H as in hot air. Shaun Hempel“Britain will become the Qatar of hydrogen,” Boris Johnson declared as the government laid out its 368-page strategy for reaching net zero emissions by 2050. It sounds magnificent, but what does it mean in practice?
The right prescription? Sasun BughdaryanThe pandemic has been a bruising experience for the global economy. In response, many countries have kept interest rates low, to keep money moving at a time of extreme uncertainty.
Logan Roy, the media titan played by Brian Cox. HBO/BSkyBWill Logan Roy be brought down after his son Kendall publicly blamed him for covering up a litany of rapes and sexual assaults in Waystar Royco’s cruise-ships division?
CPI Inflation fell to 3.1% from the previous months 3.2%. Inflation was expected to fall as there was a “base effect” of -0.4% as the increase in inflation in August-September 2020 dropped out (this spike of 0.4% was partly due to the rebound from the Eat Out to Help Out and VAT cut in August 2020). However, in addition to this base effect, there was a significant element of new inflation, with prices rising by 0.3% between September and August. This followed from a very sharp rise of 0.7% in July-August.
In a previous blog, we wrote about the importance of establishing an evidence base for interventions and identified funding as a key issue. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. How can services provide the best possible evidence-based interventions if the funding for service delivery and evaluation is not available?
With the close of the furlough scheme at the end of September, there are growing signs that older workers have remained stuck on furlough during the reopening while younger workers have returned comparatively swiftly to work.
Johnny Runge (Senior Social Researcher, NIESR) & Rose Lasko-Skinner (Demos)
“I just feel that some people are of the opinion that you’re not fired up, you’re not ambitious. I think it’s hard for someone to understand that… I’m nearly 60, but I’m still ambitious.” – Interview participant, woman, 59, working in retail, Yorkshire and the Humber.
Lockdown ended on 19 July; the furlough will end on 30 September. The economy is set to reach its pre-pandemic activity level, but the Bank of England’s extreme monetary accommodation appears to go on forever. It is past time for the Bank to act to bolster its credibility and to act to avoid un-anchoring inflation expectations.
Our recently published Global Economic Outlook included an upward revision to our projections for global GDP growth this year and next. Across countries, however, there is considerable divergence in the projected dates at which they will recover their pre-pandemic GDP levels. Output has already recovered its level from before the pandemic struck in China and the US. But the US is the only one of the G7 economies to have achieved that so far.
CPI inflation rose by a large amount (1.2%) and is now at 3.2%. Part of this increase was due to the “base effect” of the 0.4% fall in inflation last year (July-August 2020) dropping out of annual inflation. The fall in July-August 2020 reflected the Eat out to Help out Scheme and the reduction in VAT for the hospitality sector. However, in addition to this was a very large element of new inflation, with prices rising by 0.7% between July and August.
