2019
DOI: 10.1177/002795011924700111
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Persistent Productivity Failure in the UK: Is the EU Really to Blame?

Abstract: On average, UK productivity performance in the decades leading up to the financial crisis was quite disappointing. Joining the EU was not to blame. Indeed, EU membership, which was an integral part of the Thatcher reform programme, had a significant positive impact. Over the long run, UK supply-side policies have been badly designed in various different ways. These design faults have not been the result of constraints imposed by EU membership but rather the consequence of domestic government failure. There is … Show more

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Cited by 6 publications
(4 citation statements)
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“…However, if productivity gains are concentrated in already high-performing businesses and are not reinvested to create employment and wage growth, economy-wide gains could be limited and short-lived. The recovery in business investment might also be weaker than expected if weak pre-pandemic trends continue due to the effects of Brexit (Crafts, 2019), deteriorated balance sheets or persistent demand deficiencies, which could exert downward pressure on productivity growth.…”
Section: Long-term Productivity Shifts Resulting From the Pandemic Remain Largely Uncertainmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…However, if productivity gains are concentrated in already high-performing businesses and are not reinvested to create employment and wage growth, economy-wide gains could be limited and short-lived. The recovery in business investment might also be weaker than expected if weak pre-pandemic trends continue due to the effects of Brexit (Crafts, 2019), deteriorated balance sheets or persistent demand deficiencies, which could exert downward pressure on productivity growth.…”
Section: Long-term Productivity Shifts Resulting From the Pandemic Remain Largely Uncertainmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…If this is the case, then it would be especially important in a UK context to nurture competition. Stronger product-market competition was a major reason why EU membership raised productivity and, more generally, competition clearly matters for UK productivity performance (Crafts, 2019).…”
Section: A More Dynamic Economy?mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…We would expect labour productivity growth to fall below 1 per cent in the year after exit. In an article published in this Review , Crafts (2019) concludes that Brexit is unlikely to improve the UK's productivity in the long run, “since it is neither necessary nor sufficient for the introduction of better […] industrial policies”. We expect that lower levels of investment, lower net migration and lower productivity as a result of less intense trade would lead to a lower productive capacity compared to a soft Brexit outcome.…”
Section: Supply Conditionsmentioning
confidence: 99%