Commentary & Podcasts

Yesterday, the Chancellor announced the "most radical simplification of alcohol duties for over 140 years” at the Autumn Budget. Whether it matches up to the SMF's recommendations - laid out in our 2019 report, Pour Decisions - is worth examining.

The maximum social and economic benefit of higher education can be realised when policymakers adequately address the 'signalling' critique. This commentary by Aveek Bhattacharya and Chris Percy is based on SMF's recent publication - Signal Failure - which aims to direct the time, energy and resources of our education system to things that really benefit learners and society at large.

Over the next three decades the pursuit of net zero will transform local areas throughout the UK.

What we eat helps to define who we are. As Keith Floyd once said, “food is life, life is food”. Descriptions of Britishness often talk of fish and chips or roast beef, and we are a nation passionate about our food. So it’s understandable that politicians are wary of trying to influence our diets.

Ahead of the Scottish Government launching its 2021 Programme for Government, SMF Chief Economist Aveek Bhattacharya puts the usual constraints on decisionmaking to one side and imagines what the next year of policy could look like in Scotland.