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
Tag: economy
More pain to come as Budget measures bite
The jump in inflation in October was not a big surprise after the 10% increase in household fuel bills, but the cost-of-living crisis will worsen before it gets better. Most commentators expect the measures in last month’s Budget to add to inflation next year, as businesses pass on the costs of the large increases in … Continue reading More pain to come as Budget measures bite
The Budget has just made the Bank’s job even harder
It is good to start for once with some praise for the Bank of England. After the Halloween Budget in the UK and the fireworks of election night in the US, the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee helped to calm the nerves by delivering the expected quarter point cut in interest rates (to 4.75pc) on Thursday. … Continue reading The Budget has just made the Bank’s job even harder
A second Trump presidency strengthens the case for Brexit
The usual suspects were quick to seize on Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential elections as ‘yet another reason’ for the UK to rejoin the EU. Of course, some people need no excuse. If Kamala Harris had won, they would have insisted that a rejuvenated Democrat-led administration offered a great opportunity to reset US-EU … Continue reading A second Trump presidency strengthens the case for Brexit
Plain-speaking Economics 