With expectations of the Bank of England raising interest rates growing with each passing month, Omar Ghulam warns that such a course of action may have other consequences. The central banking bible holds that thou shalt raise rates when the economy overheats, or lower rates when the economy cools ‘other things being equal’. What if […]
UK productivity is a leadership challenge
This week Bank of England chief Mark Carney – and the University of Manchester’s own Ken Clark – highlighted the problem with productivity that our economy faces. Here Chris Bones offers some solutions. Whilst the coalition government delivered employment and growth it did far less well on productivity. The Bank of England reports that UK […]
UK GDP grows more slowly – should we worry?
Professor Diane Coyle explains that the latest, disappointing, GDP figures tell us little about what is actually happening in the economy. That won’t stop them being used by all the parties in the last days of the General Election campaign. It was no surprise that the General Election spin machines should try to put their […]
Time to ditch GDP as a measure of economic well-being
There is nothing inevitable or ‘natural’ about using GDP to measure the economy. The Office for National Statistics has embarked on a journey toward a more rounded assessment of economic well-being, argues Professor Diane Coyle. Just before Christmas, the Office for National Statistics took a giant step, in its normal low key manner: it published […]
Is QE funding speculative bubbles – and becoming the precursor to long-term government control of money?
The Federal US Central Bank began to taper Quantitative Easing (QE) last Wednesday, signaling the beginning of the end for cheap Government funding – and that economic recovery is underway, writes Ian Crowther. And although the UK and the Bank of England appear to be some way off making such announcements, inflationary pressure is beginning […]