Investing for Prosperity - A Manifesto for Growth

Why is economic growth such a rare and elusive butterfly in the UK garden? What institutions and policies are needed to sustain UK economic growth in the dynamic global economy of the twenty-first century?

After years of inadequate investment in skills, infrastructure and innovation, there are longstanding structural weaknesses in the economy, all rooted in a failure to achieve stable planning, strategic vision and a political consensus on the right policy framework to support growth. This must change if we are to meet our current challenges and others that may arise in the future.

Despite the current recession gloom, the UK has many assets that can be mobilised to its advantage. It has strong rule of law, generally competitive product markets, flexible labour markets and a world-class university system. It has strengths in many key sectors, with cutting-edge firms in both manufacturing and services. These and other assets helped to reverse the UK’s relative economic decline over the century before 1980.

This book, based on the work of the LSE Growth Commission and expanding upon its first published report, argues that the UK should build on these strengths and proposes how we can address the inadequate institutional structures that have deterred long-term investment to support our future prosperity. (Slides from the LSE Growth Commission Report can be found here)