In the Autumn 2008 edition of CentrePiece:

In this edition:

Does planning regulation protect independent retailers?

Raffaella Sadun reveals that planning regulations supposed to 'save the traditional British High Street' have in fact done the opposite. Read more...

In brief... Are the top universities worth paying for?

Iftikhar Hussain, Sandra McNally and Shqiponja Telhaj investigate whether degrees from the UK's 'better' universities are worth more than others. Read more...

Big ideas: Rising wage inequality

Stephen Machin surveys CEP's pathbreaking research findings on wage inequality. Read more...

Conference report: The emergence of China and India in the global economy

In brief... Spend it like Beckham

Andreas Georgiadis and Alan Manning wonder why voters have not forced successive governments to increase taxes on the rich. Read more...

A continuing downward trend in intergenerational mobility?

Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin look at evidence on the life chances of children born into poor families since 1970. Read more...

Conference report: Intergenerational mobility

How to measure the rising cost of living

Nicholas Oulton explains the problems in creating an accurate measure of inflation - and shows how inflation hurts the poor more than the rich. Read more...

Do swing states influence US trade policy?

As the US election campaign nears its climax, Mirabelle Muuls and Dimitra Petropoulou find that industries in battleground states are more likely to be protected. Read more...

Words that work: comparing the effectiveness of central bank communications

Carlo Rosa finds that Fed announcements move market interest rates significantly more than those from the European Central Bank. Read more...

In brief... The end of trade unionism as we know it?

Alex Bryson and David Blanchflower explore whether the decline of unions in Britain really matters for employees and firms. Read more...