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Iain Begg


Iain Begg is a Professorial Research Fellow at the European Institute of the London School of Economics. He is an experienced applied economist who has published extensively on economic integration and EU economic policy issues.

Iain Begg

The Welfare State In Europe: Still Worth Having?

Iain Begg 21st April 2016

Have the negative economic consequences brought about by the financial crisis made European welfare states unaffordable? Iain Begg writes that while there is some validity to criticisms of welfare spending, the welfare state performs a number of core functions that ensure it will continue to be around for the foreseeable future. He also notes that European welfare […]

Lies, Damned Lies And Yet More Misleading Statistics On Europe

Iain Begg 12th February 2016

In war, according to the ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus, truth is the first casualty. Plainly, he had not foreseen the Brexit referendum campaign which continues to be dogged by blatant abuse of statistics. As explained in a previous blog, all sides are at it, coming up with spuriously precise figures, using the wrong concepts and definitions, […]

Deepening EU Economic Governance: The Next Steps

Iain Begg 10th November 2015

Earlier this year, the so called ‘Five Presidents’ report’, authored by Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Mario Draghi, and Martin Schulz, was published, outlining plans for strengthening economic and monetary union. Iain Begg writes on proposals adopted by the European Commission on 21 October to implement the recommendations in the report. He notes that the new […]

Lies, Damned Lies And Statistics On The UK’s EU Membership

Iain Begg 14th October 2015

How would leaving the European Union affect the UK’s economy? Iain Begg writes that with pro-EU and anti-EU campaigning groups now officially up and running ahead of the UK’s planned referendum, British voters will undoubtedly be confronted with a series of contradictory claims and counter-claims on the costs and benefits of membership. He argues that it would […]

Rumours Of The Euro’s Likely Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated

Iain Begg 14th August 2015

To what extent do the problems illustrated by the Greek debt crisis threaten the future of the Eurozone? Iain Begg writes that while the prospects for Greece continue to be deeply uncertain, the wider reforms that have been pursued across the Eurozone since the crisis ensure there is still reason for optimism about the future of the […]

The Three Challenges of Social Europe

Iain Begg 10th November 2014

Because of the depth, intensity and duration of the series of crises that have affected the EU over the last five years, fire-fighting and action to reform the institutional framework for economic governance have dominated the policy agenda. It is little surprise, therefore, that ‘social Europe’ has lost traction, although as Bart Vanhercke has argued […]

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WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

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