With the new government committed to continuing to reduce the deficit without cutting taxes, the implication is that the size of the state in the UK is going to shrink to the lowest for many decades. Is that an ideological choice or just pragmatism given the state of the economy? What are the implications for the kind of public sector we will have?

With Katrine Marçal (columnist and author), Nick Crafts (University of Warwick), Stephen Davies (Institute of Economic Affairs), Rachel Gibson (University of Manchester) and Michael Keating (University of Aberdeen).

Photo credit Anna-Lena Ahlström 

Panel

Katrine Marçal

Katrine Marçal is a vocal commentator on the new economic movement called ‘virtuous banking’ and the lead editorial writer for the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, where she writes articles on international politics, economics and feminism. Her book Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner charts the myth of ‘economic man’ – from its origins at Adam Smith’s dinner table to its adaptation by the Chicago School and finally its disastrous role in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. It  was shortlisted for the August Prize and won the Lagercrantzen Award. Follow Katrine on Twitter @katrinemarcal

Nick Crafts

Nick Crafts is Professor of Economic History and Director of the ESRC Research Centre on Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) at Warwick University. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.  His earlier career included positions at UC Berkeley, London School of Economics, Stanford and Oxford. His research interests focus on comparative long-run economic growth and the economic history of the 1930s. His recent publications include Reducing High Public Debt Ratios: Lessons from UK Experience, Fiscal Studies and The Great Depression of the 1930s: Lessons for Today, edited with Peter Fearon.

Stephen Davies

Stephen Davies is Education Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London. He runs the Institute’s academic and student outreach programs. Previously he was Senior Lecturer in the Department of History and Economic History at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has also been a Program Officer at the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University in Virginia and a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. Stephen was co-editor with Nigel Ashford of The Dictionary of Conservative and Libertarian Thought and wrote several entries for The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism edited by Ronald Hamowy, including the general introduction. He is also the author of Empiricism and History and of several articles and essays on topics including the private provision of public goods and the history of crime and criminal justice. Follow Stephen on Twitter @SteveDavies365

Rachel Gibson

Rachel Gibson is Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester. She has co-directed several Australian Election Studies (AES) since 2001 as well as the 2003 and 2005 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA). She is currently advisor to the British Election Study (BES) internet study and a member of the planning committee of the Comparative Study of Electoral System (CSES). She has held a number of Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Australian Research Council (ARC) funded projects dealing with the impact of the new media on politics and particularly parties, campaigns and elections. She is co-editor of the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties. Follow Rachel on Twitter @rchlgibson4

Michael Keating

Michael Keating is part-time professor at the University of Edinburgh and director of the Scottish Centre on Constitutional Change, an interdisciplinary consortium of teams from six institutions which examines the issues arising from the Scottish constitutional debate and the forthcoming referendum on Europe. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the British Academy, the Academia Europea and the Academy of Social Sciences. Michael has worked at the University of Essex, North Staffordshire Polytechnic and the University of Strathclyde. From 1988 until 1999 he was Professor of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario. From 2000 until 2010 he was Professor of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute, Florence and was head of department between 2004 and 2007. Among his recent books are The Independence of Scotland, Rescaling the European State and Small Nations in a Big World: What Scotland Can Learn.