Over five decades, the developed world has experienced the great inflation, the great moderation, the great recession, the jobless recovery, secular stagnation, a savings glut, and a “once in a century pandemic” among other crises and economic events. Through it all, UK productivity growth has remained disappointingly weak, centered largely in London and the South East region. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), the fear is that employment and incomes are threatened by AI’s impact in automating workers’ jobs.
The Productivity Institute was created to bring together scholars, business leaders, and policy makers to consider these challenges and explore what productivity means for businesses, workers, and communities—how it is measured and how it truly contributes to increased living standards and well-being. The aspiration is to contribute to improved outcomes in terms of productivity and more inclusive economic development, not only in the UK but also across the developed world.
Already the institute’s work has focused on how a longer-term perspective and a decentralization of public policy can provide benefits broadly across UK income groups and regions. The institute’s work has also looked at how heightened uncertainty, following the 2020–2021 global pandemic in combination with supply chain disruption, labour shortages, and rising costs, has impacted the business sector, public policy, and household decisions in terms of investment and economic activity. Can crises force more agility and resilience?
As part of the mission, The Productivity Measurement Analysis series will report on UK productivity trends, as well as those in the United States and the Euro Area. National statistical agencies, such as the Office of National Statistics (ONS), report productivity trends and data several times a year. Each report allows for an assessment of current period performance as well as long-term trends. More so than with most other measures, the long-term trend in productivity growth is a critical element of economic growth.
Beyond measurement, the Productivity Measurement Analysis series will also summarize from time-to-time important finding from research and scholarship at The Productivity Institute as well as from other universities and research labs.
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