Forecasts, Football and Folic Acid | IEA Podcast

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Maeve Halligan is joined by Dr Valentin Boboc, Chief Economist, and Dr Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the IEA.

This week, the International Monetary Fund’s upgraded growth forecast for Britain is up for discussion, from its warning of a slowdown in 2027 to its advice that the Chancellor resist big giveaways just two weeks before the Budget.

How much weight should we give to economic forecasts that are often wrong by more than the upgrade itself? With energy bills set to rise again, what can actually be done about the cost of living, and why has Britain chosen not to make more of its own North Sea oil and gas? Can the Government stick to its fiscal rules without borrowing more, and would giving local leaders more power over income tax lead to genuine tax competition?

The discussion then turns to Manchester City, found guilty by an independent commission of disguising more than £830 million in owner funding as sponsorship, asking whether football’s spending rules are fit for purpose, why heavy investment from wealthy owners has been good for fans, and what the new independent football regulator could mean for the Premier League. The discussion closes with the mandatory addition of folic acid to flour from December, from why supplements alone cannot prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida to why a lifestyle economist who opposes most nanny state measures is backing this one.

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