Commission to develop a long-term growth strategy for the UK launches

How best can the UK create a strategy for long-run growth? That is the central question to be addressed by the LSE Growth Commission, which will be launched in London on Monday 23 January. Working with the Institute for Government, the Commission aims to provide an authoritative contribution to the formulation and implementation of a long-term growth strategy for the UK.

To launch the Commission and to assist in setting its agenda, Professors Larry Summers and Steve Nickell will give evidence on Monday on how to improve the growth performance of the UK economy in the medium to long term.

Professor Summers of Harvard University was a top economic policy adviser in the administrations of both President Clinton and President Obama. Professor Nickell of Oxford University is a member of the Office for Budget Responsibility and former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

LSE professor and former MPC member Tim Besley, who is co-chair of the LSE Growth Commission|, says: 'Even in times of slow growth and protracted economic turbulence, it is essential to stay focused on the key drivers of prosperity over the long term.

‘The LSE Growth Commission will use frontier research and ideas to provide a framework for policy and policy-making in the UK to support sustainable growth.’

Monday’s launch event will be the first of a series of evidence sessions, drawing on the expertise of individuals with experience in academia, business and policy. The proceedings of the evidence sessions will be made publicly available as a permanent record, and by the end of 2012, the LSE Growth Commission will produce a report on policy changes to support growth in the UK.

LSE professor and director of the Centre for Economic Performance| John Van Reenen, co-chair of the LSE Growth Commission, adds ‘The scope of the Commission is broad, looking at, among other things, the role of green technologies, the creation and deployment of skills, the provision of infrastructure, the role of macroeconomic stability, the system of innovation, public sector productivity, trade and the tax and regulatory regime.

‘A unique feature of our approach will be to consider what structures of government are needed to support an effective growth strategy.’

Ends

Notes:

Larry Summers is the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and former US Treasury Secretary and Director of the United States National Economic Council for President Barack Obama.

Stephen Nickell is Warden of Nuffield College, Oxford, member of the Office for Budget Responsibility and former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.

The LSE Growth Commissioners are:

Philippe Aghion, Harvard University

Tim Besley, LSE

Lord John Browne, Riverstone and former CEO of BP

Francesco Caselli, LSE

Rachel Lomax, former deputy governor of the Bank of England

Christopher Pissarides, LSE, Nobel laureate

Lord Nicholas Stern, LSE

John Van Reenen, CEP, LSE

The LSE Growth Commission is funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

20 January 2012