I'm doing my first blog on an Economist article titled, "So what will Brexit really mean?" It entailed prime minister Theresa May establishing a new Department for Exiting the EU and what leaving the EU meant for which market Britain will be a part of, how migration and border control laws would change, and whether or not it'll stay in Europol. Furthermore, publications from Japan's foreign ministry advised Mrs. May to retain full access to the single market - which domestic businesses and finanical lobbies want to stay in - on the account that a "hard" Brexit, which involves leaving that single market without free-trade deals with the EU and third-world countries, would lead to a large drop-off in investment and output. Moreover, Japan advised to avoid customs controls on imports, to preserve the "passports" that allows banks in London to trade across and to let employers freely hire EU nationals. All of these decisions are now in the hands of the British government who are pushing and pulling on different opinions regarding these issues.

What I was most interested in regarding this article was the list of policies Japan insisted Britain should implement; it reminded me greatly of of the ten points in the Washington Consensus and Thomas Friedman's five pillars for economic growth. While they're not all the same they revolve around the theme of limited government intervention in the economy, liberalizing the economic environment and trade and policies within it, and keeping borders open to workers and to allow trade. According to traditional economic models, decreasing intervention on things like trade across borders will increase investment and influx of capital in the long run, especially for British financial institutions. Making this choice seems relatively simple until the Brexiteers realize that they have to make a very tough decision that goes against some of their top priorities. Making the decision to stay in the single market is an economically more sound decision for the country but it also means that Britain has to compromise having full control of money, border control, and laws. It's a really intriguing push-and-pull that Brexiteers in what choices they want to make that'll shape this referendum.