Industrial policy: has the UK lost its competitive edge?
Has the UK lost its competitive edge in the global economy? What advantages does it possess, and how can these be exploited for economic growth?
The Business and Trade Committee considesr these questions as it continues its inquiry into Industrial Policy.
Meeting details
Major industrial policy programmes in the US and EU – the Inflation Reduction Act and Green Deal, respectively – have prompted debate in the UK about whether the Government could emulate these approaches, and what kind of broader approach it could take to industrial policy.
Across two panels, MPs will hear evidence from a range of economic experts. Among the witnesses are experts from Policy Exchange, Institute for Government and LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance.
MPs are likely to ask about the nature of the UK’s current competitive advantages, compared with other countries, and how this contributes to its competitiveness in the global economy. For example, the UK is the world’s second largest exporter of services, after the US, and has a particularly strong financial services sector.
But MPs may also ask whether the UK economy is too heavily weighted towards services, and whether it is doing enough to seize growth opportunities offered by the Net Zero transition.