Productivity Puzzles Cue Podcasts

What do we know about where productivity is heading? What will happen to productivity in the UK, around Europe, and even around the world? This episode takes a forward-looking perspective on future productivity and what needs to be done to realise that productivity potential. What policy changes can be made and what measures can businesses implement to improve the productivity outlook.


Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:


Catherine Mann, External member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of EnglandKitty Ussher, Chief Economist at the Institute of DirectorsKlaas de Vries, Senior Economist at the Conference Board

For more information on the topic:


The Conference Board, Total Economy Database The Conference Board, Global Economic Outlook.Abdul Azeez Erumban and Klaas de Vries, Global Growth Projections for The Conference Board Global Economic Outlook 2019, The Conference Board, 2018.Klaas de Vries & Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, What is the future of innovation-driven growth: Productivity stagnation or revival?, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 2022.The Institute of Directors, How To Increase Business Investment: IoD response to the Treasury workstream on ‘People, Capital and Ideas’, 2022.

About Productivity Puzzles:


Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. 

There is a new UK government department for science, innovation, and technology. Will the new standalone entity turn Britain into the science superpower that it hopes to become? Will the new department lift productivity growth during the hard times that the country is currently facing? This episode of Productivity Puzzles investigates these issues and more.


Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:


Richard Jones, Vice-President for Innovation and Regional Economic Development and Professor of Materials Physics and Innovation Policy, University of Manchester. Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge.

For more information on the topic:


Richard A.L. Jones (2022), Science and innovation policy for hard times: an overview of the UK’s Research and Development landscape.Diane Coyle and Jen-Chung Mei (2022), Diagnosing the UK Productivity Slowdown: Which Sectors Matter and Why?. A summary of the paper can be found on the Bennett Institute website.Richard A.L. Jones’ blog, Soft Machines.Richard A.L. Jones, (2007), Soft Machines: Nanotechnology and Life, Oxford University Press.William J. Baumol (2002), The Free-Market Innovation Machine: Analyzing the Growth Miracle of Capitalism, Princeton University Press.Nicholas Bloom, Charles I. Jones, John Van Reenen, and Michael Webb (2020), Are Ideas Getting Harder to Find?, American Economic Review 2020, 110(4): 1104–1144.Jon Agar (2019), Science Policy Under Thatcher, UCL Press.Tristram Hunt (2021), The Radical Potter: Josiah Wedgwood and the Transformation of Britain, Penguin Books.John Harvey-Jones (1990), Troubleshooter, BBC Books (via bookshops).Griliches, Zvi (1957), Hybrid Corn: An Exploration in the Economics of Technological Change, Econometrica, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Oct.), pp. 501-522.On the Haldane Principle:Ministry of Reconstruction (1918), Report of the Machinery of government committee.David Edgerton (2009), The ‘Haldane Principle’ and other invented traditions in science policy. History and Policy: Policy Papers.William Jayneway (2018), Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy: Markets, Speculation and the State, Cambridge University Press.

About Productivity Puzzles:


Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. 

How do Further Education Colleges contribute to the provision of skills needed for innovation and productivity in regions, cities and towns? How do they identify what businesses need, and how do they work with firms, local government and other schools? This episode of Productivity Puzzles focuses on the findings of a summary report looking into these issues, which was commissioned by The Productivity Institute and supported by the Gatsby Foundation.






Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:






Jen Nelles, Senior Research Fellow with the Innovation Caucus and co-director of the Oxford Regions, Innovation, and Enterprise Lab (ORIEL) at Oxford Brookes Business School.Ben Verinder, Founder and Managing Director of Chalkstream Ltd.





For more information on the topic:






J. Nelles, B. Verinder, K. Walsh and T. Vorley (2023) Skills, Innovation, and Productivity: The Role of Further Education Colleges in Local and Regional Ecosystems, The Productivity Institute and Innovation Caucus.J.Nelles, K. Walsh, M. Papazoglu, T. Vorley (2022) FECS, innovation, and skills: A literature review, Productivity Insights Paper No. 012, The Productivity Institute.





About Productivity Puzzles:


Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. 

In this episode Bart talks to three esteemed economists - Andy Haldane, Dame Kate Barker and Professor Nick Crafts - who explain what productivity actually is and why it matters to everyone. 


They discuss why UK productivity has slowed down since the 2008 financial crisis, creating a rising gap between the UK and other advanced economies in Europe. They also explain why increased productivity is important for raising living standards - drawing on lessons from the industrial revolution, how it has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and what critical things can be done to manage the post-crisis challenges.


Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 


The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit:


https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/


Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

Could COVID 19 be the game changer for the economy and create a true productivity miracle in the coming years? In this episode Bart talks to McKinsey’s Jan Mischke and Tera Allas about a recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute: “Will productivity and growth return after the COVID-19 crisis?” 


They discuss why businesses should focus on operational efficiency to improve productivity, how the boldest firms have emerged the strongest from the crisis and how rapid digitisation is transforming the retail and healthcare sectors.


Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 


The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit:


https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/


Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk

In this episode Bart talks to Prof. Diane Coyle, Dr. Jennifer Dixon & Kaya M. Dreesbeimdiek on productivity in UK health care during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.


They discuss how we measure health productivity. What has happened to health productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic? How do we rebuild a resilient health care sector to enable higher productivity in an uncertain environment?


Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. 


The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit:


https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/


Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk