Britain on track to weak recovery, says IEA Economics Fellow
13 March 2024
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In the Media
Christopher Snowdon writes for The Critic
12 March 2024
In the Media
Housing and Planning
Commenting on January’s GDP data, Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the free market think tank, the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:
“Some growth is better than no growth, but the 0.2% increase in output in January is little to shout about. Monthly GDP has been oscillating between expansion and contraction, so one month’s data alone are not enough to change the big picture.
“For what it is worth, the UK almost certainly emerged from recession in the first quarter of the year. The slump in the final three months of 2023 gives a low base for comparison, and recent business surveys have been more positive. Falling inflation and lower interest rates should help growth to pick up over the course of 2024.
“Nonetheless, the recovery is likely to remain weak without more action to improve the supply side of the economy – the incentives to work and to invest – and to fix the UK’s longstanding productivity problems. Fundamental reform of our broken planning system would be a good start.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Contact: media@iea.org.uk / 07763 365520
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
“Some growth is better than no growth, but the 0.2% increase in output in January is little to shout about. Monthly GDP has been oscillating between expansion and contraction, so one month’s data alone are not enough to change the big picture.
“For what it is worth, the UK almost certainly emerged from recession in the first quarter of the year. The slump in the final three months of 2023 gives a low base for comparison, and recent business surveys have been more positive. Falling inflation and lower interest rates should help growth to pick up over the course of 2024.
“Nonetheless, the recovery is likely to remain weak without more action to improve the supply side of the economy – the incentives to work and to invest – and to fix the UK’s longstanding productivity problems. Fundamental reform of our broken planning system would be a good start.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Contact: media@iea.org.uk / 07763 365520
The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
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