The UK’s sustained growth between 1997 and 2008 was fuelled by the importance of skills and new technology: rather than just austerity, the government should focus on building human capital and innovation to support long-term growth

Valero, Anna, Van Reenen, John ORCID: 0000-0001-9153-2907 and Corry, Dan (2011) The UK’s sustained growth between 1997 and 2008 was fuelled by the importance of skills and new technology: rather than just austerity, the government should focus on building human capital and innovation to support long-term growth. British Politics and Policy at LSE (15 Nov 2011). Website.

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Abstract

Some commentators have argued that the prosperity boom experienced under the last Labour government was a ‘free ride’ which benefited from the earlier policies of Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives, and that Labour did little to improve the economy, leaving it in a more vulnerable state when the global recession came. New research from Anna Valero, John Van Reenen and Dan Corry takes an in-depth look at the UK’s GDP and productivity growth between 1997 and 2010, and finds that many of Labour’s policies were beneficial for economic growth, and that this growth was not all an unsustainable ‘bubble’, but was based on some real productivity increases fed by growth in new skills and technology. However, in some areas, such financial regulation Labour’s policies clearly failed. Using this evidence, the authors recommend the chancellor slows fiscal consolidation, and more importantly, develops an explicit growth strategy around human capital, infrastructure and innovation.

Item Type:	Online resource (Website)
Official URL:	http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/
Additional Information:	© 2011 The authors
Divisions:	Economics Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions J Political Science > JA Political science (General) J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain T Technology > T Technology (General)
JEL classification:	H - Public Economics > H6 - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt > H60 - General
Date Deposited:	06 Dec 2011 10:38
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2024 04:41
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/39888

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