Economics Observatory | Questions and answers about coronavirus and the UK economy

Reality check

While more lockdown restrictions will be eased in England on Monday, Covid-19 continues to affect the lives and livelihoods of people all over the world. Ensuring a successful vaccine rollout remains critical for economic recovery, both at home and abroad.

Science, technology & innovation

Should patents on Covid-19 vaccines be waived?

There is much debate about whether the patents on Covid-19 vaccines should be waived to allow low-income countries to produce doses for themselves. In current circumstances, such a course of action is likely to have little effect for good or ill.

Health, physical & mental

How does the market for vaccines work?

Effective vaccines are developed through collaboration between governments, publicly funded research universities and for-profit pharmaceutical companies. But the incentives to produce the doses can often leave out lower-income countries.

Transport & infrastructure

What is the future of commuting to work?

Around half the UK labour force is currently working from home. Surveys of employees conducted in March and April 2021 suggest that spending two to three days a week at home is the most common expected working pattern after the pandemic.

Jobs, work, pay & benefits

How might increases in the UK minimum wage affect jobs, work and pay?

Modest rises in minimum wage rates came into effect in the UK on 1 April 2021. Although rates have been uprated year-on-year since 1999, with little evidence of negative employment effects, the Covid-19 crisis makes the impact of these increases on jobs and pay highly uncertain.

Pensions, savings & investment

Does the stock market reflect the economy?

Stock market fluctuations often seem far removed from what’s happening in the wider economy, especially in a crisis. But historically, share prices have been able to explain some changes in key economic measures and they could hold clues for the UK’s post-pandemic recovery.

News

Arms race

Even as the UK’s vaccine rollout continues to gather momentum, the moral and economic arguments for ensuring global immunisation mount. At home, promoting an even recovery across regions and sectors remains paramount.

Recession & recovery

Is higher productivity at odds with improved wellbeing in post-pandemic Wales?

The Well-being of Future Generations Act in Wales requires that long-term considerations of poverty, health inequalities and climate change are at the forefront of policy-making. Such goals could be at odds with productivity growth and traditional indicators of prosperity.

Business, big & small

Update: Which firms and industries have been most affected by Covid-19?

Businesses across the UK have been negatively affected by the pandemic, but the damage has not been equal. Certain sectors and certain firms within them have suffered more than others – and many have faced highly uncertain futures.

Aid & international development

Vaccine nationalism: why do some countries cooperate and others go it alone?

Faced with the severe health and economic damage caused by Covid-19, governments may wish to protect their citizens by securing vaccines first. But such ‘vaccine nationalism’ has consequences and may not be the wise choice in the longer term.

News

Northern Ireland at 100

The centenary of the creation of the Irish border offers a chance to reflect on the economic performance of the two Irelands over the last 100 years, as well as looking at some policy lessons from the past.

Lessons from history

Ireland’s economy since independence: what lessons from the past 100 years?

A century ago, advocates and opponents of Irish independence presented arguments about the future of Ireland’s economy outside the UK. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that predictions made by both sides have come to pass at different points over the past 100 years.

Nations, regions & cities

What explains Northern Ireland’s long-standing problem of low productivity?

Low productivity is widely recognised as one of the most important economic challenges facing the UK. But it is a problem that has affected Northern Ireland’s economy for the past 100 years – and it is yet to be solved.

Lessons from history

What is the economic legacy of Northern Ireland’s Troubles?

The economy of Northern Ireland continues to be influenced by nearly 30 years of the Troubles. While there has been much economic improvement since the agreement finalised in Belfast on Good Friday 1998, the gains have been unevenly distributed.

Lessons from history

What were the economic consequences of Irish independence?

Following partition of the island of Ireland in 1921, the two successor states had to forge separate paths, both politically and economically. The experience of the early years of the Irish Free State offers lessons for today’s debates about independence from the UK.

All Answers