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This is a condensed edition of 'The Road to Serfdom' republished in this edition with 'The Intellectuals and Socialism' (originally published in 1949). In 'The Road to Serfdom' F. A. Hayek set out the danger posed to freedom by attempts to apply the principles of wartime economic and social planning to the problems of peacetime. Hayek argued that the rise of Nazism was not due to any character failure on the part of the German people, but was a consequence of the socialist ideas that had gained common currency in Germany in the decades preceding the outbreak of war. Such ideas, Hayek argued, were now becoming similarly accepted in Britain and the USA. On its publication in 1944, 'The Road to Serfdom' caused a sensation. Its publishers could not keep up with demand, owing to wartime paper rationing. Then, in April 1945, Reader's Digest published a condensed version of the book and Hayek's work found a mass audience. This condensed edition was republished for the first time by the IEA in 1999. Since then it has been frequently reprinted. There is an enduring demand for Hayek's relevant and accessible message.The 'Road to Serfdom' is republished in this impression with 'The Intellectuals and Socialism' originally published in 1949, in which Hayek explained the appeal of socialist ideas to intellectuals - the 'second-hand dealers in ideas'. Intellectuals, Hayek argued, are attracted to socialism because it involves the rational application of the intellect to the organisation of society, while its utopianism captures their imagination and satisfies their desire to make the world submit to their own design.

Traditional economic models of how to manage environmental problems relating to renewable natural resources, such as fisheries, have tended to recommend either government regulation or privatisation and the explicit definition of property rights. These traditional models ignore the practical reality of natural resource management. Many communities are
able to spontaneously develop their own approaches to managing such common-pool resources. In the words of Mark Pennington: '[Professor Ostrom's] book Governing the Commons is a superb testament to the understanding that can be gained when economists observe in close-up detail how people craft arrangements to solve problems in ways often beyond the imagination of textbook theorists.' In particular, communities are often able to find stable and effective ways to define the boundaries of a common-pool resource, define the rules for its use and effectively enforce those rules. The effective management of a natural resource often requires 'polycentric' systems of governance where various entities have some role in the process.Government may play a role
in some circumstances, perhaps by providing information to resource users or by assisting enforcement processes through court systems. Elinor Ostrom's work in this field, for which she won the 
Nobel Prize in economics in 2009, was grounded in the detailed empirical study of how communities managed common-pool resources in practice. It is essential that we avoid the 'panacea problem'. There is no correct way to manage common-pool resources that will always be effective. Different ways of managing resources will be appropriate in different contexts - for example within different cultures or where there are different physical characteristics of a natural resource. Nevertheless, there are principles that we can draw from
the detailed study of the salient features of different cases to help us understand how different common-pool resources might be best managed; which rules systems and systems of organisation have the best chance of success or failure; and so on. Elinor Ostrom's approach has been praised by the left, who often see it as being opposed to free-market privatisation initiatives.In fact, her approach sits firmly within the classical liberal tradition of political economy. She observes communities freely choosing their own mechanisms to manage natural resource problems without government coercion or planning. In developing a viable approach to the management of
the commons, it is important, among other things, that a resource can be clearly defined and that the rules governing the use of the resource are adapted to local conditions. This suggests that rules imposed from outside, such as by government agencies, are unlikely to be successful. There are important areas of natural resource management where Elinor Ostrom's ideas should be adopted to avoid environmental catastrophe. Perhaps the most obvious example relevant to the UK is in European Union fisheries policy. Here, there is one centralised model for the management of the resource that is applied right across the European Union, ignoring all the evidence about the failure of that approach.

Scandinavian countries have been praised for their high levels of welfare provision and their economic and social outcomes. It is true that they are successful by most reasonable measures. However, Scandinavia's success story predated the welfare state. For example, Sweden began to fall behind as the state grew rapidly from the 1960s. Between 1870 and 1936, Sweden enjoyed the highest growth rate in the industrialised world. However, between 1936 and 2008, the growth rate was only 13th out of 28 industrialised nations. Between 1975 and the mid-1990s, Sweden went from being the 4th richest nation in the world to the 13th. Many analyses of Scandinavian countries conflate correlation with causality. It is clear that many of the desirable features of Scandinavian societies, such as low income inequality, low levels of poverty and high levels of economic growth predated the development of the welfare state. These and other indicators began to deteriorate after the expansion of the welfare state and the increase in taxes to fund it.

Ludwig von Mises was one of the greatest economists and political scientists of the twentieth century. He revolutionised the understanding of money, inflation and recessions; comprehensively refuted the arguments for socialism; and, provided a devastating critique of the methodologies of mainstream economics. His contributions to the Austrian School laid the intellectual groundwork for thinkers such as F.A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard and Israel Kirzner. In this book, Eamonn Butler provides a comprehensive yet accessible overview of Mises' outstanding achievements. At a time of economic crisis, this monograph makes it clear that Mises' work is highly relevant today. Indeed, while mainstream economics has been found wanting, the latest recession appears to have been entirely consistent with his analysis. Furthermore, the poor performance of state health and education services can be explained by Mises' Austrian theories. Nevertheless, Mises remains neglected by the economics profession, policymakers and academics. This readable primer explains why his work should be at the core of economic thinking.

There is still a consensus that British workers are unskilled in relation to their foreign counterparts and a considerable increase in government expenditure on training is needed if our relative economic performance is to be improved. This consensus exists even though it is difficult to find any positive correlation between the resources a country devotes to training and its rate of economic growth. State expenditure on training has risen from less than GBP1 billion in 1978 to nearly GBP3 billion by 1991 without any thought being given to the economic principles which should govern such expenditure. As a result, a large government-funded training industry has emerged, depending significantly on increased contributions from the taxpayer. If there has been a market failure in training, is it legitimate to argue that more money ought to be spent centrally? It is possible that the government is already spending too much on training or is diverting expenditure into the wrong channels. Unless there is clear evidence of the extent of market failure, we cannot judge whether the government is doing too much or too little to assist training provision.Education and training are vital to the economic prosperity of a nation but whenever government action is suggested as a remedy for market failure, the extent to which government fails should also be considered. Governments do have a powerful incentive to be seen helping the labour market at times of high unemployment but we should be sceptical of those who claim to know the labour market's training needs better than the individuals and firms involved. First published in 1992, the issues raised in this controversial publication are perennial. Shackleton's robust economic analysis of the economics of training ensure this books contemporary relevance.

In this historical survey spanning 120 years, the authors attempt to find out if there is any truth in the allegation that Britain's economic decline has been exacerbated by the failings of the banking system.

The author discusses how research in financial markets has evolved and whether the application of theories can ever be translated into 'excess profits'.

CONTENTS: Introduction; The Meaning of Independence; Why Independence?; The Data & its Analysis; Conclusions.

This Hobart Paper addresses one of the great economic and social problems of our time: the suboptimal allocation of resources that has arisen from the incompatible financial, fiscal and regulatory regimes for the various modes of inland transport. In order to simplify the argument, it concentrates on the movement of people, whose demand for access to satisfactions gives rise to the derived demand for mobility with with the paper is concerned. The argument rests on the assumption that such satisfactions can only be assessed subjectively and that there is no planning technique which will ensure the provision of the required mobility at a quality and price that will clear the market. Having reviewed the various 'means to mobility', the paper concludes that measures to harmonise their investment, taxation and regulatory regimes so as to create an integrated market form the basis for the only 'national transport policy' that can have either meaning or success.

In this study the authors examine the so-called scientific 'consensus' about global warming. They argue climate change is a problem of great complexity, and such analysis as has been made by no means supports the view that climate change would place intolerable burdens on future generations.

Lady Thatcher's former economic advisor considers the performance of these two international institutions on their fiftieth anniversaries, and considers them in need of abolition or at least major reform.

Lal analyses the effects of minimum wages on unemployment and training, and concludes that they increase unemployment and reduce the incentive to acquire skills

The root causes of land degradation are the actions of political entrepreneurs, aid agencies, and governments of developing countries who misuse 'aid' money. Only when individuals are permitted to own property, especially land and water, to engage in free trade, and to resolve disputes through customary law, will the problems of land degradation, poverty, and hunger be reduced to acceptable levels.

Eleven years after the first utility privatisation, the agenda has moved from whether privatisation will do better than its state predecessor to the question of how to do better with privatisation. The future of regulation seems very uncertain. The stakeholders consumers, politicians, the companies themselves and their shareholders are increasingly critical. Regulatory processes have borne the brunt of criticism. Conflicting remedies are suggested for the problems which have arisen. Should there be more competition? Should regulators' powers be increased and perhaps widened? Should some of their Offices be amalgamated? Should the respective powers of the Office of Fair Trading and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission be reconsidered? Should government become more involved in regulation? Each year the IEA, in association with the London Business School, publishes a volume of Readings which provides an up-to-date assessment of the state of utility regulation. In this, the latest in the series, the regulators themselves discuss the problems they face and leading commentators assess the regulators' contributions.The result is a wealth of detail about utility regulation in Britain where it is now and where it may be going.

This pioneering piece of research analyses the interactions of the tax and benefit systems. The author explains the 'seven deadly traps' which produce disincentives to work and affect family life.

In this critique of the DSS's HBAI poverty statistics Dr Richard Pryke suggests six major weaknesses which, once taken into account, give a radically different picture of poverty in the UK.

Statements of standard accounting practice (SSAPs) should be limited to disclosure requirements for listed companies and should not attempt to prescribe rules on measurement. There is little evidence that the growth of standards has produced any measurable benefits to the public.

The author argues that public sector policing has largely failed to prevent crime and catch offenders. Alternative solutions include the encouragement of individuals to buy more protection in the market place, and the extension of the private provision of prison.

CONTENTS: The Lessons of History; Stages of European Integration; The Role of Monetary Policy in the Integration Process; Common Currency as Pace-Setter for Political Union; The Labour Market & Social Union; Compensatory transfers; Possible Political Tensions; Institutional Arrangements & 'Good Money from Outside'; The Difficulties & Risks of Monetary Union; Barriers Against Deficits & Debts; Constitutional restraints; Ambivalence of the Political Union; Summary.

The author explains why government and bureaucratic attempts at environmental protection have failed and argues that to safeguard the countryside we need to restore private property rights.

Now that privatisation of utilities is substantially complete, regulation has become a major economic and political issue. To provide an intellectual basis for utility regulation, each year the Institute in conjunction with the London Business School publishes a set of Readings which assess the state of regulation, considers the state of regulation, considers what problems have arisen, and discusses how they might be solved, taking into account the experiences of other countries. The authors adopt no common political or ideological stance: they bring a variety of viewpoints to bear since the intentions is to stimulate debate. The 1996 edition of this comprehensive and up-to-date review of utility regulation in Britain includes contributions not only from academic commentators but from the utility regulators and the heads of the general competition authorities.

Utility regulation has become not only a major area for academic research but an important economic policy issue. Every year the Institute, in conjunction with the London Business School, publishes a volume of Readings which provides an intellectual foundation for discussions about regulation. It reviews regulatory problems in Britain, considers how they might be solved and draws on the experience of other countries.

In this challenging paper Dr Dick Atkinson asks why local education authorities are needed. Finding reasons lacking, he puts forward a proposal for all schools to be self-governing and thereby removed from the debilitating effects of politicised education.

With higher education in the UK at a critical juncture in its history, two leading commentators offer new perspectives on the fundamentals of this on-going debate. Seville examines the implications of 'modularity' , while Tooley presents a comprehensive critique of government intervention in the university system, questioning whether the state has to be involved at all.

Economic historian Professor Nick Crafts gives a wide-ranging assessment of the economic record of the recent Conservative Government.

Utility regulation in Britain has now entered a phase in which debate is no longer so much concerned with whether it is preferable to rival systems but with how to shape the'regulatory contract' in monopoly areas and, in potentially competitive areas, how to ensure rivalry.