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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.
In the last two decades, China has come to dominate the world’s steel supply. At the turn of the millennium, 16% of the world’s raw steel came from China. Today, it is a majority.European steel production has been squeezed hardest, making up just 7% today. In the UK, the industry is now on its last legs. With the forthcoming closure of the Port Talbot steelworks, the UK will become the only G7 country unable to make ‘virgin’ steel.Listen to Richard Davies, the director of the Economics Observatory, explore the decline of the industry in the new Radio 4 documentary Steel Dragons.
The UK has a lower view of itself that its peers.In 2021, an Ipsos poll asked UK and G20 citizens whether they favored the UK's people, government, and institutions. In all three categories, a majority or G20 respondents said they favored the UK favorably. The UK was the second most attractively-rated country in the survey, behind only Italy. UK respondeds favored their country overall, but not as strongly. Unfavorable ratings were far lower for all three categories, especially for the government (34%). The UK appears to be less confident in itself than the rest of the world. What are the implications of this lack of confidence and is it warranted?On October 3rd, join our panels of economists, authors, and other experts for the final day of our Festival of Economics as we discuss "Britian's Place in the World." We will discuss how to remake Britian, how to "get Britian exporting again," and British foreign policy. Visit our events page to find out more about this event and more at the Festival of Economics.
Kyoto’s world-famous cherry blossom trees are blooming earlier and earlier every year.The timing of peak blossom depends on spring temperatures, which are rising. Climate change is affecting economies across the globe, altering livelihoods and intensifying extreme weather events. Achieving economic growth while addressing climate change is perhaps the defining global challenge of the 21st century.On 1st October, join our expert panel, "How can we build a sustainable planet?", as they discuss the intersection of economic growth and sustainability. The panel will explore how economic policies can drive sustainable development and create a future where our planet is protected. Visit our events page to find out more about this event and more at the Festival of Economics.
More than 200 countries and territories are taking part in the Paris Olympics. At the opening ceremony, some countries needed full double-decker boats for their athletes, while others waved their flags from small Murano boats.China (388 athletes) and the USA (594) have large athlete delegations, while France (572), Slovenia (74), New Zealand (212), and Australia (460) have some of the highest athlete-to-population ratios.Despite their large populations, Pakistan (7), Bangladesh (5), and Myanmar (2) have few athletes at the Olympics.Somalia, with over 18 million people, has just one athlete. The Netherlands, with a population almost the same size, has 276 athletes competing.To find out more about the 2024 games, read this Economics Observatory article about home advantage.
Amid pressure to remove the two-child cap on benefits, the government has launched a new Child Poverty Unit. The cap, introduced by the Conservative government in 2017, means that families do not receive additional child tax credit or universal credit for third or fourth children born after April 2017.Over the last two decades, relative child poverty - the proportion of children in households with equivalised incomes below 60% of the median - has fallen slightly, though there has been a mild upward trend since 2013. Increases in the poverty rate for households with three or more children have been offset by a reduction for those with one or two children.To find out more about child poverty in the UK, read this Economics Observatory article detailing its history over the last 30 years.
A record-breaking 168 countries and territories are participating in the Paris Paralympic Games. Paris will also see an unprecedented number of Paralympic athletes participating, with over 4,400 entrants. Eritrea, Kiribati, and Kosovo are the three National Paralympic Committees making their debut.Over 10,000 Olympic athletes competed this Summer, but how does the difference in delegation size breakdown by country?The United States had the largest Olympic team in Paris (594) but a relatively small Paralympic delegation, with 220 athletes. Nations with smaller Olympic teams, such as Brazil and China, have larger Paralympic delegations of 256 and 284 athletes, respectively.Ukraine’s delegations are equal, featuring 140 athletes in the Paralympic and Olympic Games. Thailand, Indonesia, and Tunisia are notable due to their Paralympic delegations outsizing their Olympic counterparts.
The de facto ban on onshore wind energy in England has been lifted. From 2015, stringent English planning regulations meant that any local opposition could halt onshore wind projects and all projects had to form part of a local development plan - conditions not applied to other energy types.As one of the cheapest forms of electricity, wind energy will be central to the UK’s net-zero transition. Last year, the National Infrastructure Commission called for onshore wind to be ‘scaled up’, following years of stagnation in England. Since 2017, English capacity has risen by just 2%, while in Scotland – unaffected by the ban – it has surged by 86%.To find out more about the green transition, read this Economics Observatory article, which links to the full range of our coverage of the issue.
Disparities in access pose challenges for the rollout of additional free childcare.Centre for Progressive Policy analysis predicts a rise in demand by 52% for under-2s by late 2025, requiring 27,800 more full-time staff. Investment is crucial to ensure all areas can utilise the new funding.