Prime, Policy Research in Macroeconomics

In 2020, GDP per head of population fell, year on year, by a massive 10.5%. For me, that’s the  take-away statistic from last Friday’s GDP-related ‘data dump’ by ONS.  The level of GCDP per head (in real, inflation-adjusted terms) was £29,124.  This was almost identical to the level in 2009 (£29,098), at the peak of the global financial crisis, and otherwise the lowest on record since 2003. Of course, the extent of the decline is heavily down to the government’s  first lockdown restrictions,...

In 2020, GDP per head of population fell, year on year, by a massive 10.5%. For me, that’s the  take-away statistic from last Friday’s GDP-related ‘data dump’ by ONS.  The level of GCDP per head (in real, inflation-adjusted terms) was £29,124.  This was almost identical to the level in 2009 (£29,098), at the peak of the global financial crisis, and otherwise the lowest on record since 2003. Of course, the extent of the decline is heavily down to the government’s  first lockdown restrictions,...

In 2020, GDP per head of population fell, year on year, by a massive 10.5%. For me, that’s the  take-away statistic from last Friday’s GDP-related ‘data dump’ by ONS.  The level of GCDP per head (in real, inflation-adjusted terms) was £29,124.  This was almost identical to the level in 2009 (£29,098), at the peak of the global financial crisis, and otherwise the lowest on record since 2003.  Of course, the extent of the decline is heavily down to the government’s  first lockdown...

The UBS Task Force, hosted by PRIME and supported by Network for Social Change, aims to stimulate wider interest in Universal Basic Services (UBS) as a framework for policy and practice to ensure that everyone has access to life’s essentials.  The Task Force has ten members (see below) and three strategic goals: to get UBS on the policy agenda, to build alliances and to generate new research.   Maeve Cohen has been appointed as the new Project Officer (part-time):  she is co-founder and...

The UBS Task Force, hosted by PRIME and supported by Network for Social Change, aims to stimulate wider interest in Universal Basic Services (UBS) as a framework for policy and practice to ensure that everyone has access to life’s essentials.  The Task Force has ten members (see below) and three strategic goals: to get UBS on the policy agenda, to build alliances and to generate new research.   Maeve Cohen has been appointed as the new Project Officer (part-time):  she is co-founder and...

The UBS Task Force, hosted by PRIME and supported by Network for Social Change, aims to stimulate wider interest in Universal Basic Services (UBS) as a framework for policy and practice to ensure that everyone has access to life’s essentials.  The Task Force has ten members (see below) and three strategic goals: to get UBS on the policy agenda, to build alliances and to generate new research.    Maeve Cohen has been appointed as the new Project Officer (part-time):  she is co-founder and...

This article first appeared on Substack.Last week the Biden team delivered their first press conference on the Democrat’s much-anticipated Climate Plan.The good news is that Climate Envoy, John Kerry and Advisor, Gina McCarthy are talking about the Climate Plan delivering “Good paying Union Jobs”.All hail to that ambition.The bad news is that this ain’t no Rooseveltian New Deal.Roosevelt confronted Wall St from the get go. His administration systematically drained the Street of power, and...

This article first appeared on Substack.Last week the Biden team delivered their first press conference on the Democrat’s much-anticipated Climate Plan.The good news is that Climate Envoy, John Kerry and Advisor, Gina McCarthy are talking about the Climate Plan delivering “Good paying Union Jobs”.All hail to that ambition.The bad news is that this ain’t no Rooseveltian New Deal.Roosevelt confronted Wall St from the get go. His administration systematically drained the Street of power, and...

This article first appeared on Substack. Last week the Biden team delivered their first press conference on the Democrat’s much-anticipated Climate Plan. The good news is that Climate Envoy, John Kerry and Advisor, Gina McCarthy are talking about the Climate Plan delivering “Good paying Union Jobs”. All hail to that ambition. The bad news is that this ain’t no Rooseveltian New Deal. Roosevelt confronted Wall St from the get go. His administration systematically drained the Street of power,...

Between the Anglo-American political horror shows of 2020 and the raging pandemic, something much less theatrical drifted centre stage to play a more than usually important role: interest rates. There is one obvious reason: like waiting to witness a rare celestial event there is a high likelihood that rates will do a shocking, unusual thing and go negative. But there is another important reason that hasn’t, to date, been part of mainstream economic commentary. With more focus than ever on a...