The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is an educational charity and a UK-based free-market think tank promoting free thought.

The IEA is an educational charity and the UK’s original free market think tank, founded in 1955. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.

The IEA Future Thought Leaders’ Programme (Sixth Form) is a one-week summer programme with a focus on economics and public policy. Interns participate in a series of lectures delivered by experts, addressing pressing current issues such as globalisation, inequality, solutions to combat climate change, inflation, the housing crisis, political realignment, and the regulation of …

Join the community, stay up-to-date and support the UKʼs original free market think tank, founded in 1955. Click to read Insider, by Institute of Economic Affairs, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

The analysis and communication of ideas form the core of our work. We produce reports, books and papers on all areas of economic policy, as well as a termly journal, Economic Affairs.Our policy experts frequently contribute to newspapers, broadcast media and websites to further the dissemination of free-market thinking.

Jan 18, 2025 · In this episode, we explore Ed Davey's proposal for the UK to rejoin the EU customs union. Reem Ibrahim, Tom Clougherty, and Kristian Niemietz demonstrate why this approach would be a backward step even from a Remainer perspective, highlighting how it would give Britain "the worst of all worlds" while restricting its ability to pursue independent trade deals.

Apr 10, 2024 · The year is 2035. Wages have outpaced house prices and rents for an unprecedented 10th year following housing reforms. The liberalisation of planning policies since late 2024 has powered Britain’s biggest housing boom since the 1930s.

Win £1,000 for you and your school! Your chance to enter a team for a national competition that will help them to learn more about economics, develop their writing, research, and analytical skills, and give them a better understanding of the policy issues and challenges facing national decision ...

Jan 17, 2025 · The Freeports strategy announced by the previous government attempted to address today’s challenges with yesterday’s recipes, lacked the necessary deregulatory framework and failed to address key issues such as the housing crisis. This paper proposes an alternative: a new generation of ‘Hong ...

Budget Challenge Winner: Lingfield College [Simreth Dhingra, Lyra Blagden, Zachary Gott]. Runners-up: Reading School [Ranjeev Singh, Achinthya Rajeev, Nathan Wilson, San Celik], RGS Guildford [James Davis, Georgie Paulson, Rhys Gregory], Brighton College [Leo Stuart, Saffron Enticknap, James Atkinson, Kiana Mireskandari]. Monetary Policy Essay Prize (Undergraduate)