Unlocking UK-wide growth: new research evidence and policy tools

Unlocking UK-wide growth: new research evidence and policy tools

Over 60 economists, academics and policy makers took part in a workshop which looked at new research on the UK's internal market, regional inequalities and domestic frictions to trade, regional growth and productivity.

Delivered in partnership with the Institute of Fiscal Studies, representatives from government departments including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; Department for Transport; Competition and Markets Authority; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Department for Business and Trade; and the ONS, engaged with academics working across the topic on their latest research in the context of factors which affect UK wide growth.

The day opened with a presentation from Anna Stansbury from the MIT Sloan School of Management on her research into the UK’s regional economic inequality “Tackling the UK's Regional Economic Inequality: Binding constraints and avenues for policy intervention”. She suggested that the removal of autonomy from local authorities and the focus on centralisation/national delivery has led to the underperformance of cities outside London.

Housing demand across the UK and the barriers to building was the focus of Amrita Kulka’s (University of Warwick) presentation "Mapping excess housing demand using big search data". She presented the WhereToBuild mapping tool which draws on data from 20 billion housing searches to identify the gaps at regional level between where people want to live and supply.

A panel discussion chaired by Marta Santamaria (University of Warwick) on tools to achieve UK-wide growth gave participants the chance to find out more about the industrial strategy, transport policy and local governance.

Stephen Aldridge (Director, Analysis and Data for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), Ian Mulheirn (Chief Analyst and Chief Economist for Department for Transport), Tony Venables (Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University / Honorary Professor at University of Manchester), James Waugh (Director, Competition and Markets Authority) took questions from the floor and discussed the challenges of regional inequalities and the potential disconnect between national decision making and regional implementation.

The potential of renewable energy for economic growth was the topic of Enrico Vanino’s (University of Sheffield) presentation “Local Economic Effects of Renewable Energy: Evidence from Offshore Wind Energy in the UK”. He discussed the way it can affect local employment and the interdependence between achieving net zero and levelling up.

Jacob Schneebacher (IFS) followed with early research findings on UK productivity and wages. His presentation "Growing in place: The shift from span to scale in UK multiestablishment firms" covered what they would look like if the cost of opening new establishments had not risen.

The final session covered the domestic market and transport policy. Yadira Gómez-Hernández (Brunel Centre, University of Bath) discussed the lack of available data on the wider economic effects of local transport infrastructure spending and the strategic case for local schemes in her presentation “Impact of Local Public Transport Schemes on Economic Growth”.

Marta Santamaria closed the event with her research “How integrated is the United Kingdom? Frictions in the domestic goods market” on the scale of domestic frictions to trade which vary by nation and industry.