I recorded a podcast for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) on Friday 6th May on UK inflation, definitions of 'recession' and 'stagflation', and what more the Bank of England could (and should) have done. You can listen here... https://ieapodcast.podbean.com/e/interest-rates-how-to-control-inflation/
Tag: recession
Big freeze in GDP should keep tax hikes on ice too
The latest UK GDP numbers were better than expected, but it would still be dangerous to raise taxes in the March Budget. This would be far too soon after a year when the economy contracted by nearly 10% and with a renewed decline almost certain this quarter. To recap, UK GDP rose by 1.2% m/m in December … Continue reading Big freeze in GDP should keep tax hikes on ice too
A glass-half-full take on UK GDP
The real ‘news’ in today’s official GDP data for Q2 is not that the UK economy shrank for a second successive quarter in the three months to June, thus meeting the usual definition of a ‘recession’. That was a racing certainty anyway given the collapse in economic activity in April and the limited recovery in … Continue reading A glass-half-full take on UK GDP
Could the lockdown cost more lives than it saves?
The UK government’s daily coronavirus briefing on Friday drew more attention to a question that has already been troubling many people: could the wider economic and health impacts of the fight against Covid-19 actually do more harm than the virus itself? My view, for what it’s worth, is that it is right to err on … Continue reading Could the lockdown cost more lives than it saves?
Plain-speaking Economics 