The Bank of England’s Chief Economist, Huw Pill, has caused another public relations disaster by criticising workers for demanding higher pay - and firms for passing on higher costs. Instead, he told a podcast from Columbia Law School, “someone needs to accept that they’re worse off”. Let’s begin with a recap of what Pill was … Continue reading What a Pill
Author: julianhjessop
How valuable is ‘public sector net worth’?
Public finance geeks have been even more excited than usual about the latest statistical bulletin from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which includes new data on a balance sheet aggregate known as ‘public sector net worth’. What is this, and why does it matter? Public sector net worth, or PSNW, is a relatively comprehensive … Continue reading How valuable is ‘public sector net worth’?
UK food price inflation set to fall sharply
First, the bad news. The lowlight of the latest UK inflation data was that the consumer price (CPI) measure of food price inflation jumped even further in March – to 19.1%. This contributed about 2.2 percentage points to the overall inflation rate of 10.1%. With ‘core’ inflation still stubbornly high (over 6%), food price inflation … Continue reading UK food price inflation set to fall sharply
Are Irish incomes really twice those of the UK?
On 14 April the New Statesman published an article which was intended to show that the Irish economy is booming at the expense of ‘Brexit Britain’. This conclusion was backed by some striking graphics, which are still being gleefully shared by the usual suspects. But it was also baloney. People have been taken in here … Continue reading Are Irish incomes really twice those of the UK?
Plain-speaking Economics 