Why Is Britain Taking the Biggest Growth Hit in the G20? | IEA Podcast

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Callum Price is joined by Kristian Niemietz, IEA Editorial Director, and Lord Frost, IEA Director General. They discuss the OECD’s latest growth forecasts, which place the UK as the hardest hit economy in the G20, the Government’s response to the energy price shock, and what — if anything — should be done about rising inflation.

The conversation then turns to the Government’s new towns plan, narrowed from 12 to 7 proposed sites. Kristian and Lord Frost debate whether these amount to genuine new towns or simply extensions of existing conurbations, whether the history of new towns offers any useful lessons, and whether the current planning system is capable of delivering the housing numbers the country needs.

The final segment examines a piece in The Critic by Steve Loftus arguing that AI will be so transformative that capitalism itself will need to be replaced. Kristian and Lord Frost push back, questioning whether AI is truly different in principle from previous technological revolutions, what the productivity figures actually show so far, and what Hayek’s insights about tacit knowledge mean for the limits of machine intelligence.

The Institute of Economic Affairs is a registered educational charity. It does not endorse or give support for any political party in the UK or elsewhere. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.

The views represented here are those of the speakers alone, not those of the Institute, its Managing Trustees, Academic Advisory Council members or senior staff.

0:00 Introduction

1:56 OECD Growth Forecasts & The UK’s Energy Crisis

11:20 New Towns: Central Planning or Pragmatic Housing Policy?

24:18 Will AI Replace Capitalism?

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