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Persistent productivity failure in the UK: is the EU really to blame?


External Authors

Crafts, N
Related Themes
Productivity, Trade, and Regional EconomiesJEL Code
N14, O47, O52
Journal
National Institute Economic Review
Publisher
Sage Publications, London
External Resources
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/002795011924700111
Issue
247
On average, UK productivity performance in the decades leading up to the financial crisis was quite disappointing. Joining the EU was not to blame. Indeed, EU membership, which was an integral part of the Thatcher reform programme, had a significant positive impact. Over the long run, UK supply-side policies have been badly designed in various different ways. These design faults have not been the result of constraints imposed by EU membership but rather the consequence of domestic government failure. There is no reason to think that EU exit will lead, either directly or indirectly, to improvements in UK productivity outcomes.
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