he UK’s latest labour market data, released this morning, have predictably led to fresh calls for even more state intervention to ‘create’ jobs, or at least ‘protect’ them. But the most important thing the government can do now is to continue to lift the lockdown. Let’s deal briefly first with the headline unemployment rate, which … Continue reading UK unemployment – how bad will it get?
Category: Applied economics
School closures carry a heavy economic price
This piece was first published on 15th June Many people are increasingly worried about the slow pace of school reopening in the UK. The focus has mainly been on the harms done to the welfare of children and their families. But there are also rising concerns about the wider impact on the economy. This blog … Continue reading School closures carry a heavy economic price
It could have been worse
The unprecedented 20.4 per cent slump in UK GDP in a single month is obviously headline news, but still needs to be put in context. There are three key points. First, the April numbers are old news – about two months old. That’s an awful long time during a rapidly evolving crisis like this. Indeed, … Continue reading It could have been worse
A deeper dive into the OECD’s forecasts
On Wednesday the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook presented a relatively downbeat assessment of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy (more ‘U’ than ‘V’). The report also flagged up some specific concerns about the vulnerability of the UK, which prompted some particularly gloomy headlines here. But is the OECD on to anything … Continue reading A deeper dive into the OECD’s forecasts
Plain-speaking Economics 