Why does the UK have a problem with productivity?

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves has been widely trailing this month’s budget and the difficult decisions she’ll have to make in just under two weeks time. This is being taken as code for tax rises and a possible break in Labour’s manifesto pledge with a rise in income tax. She’s said one of the key reasons for this is that the government's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility or OBR, is likely to lower its UK productivity growth forecast for the coming years. So why is UK productivity a problem and what can be done to improve it?

Guests:

Chris Giles, Economics Commentator, The Financial Times

Helen Miller, Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies

Duncan Weldon, economist and author

Greg Thwaites, Research Director, Resolution Foundation.

Presenter: David Aaronovitch

Producers: Caroline Bayley, Cordelia Hemming, Kirsteen Knight

Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele

Sound engineers: Rod Farguhar and James Beard

Editor: Richard Vadon