK |
| President Director |
Madsen Pirie Eamonn Butler |
| Website | www.adamsmith.org |
The Adam Smith Institute is a think tank based in the United Kingdom, named after the father of modern economics, Adam Smith. It espouses free market and classical liberal views, in particular by creating radical policy options in the light of public choice theory, which politicians can then develop. Its president, Madsen Pirie, has said "We propose things which people regard as being on the edge of lunacy. The next thing you know, they're on the edge of policy".[1]
Contents |
History
Dr Madsen Pirie, and brothers Eamonn & Stuart Butler were students together at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. In 1973, they left Scotland to work with Edwin Feulner, who became co-founder of the free-market think tank the Heritage Foundation, in 1973. After their apprenticeship in the United States, Pirie and Eamonn Butler returned to Scotland in 1977 to found their own think tank, the Adam Smith Institute, set up with the help of Antony Fisher of the Institute of Economic Affairs. Stuart Butler is a conservative activist in Washington, D.C., remaining at the Heritage Foundation.
The ASI recruited Douglas Mason, another St Andrew's alumnus and member of the University's Conservative Association[2], who did his most influential work for the Institute. Mason became one of its regular authors[3] and, in 1982, led the ASI's Omega Project report, which argued in favour of the compulsory contracting-out of most local services such as refuse collection, the replacement of the welfare state by private insurance, and further privatisation of public sector services and industries, including aspects of the police force[4][5][6]. A proposal for the sale of the UK's social housing stock claimed that the "perpetual search for profitability" of private-sector owners would "[stimulate] them to discover and produce what the consumer wants" and that, in this way, the market was "more genuinely democratic than the public sector, involving the decisions of far more individuals and at much more frequent intervals"[7]. The report's proposed scrapping of the existing local-government tax in favour of a per-capita charge was later implemented by the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, whose government introduced the poll tax in Scotland in 1989, and in England and Wales in 1990.
Other policy recommendations for which Mason was responsible included the privatisation of the Royal Mail (The Last Post -1991); the privatisation of British libraries (Ex Libris - 1986); the privatisation of the Forestry Commission[8]; the complete removal of arts subsidies (Expounding The Arts - 1987); and the abolition of restrictions on drinking (Time To Call Time - 1986).
In 1992, the Institute founded a consulting company, Adam Smith International Ltd, which was "charged with overseeing the overseas work of the institute... [in] an attempt to capitalise on the growing international trend towards economic liberalization and marketization"[9]. While Eamonn Butler and Madsen Pirie were, as of 1998, members of the management board of both organisations[9], the management team of Adam Smith International and the Adam Smith Institute is now separate[10].
Influence
In January 2009 Foreign Policy and the University of Pennsylvania named the Adam Smith Institute among the top 10 think-tanks in the world outside of the US.[11] The Institute is highly influential in UK public policy, and was "a pioneer of privatisation"[12] in the UK and elsewhere. Early Institute papers proposed the outsourcing of local government services (1980), the fundamentals of the poll tax (1981-1985), and the deregulation and privatisation of transportation (1980). The privatisation of British Rail in 1997 was also based on a plan suggested by the Institute. Other influences include the UK's cutting of the highest rate of income tax from 83% to 40% in the late 1980s, and its liberalisation of alcohol licensing laws.
The Institute has released a series of Roadmap to Reform papers, calling for shifts in public policy in Health, Deregulation and Europe. In 2006, the Institute released a paper calling for a rethink of Britain's countryside policy.[13]
Public Sector Reform
Internal Markets – ASI proposed that the National Health Service establish an internal market with hospitals buying the use of facilities from other districts and from the private sector. Internal markets are now NHS policy.
ASI also recommended an internal market system for UK schools that would have state funds to follow students to independently run academic institutions. This approach to school funding is now Conservative policy.
National Government – ASI proposed that QUANGOs be reduced in number and subject to increased scrutiny. QUANGOs were subsequently cut by 20 percent and put under parliamentary review.[citation needed]
Local Government – Following the Institute’s call for the use of private businesses by local governments, many local services, such as waste collection and cleaning, were contracted out. Additionally, local governments are now required to solicit competitive bids for local services[citation needed]
Welfare – ASI called for a radical shake-up of welfare policy, which would make work requirements absolutely central to the benefits system. Many of ASI’s proposals subsequently became Tory policy, and some even found favour among Labour MPs.
Health – ASI lobbied for a change in VAT regulations to facilitate the outsourcing of ancillary hospital services. The government now requires a solicitation of bids from private contractors for cleaning and catering services. VAT regulations have been modified to put in-house work and outside tenders on an equal basis. It is estimated that these actions saves £100 million per annum.
Education – The Education Reform Act 1988 reflected many policy changes proposed by ASI including increasing representation of parents on state school governing boards, shifting control of state schools from the local authority to the board and head teachers, abolishing fixed school catchment areas.[citation needed]
Transport – Urban and local bus services have been deregulated and the National Bus Company has been privatized into more than 60 companies following ASI’s suggestion that the National Bus Company be broken up and urban and local bus services be opened to competition and choice.
Justice – In accordance with ASI’s proposals, the government resolved to experiment with privately contracted prisons and electronic tracking tags for low-security prisoners. Following petitions from ASI, the government amended the law so as to allow pubs to open in the afternoon.
Tax Reform
Tax Rates – As recommended by the Adam Smith Institute, the top tax rate was reduced from 60% to 40% in Margaret Thatcher's 1988 budget.
Personal Allowance – Prior to the Exchequer’s 2008 pre-budget report, ASI made a case for the personal income tax allowance to be raised to £12,000 (from the current £6,035 allowance) for all UK taxpayers. Such a policy would take 7 million people out of the tax system, and low-income earners would not pay at all. The ASI calculated that this reform would be equivalent to giving the average worker an extra £1,730 per year in gross pay, making them £100 per moth better off. The cost to the Exchequer would be £18.9 billion.
Flat Tax – A 2005 paper by the Institute proposed a flat-rate income tax of 22% for UK taxpayers, with the above-referenced tax-free personal allowance of £12,000. [14]. City AM editor Allister Heath said of this report, "rarely has a think-tank publication been this influential so quickly. Its arguments have been dissected by the UK Treasury, are well known among the Shadow Treasury Team, have had an influence on some parts of the Liberal Democrats and were even adopted by several minor political parties".[15] The ASI continues to campaign for a flat tax.
Tax Freedom Day
The Adam Smith Institute is a leading celebrant of Tax Freedom Day, the day in the year when the average person has earned enough to pay his or her annual tax bill.[16] ASI uses Tax Freedom Day to call attention to UK tax rates and fiscal policy.
The Next Generation
The Adam Smith Institute facilitates regular meetings of young people who have interests in free markets. These 16- to 30-year olds form a group called The Next Generation. MPs and prominent media figures are typical guest speakers at monthly meetings of The Next Generation.
Blog
The Adam Smith Institute blog[17] is the biggest think tank blog[clarification needed] in Europe.[citation needed] Some of the subjects of the posts include economics, politics, tax, civil liberties, regulation, health and education.
The website Libertarian Leanings listed the ASI blog on its list of the top 100 libertarian blogs and websites.[18]. The ASI blog was the sixth among blogs on the list and 16th overall.
Publications
Books
- The Rotten State of Britain, Eamonn Butler, 2009
- Freedom 101, Madsen Pirie, 2008
- The Best Book on the Market, Eamonn Butler, 2008
- Adam Smith - A Primer, Eamonn Butler, 2007
- The Future of the NHS, Eamonn Butler (ed. Dr. Michelle Tempest), 2006
- Simply No Mistake: How the Stakeholder Pension Must Work, Eamonn Butler, 1998
- City in the Mist, Douglas Mason, 1998
- Hayek: A Commemorative Album (ed. John Raybould), 1998
- Readings in Liberalism (ed. Detmar Doering), 1995
- The End of the Welfare State, Eamonn Butler & Madsen Pirie, 1994
- Shephard's Warning: Setting Schools Back on Course, Anthony Flew, 1994
- 20-20 Vision: Targets for Britain, Madsen Pirie, 1994
- Blueprint for a Revolution, Madsen Pirie, 1993
- Taming the Trade Unions, Eamonn Butler, 1991
- A country at ease with itself, Michael Forsyth, 1991
- Adam Smith's Legacy, Norman Barry et al., 1990
- Wayward Elite: A Critique of British Teacher-Education, Dennis O'Keeffe, 1990
- Micropolitics: Creation of a Successful Policy, Madsen Pirie, 1988
- Milton Friedman: A Guide to His Economic Thought, Eamonn Butler, 1985
- Hayek, Eamonn Butler, 1985
- Aid by Enterprise, Eamonn Butler & Madsen Pirie, 1984
- Economy and Local Government,Eamonn Butler & Madsen Pirie, 1981
Reports & Briefings
Topics:
- Economy
- Education
- Health
- Justice and Civil Liberties
- Welfare
- Regulation and Industry
- Transport
- Government
- Environment
- Media and Culture
See also
References
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1672317,00.html Adam Smith Institute's sense and nonsense. Alan Rusbridger, The Guardian, 22 Dec 1987
- ^ Douglas Mason, Local councillor known as the 'father of the poll tax', Eamonn Butler, The Independent, 14 December 2004
- ^ Douglas Mason, An engineer of the Thatcher revolution and 'father of the poll tax', Alex Singleton, The Guardian, 16 December 2004
- ^ Kavanagh, Dennis (1987). Thatcherism and British politics: the end of consensus?, Oxford University Press, p. 88)
- ^ Denham and Garnett (1998), p. 157
- ^ South, Nigel (1988). Policing for profit: the private security sector, London: Sage Publishing, p. 153)
- ^ Cited in Denham and Garnett (1998), p. 158
- ^ Butler (2004)
- ^ a b Denham and Garnett (1998), p. 153
- ^ http://www.adamsmithinternational.com/content/management-team-0
- ^ http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4598&page=2
- ^ The Influence of the Adam Smith Institute, Philip Morris, c 1994
- ^ BBC News: 'Woods and homes' green belt call, BBC News, 17 April 2006
- ^ A Flat Tax for the UK – a Practical Reality
- ^ Flat Tax - Towards a British Model Alistair Heath, 2006 p.104
- ^ http://www.adamsmith.org/tax-freedom-day/
- ^ Adam Smith Institute Blog
- ^ Link text, additional text.
External links
- This article uses content from the SourceWatch article on Adam Smith Institute under the terms of the GFDL.
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