The Growth of Output and Productivity in the Uk: the 1980s as a Phase of the Post-War Period

Abstract

The Review is pleased to give hospitality to the deliberations of the CLARE Group but is not necessarily in agreement with the views expressed. Members of the CLARE Group are M. J. Artis, A. J. C. Britton, W. A. Brown, C. H. Feinstein, C. A. E. Goodhart, D. A. Hay, J. A. Kay, R. C. O. Matthews, M. H. Miller, P. M. Oppenheimer, M. V. Posner, W. B. Reddaway, J. R. Sargent, M. F-G. Scott, Z. A. Silberston, J. H. B. Tew, J. S. Vickers, S. Wadhwani.

Trends in output and productivity in the UK in the 1980s need to be considered in comparison with the whole post-war period, not just in comparison with the abnormal 1970s; account must be taken of the whole economy, not just manufacturing; and the outcome must be viewed in the context of the experience of other OECD countries. The authors present some new statistical estimates and offer a wide-ranging interpretative survey of what the statistics reveal. They avoid giving praise or blame to governments, whose influence on long-run trends, whether for good or ill, they view with some agnosticism.

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