GDP growth is strong but it masks UK plc’s deep-seated structural problems
Larry Elliott
Australia’s productivity riddle – and what it might mean for interest rates
Fertility crisis
Slow the growth, save the world? Why declining birth rates need not mean an end to prosperity
‘A big ask’: can Labour fix Britain using modern supply-side economics?
July 2024
Economics viewpoint
Growing UK’s services-based economy was never going to be easy
Larry Elliott
High interest rates are needed to reduce wage inflation but productivity improvements are harder to chisel out
Pass notes
Quiet hiring: the fast track to career success – or catastrophic burnout?
Many companies need more staff, but the recruitment process is expensive. So they’re offering existing workers the chance to take on new responsibilities. What could possibly go wrong?
Why everyone should have ‘zero days’ and do the worst job first
Brief letters
Now that’s not what I call a lazy journalist
Big, beautiful goals – but can’t be bothered? 11 great productivity tips for lazy people
June 2024
Project Syndicate economists
Labour’s growth strategy: the devil lies not in planning, but in implementation
Mohamed El-Erian
The party’s roadmap must favour comprehensive reforms, carried out at the same time, and sooner rather than later
Labour is offering a credible plan to address Britain’s economic problems
Letter: Leading economists and policy experts believe the ambitious reforms proposed by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will help grow the economy
The Guardian view on Labour’s plan for growth: the missing ingredient is clearly demand
Editorial: The UK can’t continue with policies that have produced a productivity slump and record amounts of insecure work
May 2024
Productivity soars in sectors of global economy most exposed to AI, says report
Tax rises will follow UK election unless fiscal rules are ripped up, says thinktank
April 2024
Hidden gems from the world of research
We don’t do our best work just before lunch, and it’s not much better afterwards
Torsten Bell
Stagnating productivity might be blamed either on distracting hunger pangs or post-prandial doziness
March 2024
The UK economy is climbing again – but the road ahead looks rocky
Figures may seem positive at first glance but the broader picture for UK plc is still one of relative stagnation
February 2024
The hard truth is that Britain’s entrepreneurs simply don’t innovate
Phillip Inman
Billions in tax relief is showered on UK small businesses in the belief that they are transforming the economy. They aren’t
Sainsbury’s does not rule out job cuts as it reveals plans to use more robots
Increased use of automated tills, warehouse robots and AI forecasting tools is part of £1bn cost-cutting drive
Labour rules out raising corporation tax above 25% in next parliament
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves tells business summit of measures to boost investment, productivity and certainty
January 2024
Labour will restore UK’s reputation for business, Rachel Reeves to tell Davos
Shadow chancellor will say party has put private sector investment at heart of growth strategy, at JP Morgan breakfast meeting
