Back to Government? Reregulating British Railways

Modernisation of British Government

This article critically reviews the approach to evidence based policy-making (EBPM) advanced in the Labour government's modernisation agenda. The article contends that EBPM must be understood as a project focused on enhancing the techniques ofmanaging strategic policy-making as opposed to improving the capacities of the social sciences to influence the 'practices of democracy' as envisaged by L...

How Good Was The Profitability Of British Railways , 1870 - 1912 ?

British government scraps advice bodies

As part of its plans to reduce substantially public spending, the UK is disbanding many of the advisory bodies it has traditionally paid to provide independent advice on a wide range of issues. Amongst these, two have been key in providing scientific advice. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) was established in 1991 as a source of expertise on assisted fertilisation and hum...

From Government to Governance—And Back? Understanding the Changing Role of Government in Governance

Economically irrational pricing of 19th century British government bonds

British government bonds formed the deepest, most liquid, and most transparent financial market of the 19th century. This paper shows that those bonds had long periods, extending over decades, of anomalous behavior, in which Consols, the largest and best known of these instruments, were noticeably overpriced relative to equivalent gilts which offered the same interest rate and the same guarante...