The Adam Smith Institute is a think tank based in the United Kingdom, named after the father of modern economics, Adam Smith. Although non-partisan, it is seen as right-wing in the UK political context, with a libertarian slant. It espouses free market and classical liberal views, in particular by creating radical policy options in the light of public choice theory, which politicians can then develop. Its president, Madsen Pirie, has said "We propose things which people regard as being on the edge of lunacy. The next thing you know, they're on the edge of policy."[1] This article is about the institution. ... Buyers bargain for good prices while sellers put forth their best front in Chichicastenango Market, Guatemala. ... Adam Smith, FRSE (baptised June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ... Partisan may refer to: A member of a lightly-equipped irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation. ... See also Libertarianism and Libertarian Party Libertarian,is a term for person who has made a conscious and principled commitment, evidenced by a statement or Pledge, to forswear violating others rights and usually living in voluntary communities: thus in law no longer subject to government supervision. ... A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy... Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. ... Public choice theory is a branch of economics that studies the decision-making behavior of voters, politicians and government officials from the perspective of economic theory, namely game theory and decision theory. ... Dr (Duncan) Madsen Pirie is President of the Adam Smith Institute, and was one of three who founded the Institute in 1977. ...

The Institute was "a pioneer of privatisation"[2] in the UK and elsewhere. Early Institute papers proposed the outsourcing of local government services (1980), the fundamentals of the poll tax (1981-1985) and the deregulation of road transport and privatisation of the National Bus Company (1980), all of which were put into practice in the UK. It also developed the education reforms implemented by the Education Reform Act 1988, which allowed state schools to take over their own budgets, and the plans for an internal market in the National Health Service. Other influences include the UK's cutting of income tax to 40% in the late 1980s, and its liberalisation of alcohol licensing laws. Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or — especially in India — disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership. ... Paper shredding can be contracted out Outsourcing (or contracting out) is often defined as the delegation of non-core operations or jobs from internal production within a business to an external entity (such as a subcontractor) that specializes in that operation. ... A poll tax, head tax, soul tax, or capitation is a tax of a uniform, fixed amount per individual (as opposed to a percentage of income). ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or — especially in India — disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership. ... The National Bus Company was a bus company in the United Kingdom. ... The Education Reform Act of 1988 is widely regarded as the most important single piece of Education legislation since the 1944 Butler Education Act. ... An internal market operates inside an organisation or set of organisations which have decoupled internal components. ... The logo of the NHS for England. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

In the early 1990s, some Institute staff founded a consulting arm, Adam Smith International Ltd. Although the two are frequently confused, this is now an entirely independent company which no longer has any ties to the Institute.

History

Madsen Pirie, Eamonn Butler and Stuart Butler were students together at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. In 1973, they left Scotland to work with Edwin Feulner, who became co-founder of the free-market think tank the Heritage Foundation, in 1973. Dr (Duncan) Madsen Pirie is President of the Adam Smith Institute, and was one of three who founded the Institute in 1977. ... The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410 and 1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland (and third oldest in the English-speaking world). ... Edwin J. Feulner (born August 12, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois) is a founder and current President of the Heritage Foundation and was a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1989. ... This article is about the institution. ... The Heritage Foundation, a think tank located in Washington, D.C., is an influential public policy research institute whose stated mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. ...

After their apprenticeship in the United States, Eamonn Butler and Madsen Pirie returned to Scotland in 1977 to found their own think tank, the Adam Smith Institute, set up with the help of Antony Fisher of the Institute of Economic Affairs. Antony Fisher (1915 - 1988) was one of the most influential background players in the global rise of libertarian think-tanks during the second half of the twentieth century, founding the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. ... The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a London-based conservative think tank. ...

Highlights from the Adam Smith Institute website

• Adam Smith Institute
• The Influence of the Adam Smith Institute, Philip Morris, c 1994
• Adam Smith Institute at SourceWatch

This article uses content from the SourceWatch article on Adam Smith Institute under the terms of the GFDL.