Ben CHu
The Independent
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Ben:
The real ‘Brexit dividend’? Minus £800m a week – and counting
Analysis: It’s five years since Britain voted to leave the EU – so what number should really have been on the side of the Vote Leave bus? Ben Chu examines the real impact of Brexit on the UK’s economy → Read More
Would a delay to the 21 June unlocking derail the UK’s economic recovery?
Ministers are considering a two-week delay to the 21 June reopening. Would such a postponement merely constitute a minor economic blip? Or could it do more serious damage to the UK’s recovery hopes? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Why is the meme stock mania back?
After the collapse of GameStop in January it seemed like the internet meme-driven stock market frenzy was over. But it’s now back with a vengeance. Can anyone explain why? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Does defunding fossil fuel companies make economic and environmental sense?
Analysis: The fossil fuel financial divestment movement is gathering pace, removing some $14.5 trillion from the sector. But it has been criticised in some quarters as unrealistic and even counterproductive. Ben Chu examines the arguments → Read More
Is the £1.4bn education catch-up package simply too small?
Is the new funding pledge undersized, as critics claim, or would it really have been a poor use of public money for the Treasury to approve a larger package? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Progressive protectionism: Should Britain impose a carbon border adjustment tax?
Pressure is growing for the UK government to impose taxes on high-carbon imports but would such levies be legitimate tools for meeting the global net zero emissions goal, or are they old-fashioned trade protectionism in disguise? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Could Ireland really thwart the introduction of a global minimum corporation tax rate?
Some have suggested opposition from Dublin could derail the drive for a solution to multinational tax avoidance. But is that really a danger? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Why is China trying to kill off bitcoin?
A clampdown by the Beijing authorities sent the value of Bitcoin plummeting this week. But why is China opposed to these tokens? And could the opposition of the world’s second largest economy prove a fatal blow? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Would a free-trade deal with Australia put UK farmers out of business?
We’re told that an Australia-UK free-trade deal would have destructive consequences for British agriculture – and failing to sign a deal would make Brexit pointless. But are such claims true? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Will the UK’s economy flatline like Italy’s?
A new report warns that the UK economy could end the decade looking more like Italy than Germany. But what is there to fear about that outcome? And how realistic is the prospect? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Could Elon Musk’s Bitcoin U-turn destroy the cryptocurrency market?
Is it possible the Tesla founder’s volte-face on environmental grounds will prove a turning point for the broader crypto market? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Does Boris Johnson’s adult skills revolution add up?
Analysts agree overhauling adult skills is the right economic aspiration and priority for the government. Yet there remain doubts about whether the Johnson administration’s current programme is sufficient to deliver, reports Ben Chu → Read More
Why it’s complacent to talk about record economic growth
The “fastest growth rate in more than 70 years” sounds like a cause for celebration. And it’s true that growth of 7.25 per cent, which is the Bank of England’s latest forecast for 2021 released on Thursday, would be the largest calendar year expansion since 1941 when Britain was still scaling up production to fight the Nazi menace. But it’s nothing to write home about, let alone celebrate. → Read More
Should pharmaceutical companies be compelled to waive their coronavirus vaccine patents?
The momentum behind the campaign to remove intellectual property restrictions on Covid vaccines is growing. But would such a move really help defeat the pandemic more quickly? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
‘It’s one of the wonders of the world’: How the entrepreneur who transformed Canary Wharf is now helping to do the same for Saudi tourism
Sir George Iacobescu, the man who made the dockland desert bloom, tells Ben Chu why he’s advising the Saudi government on developing the AlUla site as a major new heritage tourism hub → Read More
The Brexit trade deal may have been ratified by MEPs – but the economic conflict is just starting
In the post-Brexit world, both the EU and the UK will have to rely on what leverage they have remaining. That points to public threats and a hard line, says Ben Chu → Read More
What might be the financial fallout of European Super League fiasco?
Short-term financial pain looms for the clubs that unsuccessfully attempted to set up their own league. But what are the longer term economic consequences of this week’s failed football revolution? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Does the European Super League break the rules of sporting economics?
Is a breakaway league formed by some of football’s richest clubs justified under a free market? Ben Chu investigates → Read More
Sucking it up: UK manufacturers look in vain for Sir James Dyson’s Brexit benefits
UK-based firms feel anything but liberated by Britain’s new trade relations with the EU, reports Ben Chu → Read More
The evidence of discrimination against black people in the UK labour market
What does the evidence actually show when it comes to the economic outcomes of black people in the British labour market – and what can that evidence tell us about discrimination and racism in the UK? Ben Chu investigates → Read More