New bulletins for summer reading

Our new batch of bulletins for 2004 are now available to download, and cover a wide range of issues, from adult education and legal aid to the National Lottery and the acquisition of Safeway.Two of our bulletins describe some of our recent public policy work. The price of justice provides some thoughts on the problems faced in the procurement of legal aid services and the ways in which efficiency savings might be generated. Moving up the learning curve describes some recent empirical work undertaken to help policy-makers understand differences of participation in adult education across different social groups. By contrast, Joined up thinking? provides an in-depth look at some of the key issues examined by the Competition Commission in its recent inquiry into the acquisition of Safeway. The complexities of assessing potential "unilateral" and "coordinated" effects of mergers are explored, raising some questions about the approach taken by the Commission.The last two of this set both look at issues of regulatory strategy. In Taking the bull by the horns, we look at how some firms have tried - and succeeded - in turning regulation into a source of competitive advantage. Lucky Numbers looks at a case in which government plans to increase competition for the National Lottery may do little to meet underlying economic and policy objectives.