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

Which policies can best support private sector growth in the UK?

Successive UK governments have struggled to promote economic growth in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007-09. In an interview conducted in late 2023, former business secretary Vince Cable talks to John Turner about some of the persistent challenges for policy-makers.

1-3 October 2024 Bristol

Science, technology & innovation

How can public investment in research improve UK economic performance?

Public investment in scientific endeavour is essential for the success of UK business and industry – and, more broadly, for a productive economy, a healthy society and a sustainable world. A report written early in the 2010s laid out the evidence on the central role of research for our future.

DATA HUB

The productivity gap

Last year, UK productivity was 24% lower than if it had continued climbing at its pre-2008 trend. Before the crisis, productivity grew at about 2% per year. Since the crisis, it has grown at just 0.5% per year. Slow productivity growth is hurting families, costing the average UK household £11,500 per year.

What can be done to address the challenges facing the UK? Join us today at the Festival of Economics to find out how we can boost Britain’s low productivity. Our expert panel will debate the causes of the UK’s productivity stagnation and consider potential policy solutions. Join us to explore the extent of the challenge and to discover how boosting investment, improving education and training, exploiting technological innovation, and changes in regulation could help address the UK’s productivity puzzle.

Lessons from history

How has infrastructure been financed in the past?

Stretched government balance sheets and elevated debt levels make it increasingly difficult to fund large-scale infrastructure projects. The first era of globalisation, 1880-1913 – when infrastructure bond issuances were a key means of financing such initiatives – offers valuable lessons for today.

MAGAZINE

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Leaving the European Union has undoubtedly had effects on the UK economy. The most obvious ones will be on international trade. But Brexit might also have an impact on business investment, which is crucial for the economy to grow.

Health, physical & mental

How can we reduce obesity and improve diets?

Rising rates of obesity and other diet-related diseases are costly to people’s health and the NHS. Recommendations from the National Food Strategy set out a path to healthier – and less environmentally damaging – choices.

Public spending, taxes & debt

What’s the economic inheritance of the new UK government?

The Labour government will present its first budget in late October. The new chancellor has inherited an economy with at least four big problems: low productivity growth; stagnant living standards; persistent regional inequality; and a fiscal framework that is stifling much-needed public investment.

Trade & supply chains

Globalisation and backlash: how has world trade evolved over 300 years?

Over the past three centuries, economic nationalism has ebbed and flowed: from the mercantile system that Adam Smith described in 1776 through waves of globalisation, backlash and battles for supremacy.

Inequality & poverty

What different ways can policy-makers address inequality?

Longstanding economic fractures have been widened by the pandemic. In response, a range of policy actions are needed across the income distribution and at all stages of the economic process.

Attitudes, media & governance

Principles of motion: how should policy-makers think about human behaviour?

Effective policy-making must take account of potential unintended consequences of new measures, rather than presuming that the responses of individuals and organisations will follow a predetermined path like pieces on a chessboard. Adam Smith’s policy advice resonates strongly today.

Aid & international development

What will be the likely effects of reducing the UK’s aid budget?

Reductions in official development assistance inevitably involve choices – for example, between protecting future biodiversity and feeding children in today’s humanitarian crises. But the real loss from aid cuts is UK leadership on global responses to poverty, Covid-19 and climate change.

Inequality & poverty

How might the cost of living crisis affect long-term poverty?

The cost of living crisis is disproportionately affecting poorer households. With fewer resources to cover rising bills, many are taking on debt just to get by. This has consequences in the short term, but also lengthens the effects of this crisis for the most vulnerable.

Inequality & poverty

How does the housing market affect wealth inequality?

Many UK housing policies – originally designed to boost wealth and distribute it more equally – are outdated and no longer achieve their aims. Rising house prices have concentrated wealth among older people and in certain regions. New approaches are needed to reduce these inequalities.

Attitudes, media & governance

What happened in the 2024 UK general election?

Ten charts tell the story of Labour’s landslide victory in the UK’s 2024 general election, putting it in historical perspective and, in the data on turnout, revealing the disengagement of many voters.

Inequality & poverty

What has happened to child poverty in the UK over the last 30 years?

Growing up in poverty has highly detrimental impacts on children’s development and their wellbeing in later life. In the UK, where rates of child poverty have been rising sharply in recent years, particularly for those in large families, targeted policy interventions could make a big difference.

All Answers