The Chancellor’s Budget is on the horizon. Will it bring higher taxes, deeper cuts, or more borrowing? Does the Budget really matter for productivity? And how does productivity shape the Budget? This episode of Productivity Puzzles looks into these big questions for this important fiscal event, as well as examining where public spending and investment should go to help boost productivity.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
- Tera Allas, Honorary Professor at Alliance Manchester Business School
- Louise Hellem, Chief Economist at the Confederation of British Industry
- Stephen Millard, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research
For more information on the topic:
- The Productivity Institute (2025) Joining up Pro-Productivity Policies.
- Confederation of British Industry (2025) Autumn Budget Submission.
- National Institute of Economic and Social Research (2025) Economic Outlook: Stability First.
- Health Foundation (2025) From diagnosis to delivery: A framework for accelerating NHS productivity growth.
- UK Government (2025) UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy
- Office for Budget Responsibility (2025) Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025.
About Productivity Puzzles:
Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, nine Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Productivity Puzzles
Join Bart van Ark, Professor of Productivity Studies at the University of Manchester, and the managing director of The Productivity Institute as he brings you discussions with leading minds from the UK and abroad about how to improve productivity for almost everything: from health care to car manufacturing, at national and regional levels, for business and for your own personal productivity.
This podcast series investigates why UK productivity is lower than in many other countries and why are there such large differences in productivity across and within the regions and devolved nations. We’ll also get the best insights from research on smart policies and effective business practices to increase productivity and find out how this will drive prosperity, wellbeing and inclusive sustainable growth.
Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research project involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight regional productivity forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government.
Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk
The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit: https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/