On Thursday (19 December), the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will reveal its latest interest rate decision. Those of us hoping that the recent bad economic news will prompt another cut are set to be disappointed. Believe it or not, most forecasters still expect Rachel Reeves’ first Budget to boost the economy in … Continue reading Stalling economy unlikely to sway the Bank of England
Category: Labour markets
Is Britain really fated for economic decline?
Another day, another flurry of bad news on the fallout from October’s Budget. The BDO Monthly Business Trends indices - which pull together the results of all the main UK business surveys – show that confidence has fallen to the lowest level in almost two years, with output and employment down, and only inflation up. … Continue reading Is Britain really fated for economic decline?
The real ‘black hole’ is in public sector productivity
The Nobel Prize-winning economist, Paul Krugman, once famously said that “productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything”. If so, the UK has a huge problem – and that problem is particularly acute in the public sector. Official estimates released last week suggest that public service productivity was an astonishing 8.5 … Continue reading The real ‘black hole’ is in public sector productivity
Labour’s first 100 days – the economy
In response to overwhelming public demand (not really!) here is my take on the impact that the incoming Labour government has had on the UK economy. Clearly, it’s early days and there is still all to play for, but the initial signs are not encouraging. The obvious place to start is the health of the … Continue reading Labour’s first 100 days – the economy
Plain-speaking Economics 