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Begin New Search Topic Economics Political Geography United Kingdom Content Type Policy Brief

1. Building a Mature UK Trade Policy

Author:
David Henig
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE)
Abstract:
Global Britain has not delivered according to the hopes expressed by supporters of leaving the EU. Trade with the rest of the world has not grown to make up for leaving a bloc with seamless trade, early Free Trade Agreements with Australia and New Zealand are of minor economic significance, and it is hard to discern much of a strategy beyond completing a few more similar deals. Meanwhile the world of trade policy is transformed since 2016, negatively. The US has essentially declared its national interests to be more important than global rules, while the EU wants to act unilaterally as the global regulator. In both, the climate crisis is being used as an excuse to reintroduce protectionist measures threatening economic damage and global stability. Expectations of what a UK outside of the EU could achieve were exaggerated, but nonetheless the country could be doing a lot better in its trade policy. There is no good reason for such tensions as exist with a broad range of frustrated stakeholders, the absence of clear purpose on UK strengths such as services, or the defensiveness that seemingly takes pride in secrecy and resistance to proper scrutiny. Adjustment time was inevitable, but six years should have been enough.
Topic:
Economics, European Union, Free Trade, and Trade Policy
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

2. The role of Chinese finance in the City of London after Brexit

Author:
Sarah Hall
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Asia Research Institute, University of Nottingham
Abstract:
London is the largest western financial centre for financial transactions denominated in Renminbi (RMB) and has played an important role in shaping the rapid and recent internationalisation of Chinese finance. This policy brief discusses how to maintain this leading role post-Brexit.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, Finance, Brexit, and Financial Institutions
Political Geography:
Britain, China, and United Kingdom

3. The Economic Impact of Gatwick Airport

Author:
Pete Collings and Osman Ismail
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
Oxford Economics were appointed by the Gatwick Growth Board (GGB) to provide an independent assessment of Gatwick Airport's local, regional and national impact. The GGB was established in 2016 to examine the economic and social consequences of Gatwick Airport’s future plans for growth and expansion. The resulting study represents the most detailed assessment to date of Gatwick's economic footprint, and will provide evidence for the GGB's strategic work over the coming year. It finds that Gatwick Airport’s operations and services deliver very significant economic benefits for the UK, with its national GDP contribution reaching £5.3 billion in 2016, equivalent to 0.3% of the UK's total. Some 43 million passenger journeys passed through Gatwick during that year, underlining its position as a key component of national infrastructure. In addition, the report measures the Airport's wider impact, beyond its direct transport benefits to passengers and airlines. At the centre of a complex network of supply chains, Gatwick Airport enables activity throughout the Gatwick Diamond area, and beyond. The salaries sustained by employment at the Gatwick site also provide an invaluable contribution to the local consumer economy. The study also explores the potential for the Airport to deliver an even greater economic contribution in future.
Topic:
Economics, Tourism, Transportation, and Airline Companies
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

4. Income Inequality Developments in the Great Recession

Author:
Tomas Hellebrandt
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
The Great Recession, which cost tens of millions of jobs, a collapse of asset values around the world, and threatened the global financial system, has generated renewed concern over the long-standing issue of the fairness of the distribution of wealth and income in many societies. Economic inequality has increased in the United States and many other advanced economies over the past 20 to 30 years. This trend generated less worry in the boom years, when unemployment rates were low and cheap credit enabled consumers to borrow and maintain higher standards of living, masking the impact of growing income disparity on consumption patterns and perceptions of well-being.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Poverty, Social Stratification, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Ireland

5. A Tale of Two Britains: Inequality in the UK

Author:
Sarah Dransfield
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Inequality is a growing problem in the UK. Whilst austerity measures in Britain continue to hit the poorest families hardest, a wealthy elite have seen their incomes spiral upwards, exacerbating income inequality which has grown under successive governments over the last quarter of a century.
Topic:
Economics, Poverty, and Governance
Political Geography:
Britain and United Kingdom

6. Publishing Government Contracts: Addressing Concerns and Easing Implementation (Brief)

Author:
Charles Kenny
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Government contracts regarding the use of public property and finances should be published by default. Many jurisdictions already require that contracts be made public in response to requests for the information; some now publish contracts proactively. Doing so helps new entrants compete in the market for public contracts, helps governments model their projects on other successful examples, and allows citizens greater insight into how their taxes are being spent. This brief, summarizing the conclusions of the Working Group on Government Contract Publication, provides a practical outline for reaping the benefits of open contracts while addressing legitimate concerns about costs, collusion, privacy, commercial secrecy, and national security.
Topic:
Economics and Government
Political Geography:
United Kingdom

7. The Quality of Official Development Assistance 2014

Author:
Nancy Birdsall, Homi Kharas, and Nabil Hashmi
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
The Quality of Official Development Assistance (QuODA) measures donors' performance on 31 indicators of aid quality to which donors have made commitments. The indicators are grouped into four dimensions associated with effective aid: maximizing efficiency, fostering institutions, reducing the burden on partner countries, and transparency and learning. The 2014 edition finds that donors are overall becoming more transparent and better at fostering partner country institutions but that there has been little progress at maximizing efficiency or reducing the burden on partner countries. The World Bank's concessional lending arm, the International Development Association (IDA), performs very well in QuODA, ranking in the top 10 of 31 donors on all four dimensions. The United States ranks in the bottom half of all donors on three of the four dimensions of aid quality and last on reducing the burden on partner countries. The United Kingdom ranks in the top third on three of four dimensions of aid quality and scores particularly well on transparency and learning. The Global Fund ranks in the bottom third on fostering institutions but ranks in the top third on the other three dimensions of aid quality, including the top spot in maximizing efficiency.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, Foreign Aid, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
United States and United Kingdom

8. Stabilizing Properties of Flexible Exchange Rates: Evidence from the Global Financial Crisis

Author:
Joseph E. Gagnon
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:
There is a long-standing debate among economists and policymakers on the benefits of flexible versus fixed exchange rates (Klein and Shambaugh 2010). In principle, flexible exchange rates allow a country's central bank to focus on stabilizing economic growth and inflation, which are the ultimate goals of monetary policy. However, some argue that in practice central banks often do not use their powers wisely and it may be better to restrict their freedom by requiring them to peg their currency to that of an important trading partner. Others note that flexible exchange rates are far more volatile than fundamental factors can explain (Flood and Rose 1995), raising the possibility that they may introduce wasteful cross-sectoral fluctuations in economic activity. One common viewpoint is that flexible exchange rates may be fine for large countries but that the smallest countries are better off with fixed exchange rates (Åslund 2010).
Topic:
Economics, Foreign Exchange, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, China, and United Kingdom

9. Truth and Lies about Poverty: Ending comfortable myths about poverty

Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In 1753 John Wesley, the founder of Methodism said, "So wickedly, devilishly false is that common objection, 'They are poor, only because they are idle'". Yet today many churchgoers and members of the general public alike have come to believe that the key factors driving poverty in the UK are the personal failings of the poor – especially 'idleness'. How did this come about?
Topic:
Security, Economics, Poverty, Social Stratification, and Sociology
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

10. Fighting the Fed

Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
Since the US Federal Reserve signalled that a turn in the interest rate cycle may be on the horizon, UK and to a lesser extent Eurozone interest rates have tracked US rates higher. But the UK and Eurozone economies are less well placed than the US to cope with higher interest rates. Simulations carried out on our Global Economic Model show that higher rates would be particularly harmful to the UK economy's embryonic recovery. In an attempt to stem the rise in interest rates, the Bank of England and the ECB have introduce forward guidance but with little, if any, success. Markets do not seem convinced by the Bank of England's commitment to forward guidance and are testing its resolve. It seems likely that over time both central banks may have to strengthen their forward guidance, in the case of the Bank of England by augmenting it with further quantitative easing.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, and Europe