Productivity under the 1997–2010 Labour government

John van Reenen

Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 2013, vol. 29, issue 1, 113-141

Abstract: What was the productivity record under the Labour government of 1997–2010? I show that productivity growth (and economic performance in general) was good when the UK is compared with its main international peers. Only the US had stronger productivity growth and the UK did better than the US in terms of the jobs market. Much of this improved performance was a continuation of the pattern since 1979 which broke a century of relative decline. Some part of the improvement is directly linked to policies, especially over human capital, innovation, and competition. We discuss the recent ‘productivity puzzle’—the disappointing productivity figures since the onset of the Great Recession in 2008—and argue that our conclusions are unchanged as most other OECD countries have also experienced poor measured productivity. Copyright 2013, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2013
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