From rare bees to miners’ pensions, money is now no object in parliament
Miners’ pensions, indigenous rights, the shrill carder bee – parliament and the public have lost touch with the reality of public spending, writes Paul Ormerod Early day motions (EDMs) are a longstanding feature of parliament. Some are tabled for local publicity for the MP, such as the one last week congratulating Peterhead on being champions […]
If the ONS can’t measure productivity, how are we meant to improve it?
The ONS’s shortcomings are far from trivial, its bad maths is holding back the UK economy, writes Paul Ormerod The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has come in for a lot of criticism for the accuracy of its labour market data. More specifically, its estimates of how many people there are in employment have become less […]
Office for Value for Money: Can more bureaucracy really improve productivity?
The public sector’s productivity record is abysmal, and Rachel Reeves’ new Office for Value for Money shows she knows it. But will more bureaucracy really solve the issue, asks Paul Ormerod There are some parts of the British state which function with admirable efficiency. Any driver with the temerity to stray a yard into a […]
Not all is doom and gloom: a recession is not the only possible scenario facing Britain
The prime minister and the Chancellor are struggling to “balance the books”. Around £50bn might be needed from a combination of cuts to spending plans and increases in taxation. This has led to a chorus of voices squealing about austerity creating a major economic recession. The argument goes back to Keynes, writing in the aftermath […]
Expansionary fiscal contraction
To many people, this phrase is an oxymoron. How can fiscal contraction be expansionary? But the evidence suggests that this is exactly what has been happening in the United States. In terms of national output, GDP, the trough of the trough of the recession was reached in the second quarter of 2009 (2009Q2). We have […]
