Post by Totheleft on Jun 17, 2024 14:28:27 GMT
i will be looking at new labour economy performance upto the 20008 Recession
A common view is that the performance of the UK economy between 1997 and 2010 under
Labour was very weak and that the current economic problems are a consequence of poor
policies in this period. In this report, we analyse the historical performance of the UK
economy since 1997 compared with other major advanced economies and with performance
prior to 1997, notably the years of Conservative government, 1979-97.
We focus on measures of business performance, especially productivity growth. This is a key
economic indicator as in the long run, productivity determines material wellbeing – wages
and consumption. Productivity determines the size of the “economic pie” available to the
citizens of a country.
The big picture
We conclude that relative to other major industrialised countries, the UK’s performance was
good after 1997. The growth of GDP per capita – 1.42% a year between 1997 and 2010 – was
better than in any of other “G6” countries: Germany (1.26%), the US (1.22%), France
(1.04%), Japan (0.52%) and Italy (0.22%). Figure 1 shows GDP per capita levels in four
countries relative to 1997. The height of the line indicates the cumulative growth: in 2010,
the UK had a level of GDP per capita 17% higher than in 1997; over the same period US
GDP per capita had grown by 14%.
The UK’s high GDP per capita growth was driven by strong growth in productivity (GDP per
hour), which was second only to the US, and good performance in the jobs market (which
was better than in the US). The UK’s relative economic performance appears even stronger in
the years prior to 2008 before the Great Recession engulfed the developed world.
A common view is that the performance of the UK economy between 1997 and 2010 under
Labour was very weak and that the current economic problems are a consequence of poor
policies in this period. In this report, we analyse the historical performance of the UK
economy since 1997 compared with other major advanced economies and with performance
prior to 1997, notably the years of Conservative government, 1979-97.
We focus on measures of business performance, especially productivity growth. This is a key
economic indicator as in the long run, productivity determines material wellbeing – wages
and consumption. Productivity determines the size of the “economic pie” available to the
citizens of a country.
The big picture
We conclude that relative to other major industrialised countries, the UK’s performance was
good after 1997. The growth of GDP per capita – 1.42% a year between 1997 and 2010 – was
better than in any of other “G6” countries: Germany (1.26%), the US (1.22%), France
(1.04%), Japan (0.52%) and Italy (0.22%). Figure 1 shows GDP per capita levels in four
countries relative to 1997. The height of the line indicates the cumulative growth: in 2010,
the UK had a level of GDP per capita 17% higher than in 1997; over the same period US
GDP per capita had grown by 14%.
The UK’s high GDP per capita growth was driven by strong growth in productivity (GDP per
hour), which was second only to the US, and good performance in the jobs market (which
was better than in the US). The UK’s relative economic performance appears even stronger in
the years prior to 2008 before the Great Recession engulfed the developed world.
