| Geographic Mobility "
The ability to move house and commute is crucial to the well-being of an economy: it affects both productivity and unemployment. Net movements of people away from cities towards the countryside also have effects upon the environment: causing environmental pressure in areas of population growth and urban decay in the cities left behind. "Geographic Mobility" examines patterns and trends of mobility and considers the implications for public policy. By Nick Donovan, Tony Pilch and Tracy Rubenstein of the Strategy Unit. For a variety of presentations and papers on the same theme please visit the Strategic Futures website | By Strategic Futures, UK. | Macro Economic Policy Resource. |
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| Competition and Innovation "
Is pure competition or monopoly the best environment for fostering innovation? Actually, neither. The relationship between product market competition and innovation is an inverted U-shape: the "escape competition effect" dominates for low initial levels of competition, whereas the Schumpeterian effect dominates at higher levels of competition. "Competition and innovation: an inverted U relationship". By Phillippe Aghion, Nicholas Bloom, Richard Blundell, Rachel Griffith and Peter Howitt of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. | By Institute for Fiscal Studies , UK | Macro Economic Policy Resource. |
| Tobin Tax"
Andrew Simms, Steve Tibbett, Emily Willmott argue that a tax on currency transactions could both stabilise the world economy and provide resources to tackle the UN's development targets by 2015. "The Robin Hood Tax" is published by War on Want and the New Economics Foundation. In another useful paper Heikki Patomäki, hoping to allay fears that without almost utopian co-operation between nation states the tax will remain a pipe dream, lays out a two step programme for the introduction of the Tobin Tax. "The Tobin Tax: How to Make it Real. Towards a Socially Responsible and Democratic System of Global Governance" is published by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. | By New Economics Foundation , UK and Finland. | Macro Economic Policy Resource. |
| Automatic Uprating of the Minimum Wage "
Without uprating the minimum wage loses its value as a floor on wages. However, automatic uprating has been resisted, partly on the grounds that it will be inflationary. Sanjiv Sachdev argues for an automatic uprating mechanism - stating it will be better at maintaining standards of living for the low paid and that it will be easier for businesses to prepare for small regular increases. He points to the experience of the US where the level of the minimum wage is the subject of intense political bargaining. In contrast France's salarie minimum interprofessionnel de croissance has been very effective in maintaining the value of the minimum wage in relation to average earnings. Published by Catalyst. | By Catalyst. , UK . | Macro Economic Policy Resource. |
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