The rise in international commodity and oil prices is evidently having a serious impact on our economy. But unlike corn or rice, we are substantial producers of oil. Given this, why aren't we made better off by higher oil prices? And if the country as a whole is made better off, then given that most of us are clearly worse off, who are the gainers?

Over the past three-and-a-half decades, the UK's oil position has gone through a transformation. When the first oil shock occurred in 1973, the UK produced virtually no oil. ... Read full article