Productivity Commission – call for written evidence

The UK Productivity Commission’s focus for the year 2023 is on investment and its relationship with the country’s productivity performance. The Commission calls for written evidence on topics related to business investment, public investment and foreign direct investment and their connection to productivity at national, regional and sectoral levels.

Submitting Evidence

Make sure that you have read the terms of reference below. Your submission should be:

• No more than 3,000 words, excluding references.
• Include a short introduction to you and/or your organisation.
• Be a single Word, PDF, ODT or RTF document.
• Your evidence will usually be published on our website, and may be quoted in any reports that The Commission publishes.
• Please send your submission to productivity@niesr.ac.uk by 17:00 on Monday 24 April 2023.

Terms of Reference

We will prioritise contributions that rely on economic data, particularly those addressing themes in the list below. Contributions considering differences in investment levels over time and how  and why certain events have impacted investment levels would be helpful. Policy recommendations are welcome, especially those that are evidence-based.

Business investment

• Sizing business investment shortages in the UK, with international comparisons and an overview of the UK regions and sectors
• Intangibles and business investment
• Financing business investment
• The green transition and business investment

Public investment

• Sizing public investment shortages in the UK, with international comparisons and an overview of the UK regions and sectors
• Investing in UK infrastructure: where are the priorities and why?
• Public-Private investment synergies
• The green transition and public investment

Foreign direct investment (FDI)

• Sizing UK foreign direct investment trends, with international comparisons and an overview of the UK regions and sectors
• Foreign direct investment and the post-Brexit trade landscape
• Foreign direct investment and its relationship to real investments

More information

The Productivity Commission is the policy arm of The Productivity Institute and regularly meets to discuss ongoing policy questions throughout the UK.

It is an independent academic forum for the development of research-based policies and a focal point for Whitehall initiatives. It aims to develop and support a new constituency to support the national debate on productivity and promoting robust and consistent policies to address the UK’s chronic productivity shortfall. The Commission aims to understand the policy implications of research produced by The Productivity Institute and elsewhere, as well as develop strong institutional links with government and other national bodies. It was launched on 16 September, 2021 by our partner NIESR.

• The first evidence review can be accessed on NIESR’s website.
• The publication UK Productivity Commission Priorities for 2023 was released on 19 January 2023, which sets out some questions for the year, with particular focus on investment.