This paper builds on the initial Wales productivity insights report (Henley, 2021) to outline the importance of addressing Wales’ productivity challenge. It provides a short background to, and a statistical update on, the productivity challenge in Wales (Section 2) and an overview of its drivers (Section 3). Since Wales’ productivity challenge is longstanding, and many of the drivers are well-established, the discussion is intentionally forward-looking. In this respect the emphasis is on the case for a renewed focus on productivity in Wales (Section 4) and how this relates to existing policy priorities (Section 5). We subsequently set out an agenda of how this might be achieved (Section 6).
Author Melanie Jones