annual review 2011
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Dr Madsen Pirie, PresidentDr Eamonn Butler, DirectorTom Clougherty, Executive Director
01The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
From the Directors
2011 will surely be remembered as an eventful year. From
the Arab Spring and the war in Libya, to the Japanese
earthquake, the London riots and – yes – the Royal
Wedding, the newspapers had no shortage of things to
write about. And then there was the seemingly perpetual
economic crisis, which naturally loomed large over the
Adam Smith Institute’s work in 2011.
But while many commentators and policy analysts lost
their way in the face of a never-ending stream of bad
news, the Adam Smith Institute spoke with clarity and
force not just about the real causes of the crisis, but also
about the rational ways of escaping it. Our principled
approach, deeply rooted in liberty, free markets and limited
government, made us stand out from the crowd; our track
record opposing bailouts, exposing the unsustainability of
the welfare state, and revealing the futility of government
stimulus, lent our words striking credibility.
Sadly, the West’s economic woes look set to continue
throughout 2012 – a fact that is unlikely to bring a smile to
anyone’s face. But this crisis remains an opportunity, as well
as a threat. Now more than ever, it is vital that we come up
with radical but realistic visions for change – in monetary
policy and financial regulation, in education, health, and
welfare, and of course, in fiscal policy. In all these areas,
we must roll back the frontiers of the state and unleash the
incredible dynamism of the free market. Coming up with the
ideas that make this possible – we call it policy engineering
– is what the Adam Smith Institute is all about.
This Annual Review pulls together the highlights of our work
in 2011, but a few things deserve special mention. As you’ll
read on p.16, Sam Bowman launched City AM’s comment
section The Forum with a full page article calling for ‘a new
capitalist revolution’ – relegating shadow chancellor Ed Balls
to the second page. Professor Kevin Dowd’s lecture (p.12)
on ‘The Decapitalization of the West’ was an intellectual
tour de force, as was education expert James Croft’s
groundbreaking report on profit-making schools (p.8). And
Freedom Week, our weeklong seminar for Britain’s brightest
young libertarians, was bigger and better than ever before
(p.14).
There are few organizations in the world as intellectually
vibrant, as forward-looking, and as media-savvy as the
Adam Smith Institute. Thanks to our talented staff, our
exceptional network, and the generosity of our donors, 2011
was a very good year. With your support, we hope that 2012
can be even better.
02 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
EconomicsEconomics dominated the news headlines and the public debate in 2011. The British government started to implement its fiscal consolidation plan. Inflation continued to rise steadily. Recovery from recession faltered, and the eurozone teetered on the edge of collapse.
Throughout the year, the Adam Smith Institute was busy
providing a strong and distinctive defence of economic
freedom, fighting back against those who argued growth
could be centrally planned, who said that we could tax our
way back to prosperity, or who suggested we could borrow
our way out of debt. The Institute also gave voice to a
positive agenda for economic reform, revolving around lower
taxes, deregulation, and financial and monetary reform.
Keynes Vs. HayekOne of the key themes of the 2011 agenda was captured
by July’s Radio 4 debate at the London School of
Economics: Keynes Vs. Hayek. Did free markets get us into
this mess, and do we need government intervention to get
us out, as John Maynard Keynes might have suggested? Or
was it government’s fiscal profligacy, monetary ineptitude,
and misguided financial regulation that got us into trouble
in the first place? In numerous articles, media appearances
and public speaking engagements in 2011, Adam Smith
Institute experts took the latter, Hayekian position.
When it came to public spending, Institute spokesmen
repeatedly made clear that there was no alternative to
spending cuts. Indeed, they frequently argued that the
coalition government’s plans did not go nearly far enough,
that they were only unwinding a very small part of the
extraordinary rise in spending that took place under the
previous government, and that there was ample scope
to be far more radical. They consistently debunked the
‘stimulus’ myth while arguing instead for a thoroughgoing
overhaul of the government and the public sector.
The ongoing crisis in the eurozone provided an alarming
example of what happens when governments fail to bring
debt and deficits under control. In 2011, the Institute’s
policy staff discussed the eurozone in a wide range of
forums, always stressing the severity of the crisis and
highlighting its roots in government incompetence. They
were quick to point out that bailouts and fiscal integration
would not solve the problem, and that hasty and ill-
considered bank recapitalisation risked making matters
worse. Instead, they made the case for fiscal responsibility
and policies to boost economic growth.
An agenda for growthOne of the biggest political disappointments of 2011 was
that the coalition government’s long-awaited growth strategy
turned out to be a damp squib. There were no moves to
03The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
OPPOSITE: Clockwise: front page coverage of our renewables report in the Daily Telegraph; Eamonn writes on boosting businesses in the Sunday Post; the Daily Telegraph
cover our work on the minimum wage; Tom writes in the Sunday Times on the need for deregulation; Detlev Schlichter talks to the ASI about his book ‘Paper Money Collapse’.
address Britain’s utterly uncompetitive personal taxes. Nor was
there any significant progress in cutting red tape and freeing
up entrepreneurs. Instead, we saw the government involving
themselves in the allocation of credit, picking industrial
winners, and making dubious claims about the economic
benefits of expensive infrastructure projects. A series of Adam
Smith Institute projects addressed these issues.
On tax, the Institute released Peter Young and Miles Saltiel’s
The Revenue and Growth Effects of Britain’s High Personal
Taxes in March, ahead of the Chancellor’s budget. It argued
that high personal taxes were hitting growth and would end up
hitting government revenue too. It made the case for scrapping
the 50p tax rate and non-dom tax immediately, reducing the
higher rate of income tax from 40 to 35 percent, and cutting
capital gains tax to 18 percent. The report was backed up
by a concerted publicity campaign, and several members
of parliament were seen carrying copies into the House of
Commons on budget day. Little wonder that the Chancellor felt
compelled to reassure the House that the 50p rate would not
be a permanent feature of the British tax system, even if he
did not feel able to take up the report’s specific proposals.
Renewable Energy – Vision or Mirage? took aim at the
government’s energy policy, exposing it is an uneconomic
exercise in picking winners. The report argued that far
from promoting ‘green growth’ and spurring an economic
recovery, the government’s subsidy-intensive approach
to the energy sector would actually result in an insecure
and costly supply of energy, which would damage Britain’s
04 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
economic competitiveness. High Speed Fail assessed the
case for a new high speed railway line and found it wanting
in almost every respect. Crucially, analyst Nigel Hawkins
said HS2 would prove enormously expensive and deliver
few economic benefits.
On regulation, the Adam Smith Institute’s Eamonn Butler
and Tim Ambler assembled a panel of five ex-regulators to
write Reflections on Regulation: Experience and the Future.
In his introduction, Butler argued that the regulators should
return to their original purpose: to ensure that markets were
free and competitive, and then get out of the way. Tom
Clougherty made that same argument in a Sunday Times
column based on the report.
So much for the CityAnother perilously anti-growth proposal that received a lot
of attention in 2011 was the Financial Transaction Tax, also
known as the Robin Hood Tax or Tobin Tax, which would
levy a proportional tax on all equity, bond and derivative
trades. Exposing the flaws in this idea – which was heavily
promoted by the European Union and numerous left-wing
pressure groups – became one of the Adam Smith Institute’s
main campaigns. Two reports laid out our position: The
Tobin Tax – Reason or Treason? and Hanging London out
to dry – The impact of an EU Financial Transaction Tax.
Author Adam Baldwin showed how a similar tax had failed
miserably in Sweden, pointed out that it could severely
impact one of the UK’s most important industries, and
argued that rather than making markets less volatile, the
tax would actually make matters worse. The Adam Smith
Institute said the tax would be “economic suicide”. Shortly
afterwards, the Chancellor echoed that sentiment.
But it wasn’t just taxes threatening the financial sector in
2011. Regulation also loomed large on the horizon, not least
in the form of the Independent Commision on Banking, which
delivered its interim and final reports during the course of
ABOVE: Front covers of The Law of Opposites, The Case for NGDP Targeting and High Speed Fail. Coverage of Tax Freedom Day on the front page of the Daily Mail.
05The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
the year. As far as the Adam Smith Institute was concerned,
the Commission’s recommendations represented a missed
opportunity. They failed to address the key problem with our
modern banking system – namely that governments subsidize
bank risk-taking through implicit and explicit guarantees of
bank liabilities. Nor did they get to grips with the systemic
risk inherent in the deficiencies – current and expected – of
international capital regulation. In a series of briefing papers,
opinion pieces and public appearances, Institute spokesmen
highlighted these flaws and advocated their own, free market
approach: specfically, we must find ways of removing all
government support from the financial sector, and ensure that
failed banks can be resolved in an orderly fashion.
Another area that the Independent Commission on
Banking (perhaps understandably) did not tackle was
accounting rules. Yet as a groundbreaking Adam Smith
Institute study showed, this seemingly arcane policy area
has had a far more profound impact on our financial
sector than is commonly understood. In The Law of
Opposites banking insider Gordon Kerr exposed the way
in which international accounting rules have given the
impression of illusory profits on bank balance sheets,
inflating bonuses and creating perverse incentives for
banks to act recklessly. The report was launched at an
All Party Parliamentary Group meeting in the House of
Commons, and was covered by Bloomberg, the BBC, the
Guardian and the Daily Mail.
Money, money, moneyThe financial crisis exposed an important flaw in our
macroeconomic framework: inflation targeting failed
to deliver a stable monetary environment, and allowed
“Throughout the year, the Adam Smith Institute was busy providing a strong and distinctive defence of economic freedom”
ABOVE: Tom Clougherty and Dr Eamonn Butler on ConservativeHome and 50p coverage in City AM.
06 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
enormously damaging asset bubbles to build up. Yet
too few policymakers are thinking seriously about the
alternatives. In The Case for NGDP Targeting: Lessons
from the Great Recession noted American economist
Scott Sumner outlined his plan for reform. He argued that
a level-targeting regime for NGDP (or nominal income)
futures would prove far superior to inflation targeting,
and in the long run would make it possible to eliminate
policy discretion altogether, so that monetary policy was
conducted ‘automatically’ in accordance with a pre-
determined rule.
Several of the monetary experts who spoke at the Adam
Smith Institute in the course of 2011 took a different, and
perhaps even more radical view. In his lecture on ‘The
anachronism of state-controlled money’ George Selgin
argued that the state should not be in the monetary
business at all. Leading free banking advocate Kevin
Dowd took a similar position in his lecture on ‘The
Decapitalization of the West’, suggesting that central
banks could be replaced by currency boards offering
full convertibility into gold. Detlev Schlichter went even
further when talking about his book Paper Money
Collapse, and advocated a shift to a modern version of
the classical gold standard. Whatever happens in the
eurozone, the monetary debate looks set to gather pace
in 2012. The Adam Smith Institute will continue to be at
the forefront of it.
“The financial crisis exposed an important flaw in our macroeconomic framework: inflation targeting failed to deliver a stable monetary environment, and allowed enormously damaging asset bubbles to build up”
ABOVE: Front covers for our 50p tax report, Reflections on Regulation and Renewable Energy: Vision or Mirage?. Coverage of our 50p tax report on the Daily Telegraph and Douglas Carwell MP talking about the eurozone crisis and the outlook for 2012.
07The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
ABOVE: Coverage of our report on the Financial Transaction Tax and Sam’s article on the the need for a capitalist revolution in City AM
08 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
Education and HealthcareThe Adam Smith Institute has long been a leader in radical thinking about Britain’s public services, and has a proud history of producing hard-hitting research and innovative policy ideas to extend choice, competition and freedom in healthcare and education. This work continued in 2011.
Arguably the most important piece of research published
by the Adam Smith Institute in 2011 was Profit-Making
Free Schools by James Croft, which explored the untapped
potential of the for-profit independent schools sector.
Representing the first in-depth, empirical study of its kind
in the UK, the report comprehensively debunked the idea
that the profit motive compromises standards in education.
In fact, the opposite appeared to be true.
The report identified 489 mainstream for-profit schools,
serving more than 80,000 pupils. Perhaps contrary to
expectations, 83 percent of these schools were non-
selective. 80 percent were situated in urban or suburban
areas. Most strikingly of all, 41 percent operated on fee
levels less than, or on a par with, the national average per
pupil funding in the state-maintained sector. Yet even these
schools significantly outperformed the independent sector
as a whole.
The report didn’t just find that profit-making schools in the
UK were capable of providing low-cost, high-quality, non-
selective education; it also found that this was a growing
and increasingly competitive market, with huge potential
to increase capacity, and a strong incentive to do so. The
policy implications of these groundbreaking findings were
clear: far from being skeptical of profit-making schools,
government should embrace them and help more children
to escape the failing comprehensive model.
On the healthcare front, Miles Saltiel’s No need to flinch
laid bare the deficiences of the National Health Service,
analyzing World Health Organization data to show that
the NHS underperforms on both outcomes and value for
money when ranked against similar countries.
Chris Davies’ powerful reflection on four decades of NHS
care, Reforming the National Health Service, went further,
arguing that the NHS is fundamentally incapable of
serving its customers effectively. His radical blueprint for
reform would see the entire NHS estate privatized, with
taxpayer funding replaced by a national insurance fund
capitalized with the proceeds of that privatization, and
sustained by employer-employee contributions and user
co-payments.
Tom Clougherty’s popular think piece What a free market
in healthcare would look like went further still, imagining a
vibrant market completely free of government intervention
– and utterly unrecognisable from the healthcare sector as
it exists today.
09The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
ABOVE: Coverage of our profit-making schools report in the Guardian; the front covers of our reports on Reforming the NHS and Profit-making free schools; Tom writes in The Spectator on Lansley’s reforms; Allister Heath writes about our report in his editor’s letter in City AM.
10 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
Adam Smith in 2011Adam Smith (1723-1790) was the pioneer of modern economics. His great book, The Wealth of Nations (1776) explained the folly of governments trying to control and direct economic life, and the enormous gains that emerge from allowing people to trade freely with one another.
This is a lesson we must re-learn today. For when
individuals, and indeed countries, voluntarily engage in
commercial exchange, they do so because both sides
benefit. To maximise those benefits to humanity, we need
to encourage voluntary exchange, not restrict it.
Smith believed that a free, competitive economy was by
far the best way to help the working poor. He wanted
people to be able to use their own efforts and talents
to improve the lives of themselves and their families.
He deplored how important businesses – aided and
abetted by those with the political power – actually
promoted regulation as a way of keeping out
competition from such sources and preventing the rise
of outsiders.
Having lived through a major banking crisis in Scotland,
Smith did advocate banking regulation. But his concern
was only to promote honest dealing in the marketplace.
Provided that people traded openly and justly, and
competition was maintained, the most effective regulators
would be customers themselves. There is no need for
detailed technical rules beyond that.
Smith would also have regarded a government that spends
half the country’s GDP – and he was the inventor of that
concept – as the greatest tyranny. He saw taxes as another
way in which established interests manipulate the economy
in their favour and do down potential competitors. Taxes,
he thought, should be as low as possible; they should
encourage, not restrict trade; and they should be simple,
intelligible and convenient. So we can imagine what he
might have thought of a tax code that in Britain today
is now longer than The Wealth of Nations itself, and a
regulatory rulebook that is even longer.
When Smith’s ideas were put into practice by reformist
nineteenth-century governments, it produced the greatest
era of free trade, discovery and progress that the world has
ever known.
It is an approach we must rediscover – which is one reason
why the Adam Smith Institute published Eamonn Butler’s
The Condensed Wealth of Nations in mid-2011. Smith’s
original is written in a dense and archaic style which,
coupled with the book’s length and its many digressions,
makes it inaccessible for most modern readers.
11The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
The Condensed Wealth of Nations, by contrast, presents
Smith’s ideas in modern language, with just enough of
Smith’s examples and quotations to provide a sense of
colour, and with marginal notes to explain how today’s
economic concepts have developed from Smith’s early
ideas. It gives the same treatment to Smith’s other great
book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, and still manages to
come in at just 83 pages.
The following quote does not actually appear in The
Condensed Wealth of Nations, but it does capture the
flavour of Smith’s thinking, as well as the principles that
guide the Adam Smith Institute:
“Little else is requisite to carry a state to the highest degree
of opulence from the lowest barbarism but peace, easy
taxes, and a tolerable administration of justice: all the rest
being brought about by the natural course of things.”
ABOVE: Dr Eamonn Butler with David Smith, Economics Editor of the Sunday Times and guest speaker for the launch of The Condensed Wealth of Nations; the front cover of The Condensed Wealth of Nations
“Smith believed that a free, competitive economy was by far the best way to help the working poor”
12 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
EventsThe Adam Smith Institute hosts some of the most popular events in Westminster. Our evening events bring together diverse audiences and influential academics and politicians to discuss policy and ideas. This year we have increased the number of seminars and lectures and started to film all our events to maximise the reach and impact of our events programme.
Seminars & LecturesIn January, Professor Steve Horwitz gave a lecture on ‘An
Austrian perspective on the great recession of 2008-2009’,
Dambisa Moyo, economist, spoke on ‘How the West
was lost’ and Dr Yaron Brook, president of the Ayn Rand
Institute explained ‘How to be a rational egoist’. During the
Spring we also held a debate on the Alternative Vote, while
Greg Clark MP, Mark Pennington and Tim Hellier talked on
‘The Future of Planning’ at an evening seminar.
The UK’s fragile economic situation was a focus for a
number of our lectures. Professor Kevin Dowd talked about
‘The Decapitalization of the West’ whilst Professor George
Selgin pointed the finger of blame at ‘The Anachronism of
State-Controlled Money’. Detlev Schlichter argued that all
paper money systems ultimately fail at his book launch,
hosted by the Adam Smith Institute, entitled ‘Paper Money
Collapse’. Dr Razeen Sally also delivered a fascinating
lecture on the shift of the world economy to emerging
markets and what this means for freedom. In December
we sponsored a discussion in parliament on how bad bank
regulation generates illusory profits to accompany our
report ‘The Law of Opposites’ by Gordon Kerr.
Chris Preble from The Cato Institute came to talk to the
Institute about “A libertarian perspective on foreign policy”
and in the Summer the Adam Smith Institute held a panel
discussion with the Free Society on “Education, freedom
and the State” with speeches by Toby Young, David Davis
MP, Terence Kealey and Tom Clougherty. Dr Tara Smith,
objectivist and professor of philosophy delivered a lecture
on ‘The Pursuit of Happiness – and the Tools Essential to
Attaining it”. On a less cheerful note, just before Christmas
we held a panel discussion on “2012: the end of the world
as we know it?” with Douglas Carswell MP, Jamie Whyte,
Alex Massie and Brendan O’Neill. Although the panel
tended to hold a rather pessimistic view on 2012 there
were some glimmers of hope to cheer the audience.
ABOVE: David Gauke MP, Freddie Cohen, John Redwood MP, Tom Clougherty and Allister Heath speaking at an Adam Smith Institute event at the Conservative Party Conference.
13The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
Patrons DinnersIn 2011 we continued the Institute’s tradition of holding
private dinners for our most significant donors and
supporters. Our guest speakers were Greg Hands MP,
the PPS to George Osborne, David Laws MP, Sir Roger
Douglas, the former Finance Minister of New Zealand, and
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, the former Scotland Secretary.
All of our dinners are off-the-record and present a unique
opportunity to hear the most eminent political figures talk
candidly about the state of the economy and current events.
Party ConferencesThis year we focused on the Conservative Party Conference
in Manchester. We held three fringe events, all of which
were a huge success and well-attended. On the first day we
held a panel discussion on ‘The Individual v the State: The
Battle for lifestyle freedom” where Philip Davies MP, Dan
Hamilton, Alex Massie and Chris Snowdon discussed sin
taxes and increasing interference of the State into people’s
personal consumption and lifestyle choices.
Our most popular fringe event focused on ‘Wealth Creation
and the Coalition: An Agenda for Growth’. David Gauke MP,
John Redwood MP, Allister Heath from City AM and Freddie
Cohen, Finance minister of Jersey, debated the best ways
to kickstart growth in the UK in a lively discussion. We
also held a panel discussion on ‘Economic Growth and the
Planning System’ with Bob Neill MP, Steve Baker MP, Tim
Smith from Berwin Leighton Paisner and Tom Clougherty.
Parties & book launchesFollowing tradition, the Adam Smith Institute held its annual
Bloggers’ Bash just before Easter, with Tim Montgomerie,
Harry Cole and Douglas Carswell speaking to a packed
room of bloggers and Tweeters. Our summer boat party
was also well attended with a mix of students, supporters
and MPs enjoying an evening cruise along the Thames
despite the rain! We held two book launches this year.
We launched ‘The Condensed Wealth of Nations’ with a
drinks reception at which David Smith, economics editor
of the Sunday Times, gave a short speech on the many
merits of Eamonn’s book. We also held a triple book launch
for JP’s ‘What the Immigrant Saw’, Madsen’s ‘The Emerald
Warriors’ and Eamonn’s primer on Milton Friedman. In
December we held our Christmas Party at the St Stephen’s
Club with John Redwood speaking. The room was packed
and buzzing with MPs, journalists, supporters and students
dropping by to celebrate the end of another successful year
for the Adam Smith Institute.
ABOVE: Guest speaker Peter Stringfellow with Eamonn Butler at one of our student events; John Redwood speaking at the Christmas Party; Elizabeth Truss MP speaking at our student conference; and Dr Razeen Sally delivering a lecture on the shift to emerging markets.
14 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
StudentsThe Adam Smith Institute sees student outreach and education as a core part of its activity, and it runs through everything the Institute does – from its online and social media presence, to its publications, seminars and lectures. Few think tanks attract such a youthful audience. But the Institute also runs a variety of dedicated student programmes, which went from strength to strength in 2011.
The Next GenerationThe Next Generation is the Adam Smith Institute’s group for
the under 30s, which meets most months in Westminster.
Guest speakers this year fell into two main camps. First, we
had the ‘next generation’ of political leaders, with new MPs
Sajid Javid and Elizabeth Truss making the case for a radical,
free-market government, and MEP Syed Kamal talking
about his battles for liberty in the EU. Then we had three
speakers adressing controversial libertarian topics: legendary
club-owner Peter Stringfellow gave us his take on personal
freedom; SpikedOnline’s Brendan O’Neill argued the London
riots were ‘a mob made by the welfare state’; and drug
policy expert Steve Rolles advocated legalization. The Next
Generation also hosted a debate ahead of May’s Alternative
Vote referendum, which pitted No2AV’s Dylan Sharpe against
the IEA’s Mark Littlewood.
Independent Seminar on the Open SocietyThe Adam Smith Institute’s long-running conferences for
sixth-form students continued in 2011, with nearly two
hundred schoolgoers hearing robust, free market talks on
topics like ‘political interest and consumer power’, ‘public
goods and the myth of market failure’, and ‘externalities
and the profit motive’ from leading libertarian thinkers.
This year’s ISOS debate saw philosopher-turned-journalist
and media commentator Jamie Whyte face the Institute of
Ideas’ Patrick Hayes on the motion, ‘This house believes
there are no such things as free markets’. In our post-
conference survey, 96 percent of respondents rated ISOS
as ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’.
The Liberty LecturesSeptember’s ‘Liberty Lectures’ conference was open
to more advanced students, and featured longer, more
in-depth talks and discussions – which were subsequently
made available on the Adam Smith Institute’s YouTube
channel. Tim Evans explored the proper role of
government, Jamie Whyte wondered how moral capitalism
was, Eamonn Butler explained how markets work, and
Andrew Lilico examined the real causes of the financial
crisis.
Freedom WeekFreedom Week, organized in partnership with the Institute
of Economic Affairs, was the jewel in the crown of the
Adam Smith Institute’s 2011 student programmes. 40
15The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
ABOVE: Students at our day-long ISOS conference; young people at a Next Generation meeting and students at the ESFL conference in Leuven.
students – more than ever before – came to Sidney Sussex
College, Cambridge, for an expenses-paid week of learning
about liberty and free markets. Topics covered included
the Austrian school of economics, public choice theory,
classical liberalism and social justice, and the history of
freedom. In addition to attending lectures and participating
in discussions, attendees had the opportunity to network
with fellow students, leading academics, and think tank
representatives – all in a relaxed atmosphere with nightly
social activities.
UK Liberty LeagueIn early 2011, three members of the Adam Smith Institute’s
Next Generation group independently set up the UK Liberty
League, an umbrella organization for classical liberal campus
groups across the UK. They already have more than 20
affliliated student societies and look set to continue growing
rapidly. In October, they held their first Liberty League Annual
Conference in London, with the Adam Smith Institute
as a sponsor. Head of Research Sam Bowman chaired
a panel discussion on ‘How the state harms the poor’,
while other sessions put the Chicago and Austrian schools
of economics head-to-head with one another, explored
whether Islam and libertarianism can be reconciled, and
asked ‘Where next for education?’ Freedom-fighting MP
Steve Baker gave the keynote address.
European Students for LibertyAnother great thing to come out of 2011 was the
establishment of European Students for Liberty, which
aims to help students acquire the skills, momentum,
and connections necessary to effectively advance liberty
across Europe. The Adam Smith Institute was one of the
main sponsors of its inaugural conference, which took
place in Leuven, Belgium, in November. The conference
attracted over 220 students from 25 different countries,
who enjoyed three days of lectures, workshops, and social
events. The conference was also broadcast live on the
internet.
“The Adam Smith Institute sees student outreach and education as a core part of its activity, and it runs through everything the Institute does”
16 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
Media OutreachMedia outreach is a central part of the Adam Smith Institute’s work. Our spokesmen regularly appear in print, and on broadcast and online outlets making the case for freer, more competitive markets and greater individual freedom.
CommentaryApart from promoting our latest publications,
representatives of the Institute have been commenting on
topics as diverse as tax simplification, the Eurozone crisis,
welfare reform, economic growth and education reform.
BroadcastWe regularly take part in interviews, debates and panel
discussions on a wide range of programmes both on
radio and TV. For example, in the last month (December
2011) ASI representatives have appeared on Sky News,
Bloomberg TV, Radio 4’s PM show, BBC News, BBC World
Service and a number of regional radio stations.
PrintTraditional print media is still one of our main sources of
media coverage, with our op-eds, report coverage and
comments featuring in national and regional newspapers
worldwide. The Institute has a number of strong writers,
which has ensured we produce a high number of comment
pieces in the papers. Our Head of Research, Sam Bowman,
was even given the privilege of writing the first op-ed piece
for City AM’s new forum section on the need for a new
capitalist revolution. In 2012 we will be seeking to set up even
more op-eds in order to maximise our impact in the media
and to better promote free markets and limited government.
OnlineThe Adam Smith Insititute blog remains the focus of our
online activity. However, we also write for a number of online
news sources and blogs to complement this. In particular,
we regularly write for ConservativeHome and the Spectator’s
Coffee House blog. Our reports and comments also often get
picked up by websites such as the Daily Mail Right Minds
blogs, Telegraph.co.uk and many specialist online media.
ABOVE: Eamonn on BBC News discussing public resentment of high taxes.
“Our spokesmen regularly appear in print, and on broadcast and online outlets making the case for freer, more competitive markers and greater individual freedom”
17The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
ABOVE: Tom discusses the need to cut public spending on Al-Jazeera; Madsen calls for the 50p tax rate to be scrapped on Sky News; Sam talks about the public sector strikes
on Al-Jazeera; Tom addresses the relationship between the media and politics on CNBC; Adam Smith Institute author Gordon Kerr promotes ‘The Law of Opposites’ on Bloomberg.
18 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
New Media EngagementThe Adam Smith Institute is proud of its active following and engagement on online and social media platforms. Its blog is one of the most popular think tank destinations in the world, and it is one of the most well-followed think tanks on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
AdamSmith.orgThe new Adam Smith Institute website, launched at the
end of 2011, is the latest chapter in our proud history of
online engagement. As the first British think tank with a
website, and the first with a blog, the Adam Smith Institute
has always led the field in quality online content. Our new
website is stylish and easy to navigate, and will set us in
good stead for years to come.
The website also sees the launch of a new “Articles”
section, which will host thoughtful extended articles on
liberty and the modern world that will consolidate its place
as the go-to destination for liberal thought in Britain. Since
its launch, it has hosted articles on topics ranging from the
impact of profit on schooling to private security provision in
parts of Kenya.
The BlogThe ASI blog remains the focal point of most traffic to our
website, and is the most popular think tank blog in the UK
by some distance. A group blog with regular contributions
by ASI staff and external writers like Tim Worstall and
Christopher Snowdon, it gives the Adam Smith Institute
a platform on which to comment on the day’s news on
our own terms. With the launch of our new website, the
blog has been rechristened ‘The Pin Factory’ – taking
Adam Smith’s example of the power of specialization and
cooperation as the inspiration for our group efforts.
Traffic to the blog has risen by about 50% over 2011, from
an average of around 2,000 visitors per day in 2010 to an
average of around 3,000 visitors per day in 2011. We are
aiming to increase this even more in 2012 by introducing
new writers and developing the blog’s voice so that it
becomes the go-to place for irreverent, sharp comment
from a libertarian perspective.
Facebook and TwitterAs the largest social network in the world, Facebook is
central to our new media strategy. Our fan numbers on
Facebook grew from 2,700 to over 5,000 during 2011,
and our Twitter followers more than doubled from around
2,750 to over 7,000. These two platforms are critical to
our continued growth and success as an organization,
because they deliver a high-quality readership and allow
the potential for rapid dissemination of our articles.
Both Facebook and Twitter allow us to engage with our
supporters and critics constructively, so that we can
answer questions, share interesting links and help to foster
the growth of an online community of liberty-minded
people in the UK and overseas.
19The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
YoutubeWhile we have had a presence on Youtube for several
years, 2011 was the year when we fully began to embrace
this platform. We have begun to record all of our events
and upload them as soon as possible, giving our events a
much greater impact and allowing people from all around
the world to watch them.
For example, a popular lecture by economist Detlev
Schlichter had over 100 attendees; but this is dwarfed by
the 1,300 people in Britain, the US and Europe who have
watched it on Youtube.
The potential here is enormous: as our Youtube channel
grows in subscribers (driven by Facebook, Twitter and blog
followers), it will allow us to leverage our events to give our
message of liberty a truly global reach. The unified strategy
of social media outreach that the Adam Smith Institute has
had so much success with in 2011 will help 2012 to be our
best year yet for online presence, confirming the Adam Smith
Institute as the think tank with the best online presence of
any UK think tank, left or right.
ABOVE: The new AdamSmith.org, our YouTube video channel, and our Twitter feed.
“The new Adam Smith Institute website launched at the end of 2011”
20 The Adam Smith InstituteANNUAL REVIEW 2011
Supporting Adam Smith InstituteAs the accolades above suggest, the Adam Smith Institute
is one of the world’s leading think tanks. Its ideas don’t just
change minds; they also change the world.
We hope this Annual Review has given you a taste of what we
do. From our vital media commentary and our agenda-setting
research and events, to our unparalleled online outreach and
peerless student programmes, the Adam Smith Institute is
at the forefront of defending, and extending, freedom in the
United Kingdom.
It is essential work, and we enjoy every minute of it. But
nothing would be possible without the support and generosity
of our donors. We are an independent, non-partisan, non-
profit organization, and we do not accept any government
funding. So in order to make a difference, we need your help.
Now more than ever, it is vital that friends of liberty stand up
for the ideals they believe in, and empower organizations like
the Adam Smith Institute to take the fight to government, and
make the consistent, principled case for free markets and a
free society.
The one pledge we make to all our donors is this: we will make
your money work as hard for freedom as it possibly can. We
run a tight ship, and take pains to be as lean, efficient and
effective as possible. Many think tanks have much bigger
budgets, but few deliver as much ‘bang for the buck’ as the
Adam Smith Institute.
To find out more about supporting the Institute, go to
adamsmith.org/support-us, or get in touch with our
communications director, Sally Thompson (sally@adamsmith.
org). Donors receive hard copies of our research and books,
and get advance invitations to our events. Significant donors
regularly attend our much-loved Patrons’ Dinners, for off-the-
record discussions with leading political figures.
But most importantly, all of our donors get to be part of
a noble cause, a member of a movement that seeks to
bring freedom and prosperity to each and every individual.
Remember, our existence and our effectiveness depends
solely on the support of those who share our ideals. So please
consider showing your commitment to a free society by
making a donation to the Adam Smith Institute today.
Ranked
NO.8 THINK TANK OUTSIDE THE US
Ranked
NO.19 THINK TANK WORLD WIDE
Ranked
NO.1 IN EUROPE DOMESTIC ECONOMIC POLICY
Ranked
NO.6 THINK TANK IN WESTERN EUROPE
According to The Global ‘Go-To Think Tanks’, published by the University of Pennsylvania, Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, January 18, 2011.
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