The UK has a chronic productivity problem. Output per person is virtually the same as it was ten years ago. This is why the economy is growing so slowly and why most people’s incomes, net of inflation, have stagnated or declined. Furthermore, without significant policy changes, there is little prospect of this situation improving as far ahead as we can see.
This pamphlet argues that we are in this predicament not because it is unavoidable but because of policy mistakes which badly need to be corrected and which – if they were – could lead to the UK economy expanding sustainably at 3% or 4% per annum, with real incomes for almost everyone rising steadily. From every point of view – economically, socially and politically – if it is possible to do this, it is vital that it is done.
