Publications
Publications
- May 2015
- HBS Case Collection
The United Kingdom and the Means to Prosperity
By: Laura Alfaro, Lakshmi Iyer and Hilary White
Abstract
After struggling through the country's longest recession since 2008, the U.K. was expected to grow faster than any other G7 nation in 2014. Analysts wondered whether the return to growth was because, or in spite of, Prime Minister David Cameron's controversial £113 billion austerity plan introduced in 2010. Despite the positive upturn in the economy, U.K. policymakers still faced challenges with rapidly rising income inequality, an economy dominated by the financial sector, a possible housing bubble, and an approaching referendum on Scotland's independence. Moreover, many claimed the U.K. was at risk of secular stagnation, a slowdown in economic growth caused by a structural deficiency in demand. What could the government do to put the country on a sustained and balanced growth trajectory?
Keywords
United Kingdom; Austerity; Fiscal Deficits; Fiscal Policy; Keynesian Multiplier; Government; Government Policy; Recessions; Depression; Inequality; Government Intervention In The Markets; Stagnation; Public Finance; Economics; Macroeconomics; Government Administration; Business and Government Relations; Economic Growth; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Public Sector; Economy; Financial Crisis; Taxation; Government and Politics; United Kingdom
Citation
Alfaro, Laura, Lakshmi Iyer, and Hilary White. "The United Kingdom and the Means to Prosperity." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 715-055, May 2015.
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