Fiscal policy· Public spending They’ve only just begun… Government fires the starting gun on a Spending Review that must plot a path to prosperity 10 December 2024 by James Smith and Tom Clark Rachel Reeves certainly isn’t the first Chancellor to turn to financiers for line-by-line scrutiny of public expenditure, as she is reported to be doing, as she fires the starting gun on next Spring’s Spending Review. Back in 1931, Philip Snowden turned to Sir George May – a retired “man from the Pru” – to identify … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Fiscal policy· Economy and public finances· Tax Fiscal multi-tasking 12 November 2020 by Torsten Bell Multi-tasking can be hard. Ask any parent that survived lockdown by combining work with something resembling home schooling. But it’s also a fact of life, so the trick is to manage multiple objectives well, not wish them away. This is true for people and our Government. Indeed, fiscal multi-tasking is what the 2020s are all … Continued READ MORE
Fiscal policy· Economy and public finances· Macroeconomic policy· Political parties and elections Political leaders must set out credible plans to tackle the next downturn The time for action on macroeconomic policy is now 30 November 2019 by James Smith Okay, fair enough, there’s a lot going on right now. With a fraught election campaign in full flow, and our future relationship with the EU still up in the air, you can be forgiven for taking your eye off preparations for the next recession. But boom and bust hasn’t gone away. So while the sun … Continued READ MORE
Fiscal policy· Macroeconomic policy The Treasury and Bank of England should prepare for a three-pronged economic shock from ‘no deal’ 1 October 2019 by Jack Leslie It’s a well-worn trope that no one knows what the economic impact of a no deal Brexit would be. And for good reason. The scale of disruption at the border, in supply chains and in the wider economy, is impossible to predict with any accuracy. Much would depend on the timing and the success of … Continued READ MORE
Public spending· Fiscal policy· Economy and public finances· Macroeconomic policy Another summer blockbuster (on fiscal risks) from the OBR 18 July 2019 by Richard Hughes Today the OBR published its second Fiscal Risks Report, a comprehensive assessment of all the things that could go wrong with the UK’s public finances over the next 50 years. And it is a summer blockbuster – topping out at 293 pages in total. Fiscal risk analysis is the new cutting edge in fiscal policymaking, … Continued READ MORE