Philippe Legrain

Does the flagging eurozone need a fiscal boost as well as a monetary one? The debate in policy circles is slowly shifting. I’m quoted right at the start of this excellent analysis piece by Mark John for Reuters. “There is a shift towards talking about stimulus but there is no dramatic leap forward,” said Philippe […]

I was interviewed by Atlantico.fr about the European Commission’s decision to grant the French government two more years to bring its deficit down to 3% of GDP.

Read my article in The Guardian

The Guardian, 4 January 2011. Taxes on financial transactions, carbon and land could fill the hole in the public finances

Martin Wolf writes in the FT: Some argue that we have no right to bequeath higher debt to future generations. But why would it be wise to bequeath a smaller economy to posterity, instead?

George Osborne described it as “unavoidable” and “progressive”, Vince Cable as “necessary” and “fair”. Don’t blame us, Tweedledee and Tweedledum suggest, Labour left the public finances in a mess – and unless we tighten our belts drastically now, the markets will force our hand. But in fact, the timing, extent and manner of this brutal […]

The Times, 16 June 2010. Adopting Churchill’s plan would benefit wealth creators at the expense of the idle rich

This article appeared in The Times on 16 June 2010. Filling the gaping hole in the Government’s finances is, in George Osborne’s words, the “great national challenge of our generation”. Unwise spending cuts and tax rises could sap economic growth; unfair ones provoke political unrest; inaction a market panic. Faced with a national crisis, who […]

The Guardian, 30 April 2010. The Duke of Westminster will cheer this house price bounce. For most of us it’s divisive and unsustainable

Paul Krugman claims that liberals are divided on migration because: Democrats are torn individually (a state I share). On one side, they favor helping those in need, which inclines them to look sympathetically on immigrants; plus they’re relatively open to a multicultural, multiracial society. I know that when I look at today’s Mexicans and Central Americans, […]

Financial Times, 9 April 2010.

Prospect, April 2010. A new land tax is the only efficient and fair way to bring Britain’s finances back into line

Why is Labour staking its election campaign on defending a rise in national insurance? It will hurt the pocket of the average voter. It will cost some their job. It isn’t even a “stealth tax” any more. As for Gordon Brown’s Wayne Rooney reference to the need to support an injured economy, how on earth […]

Guardian, 30 March 2010. A hike in national insurance is not only unfair, it will damage future growth by discouraging many from working harder

Consider these three facts. Britain is struggling to recover from a crisis caused in large part by a huge property bubble. Unemployment is painfully high and people are feeling the pinch. The government has a huge gap in its finances that cannot be filled by public-spending cuts alone. What would you raise taxes on? Astonishingly, […]