The UK economy is in need of a major overhaul since many of its problems date back about 30 years or more, and cannot be righted through gradual changes, a report by a UK think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), said on Wednesday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2018) The UK economy is in need of a major overhaul since many of its problems date back about 30 years or more, and cannot be righted through gradual changes, a report by a UK think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), said on Wednesday.
"The economy needs fundamental reform. Many of the causes of the UK's poor economic performance - particularly its weaknesses in productivity, investment and trade - go back 30 years or more. They will not be addressed by incremental change or trying to 'muddle through,'" the report's summary said.
The IPPR Commission on Economic Justice found that the UK economy could no longer ensure adequate living standards for most of the population.
"Average earnings have stagnated for more than a decade - even while economic growth has occurred. Too many people are in insecure jobs; young people are set to be poorer than their parents; the nations and regions of the UK are diverging further. As more and more people feel economically disenfranchised, the political consequences are being felt across society," the report said.
Economic justice should be ingrained in the system, and inequalities should be addressed "at source, in the structures of the economy in which they arise."
"These include the labour market and wage bargaining, the ownership of capital and wealth, the governance of firms, the operation of the financial system and the rules that govern markets," the report said.
The reform suggested by the think tank includes promotion of "investment-led growth," orienting the economy away from heavy reliance on financial sector toward a more diversified manufacturing, "managed automation," which ensures retraining of workers, promotion of open markets to reduce monopoly of the largest companies. In addition, wealth should be spread more widely through fair taxes and wider capital ownership.
