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Thought leadership

Advancing thinking and debate

Society benefits when markets are efficient and when they deliver desired public policy outcomes. This thought leadership initiative focuses on the foundations of markets; can they can be improved to enhance market effectiveness and efficiency?

The Market Foundations initiative

Foundations of how markets work have often built up in an ad hoc fashion.

These foundations include:

  • participants (whether as principals, agents or advisers) that can trust and be trusted;
  • accepted, predictable and transparent standards of behaviour; and
  • effective and efficient mechanisms to intervene in the markets where needed to correct the behaviour.
  • We consider whether market foundations can be improved to enhance effectiveness and efficiency.

If you would like to comment on the topics covered by the Market Foundations programme, contribute to the ongoing work it refers to, or follow progress and receive copies of subsequent reports, contact us at:marketfoundations@icaew.com

Publications

Displaying 1-8 of 8 results
Business and economic crime in an international context
Business and economic crime in an international context
  • Jan 2010
  • PDF (244kb)
A review of international law and practice in relation to crime committed by or on behalf of business.
Image of a wheel and a jet turbine
Evolution of British Business forms: a historical perspective
  • Apr 2017
  • PDF (479kb)
Business organisational structures have evolved in a somewhat haphazard fashion to meet the needs and character of society over the ages. While forms of business have changed over the past couple of centuries, many of the underlying concerns for government and for enterprise endure.
close up image of raindrops
Future enterprise: assessing forms of business
  • Aug 2016
  • PDF (387kb)
Our paper future enterprise: assessing forms of business gives an overview of the main forms of business used today and explores whether they are truly serving the needs human enterprise of the 21st century or whether there might be better alternatives, perhaps modelled on the human networks we form in private life.
The public interest
  • Oct 2013
How do you make a decision in the Public Interest?
Real integrity – Practical solutions for organisations seeking to promote and encourage integrity
Real integrity report
  • May 2012
  • PDF (724kb)
Practical solutions for organisations seeking to promote and encourage integrity. This research report looks at the meaning of integrity and how it can be promoted in organisations.
Image of a red flower
Instilling integrity in organisations
  • Feb 2011
  • PDF (227kb)
This publication includes a number of suggested questions that directors could pose to determine the role of integrity in their organisation, and how it is assessed and instilled.
Image of a sunflower
Reporting with Integrity
  • Apr 2007
Reporting with Integrity published in April 2007, is the seventh report in the ICAEW's Information for Better Markets campaign.
Image of a letter i with a hand instead of a dot
Information for markets and society
  • Nov 2005
  • PDF (124kb)
This Information for Better Markets report puts forward four general principles for discussion the importance of information in the formation, implementation, monitoring and development of public policy.
Displaying 1-8 of 8 results