Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing, free market think tank registered as a UK charity. Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute" and says that it seeks to "further the dissemination of free-market thinking" by "analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems". The IEA is the oldest free market think-tank in the UK and was established to promote free-market responses to economic challenges by targeting influential academics and journalists, as well as students, in order to propagate these ideas widely. Adopting as its credo FA Hayek's view that "yesterday's dissent becomes today's consensus," the IEA says that it prioritises producing work with a focus on economic insights over partisan politics.
| Abbreviation | IEA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1955 |
| Type | Free market think tank |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Executive Director | Tom Clougherty |
| Funding | partially disclosed, including Jersey Finance and the John Templeton Foundation, some minor funding from fossil fuel industry, gambling industry, and tobacco industry |
| Website | iea.org.uk |
The IEA subscribes to a neoliberal world view and advocates positions based on this ideology. It published its first pamphlet in 1955 making the case for the free convertibility of the pound. It published climate change denial material between 1994 and 2007, and has advocated for more patient-centric universal healthcare through privatisation of elements of, and abolition of complete government control of, the National Health Service (NHS), in favour of a healthcare system with market mechanisms. It has also published research on alleviating the housing crisis. It has received more than £70,000 from the tobacco industry (although it does not reveal its funders), and a former IEA officer was recorded offering a prospective supporter introductions to policy makers. The IEA is headquartered in Westminster, London, England.
Founded by businessman and battery farming pioneer Antony Fisher in 1955, the IEA was one of the first modern think tanks, and promoted Thatcherite right-wing ideology, and free market and monetarist economic policies. The IEA has been criticised for operating in a manner closer to that of a lobbying operation than as a genuine think tank. The IEA publishes a journal (Economic Affairs), a student magazine (EA), books and discussion papers, and holds regular lectures.