The economic debate

One of the key aims of the EU is to promote economic prosperity by creating a large internal market within which goods can be freely exported from one country to another.

According to advocates of the EU, this gives member states access to a much larger ‘domestic’ market and makes them attractive places in which to invest. According to its critics, however, EU rules and regulations make doing business too expensive, and make it more difficult for member states to trade with large, emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil.

This section covers questions on whether voters think the EU does or does not help bring about prosperity, whether their country would be better or worse off if it were to leave the EU, what the economic relationship between the UK and the EU should be, and whether changes to the way in which the EU currently operates might make it more or less effective economically.

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Analysis on this topic:

The economics of Brexit in voters’ eyes

7 November 2016

Or, Why the remain campaign failed.
This paper analyses what influenced people’s attitudes in the EU referendum towards the economic arguments for and against EU membership and considers the implications for the ensuing debate about the terms on which the UK should seek to leave.

How deeply does Britain’s Euroscepticism run?

23 February 2016

This paper addresses the question of what lies behind our attitudes towards Europe, using newly published data from the latest British Social Attitudes survey.

The two poles of the referendum debate: immigration and the economy

28 January 2016

What are the issues that matter most to voters in the EU referendum? This paper addresses this question by looking at what, according to recent polls, appear to be the issues that most divide those who wish to Leave and those who would prefer to Remain.

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