NIESR General Election Briefing: ‘Infrastructure in the UK- Time to Rebuild?’

30 May 2017 11:47 AM

Infrastructure investment is vital for sustainable economic growth but the UK lags behind its major competitors in the quality of its infrastructure assets, a new briefing by the National Institute recently highlighted.

The briefing argues that there is a well-established case for the government to intervene where there is market failure and urges the government to play a lead role as a provider, facilitator and financer of infrastructure projects and services.

The briefing also outlines that:

Briefing co-author Amit Kara concluded:

The UK has suffered a persistent productivity gap against its major competitors and alongside that, housing affordability remains acute. These are other factors have focussed the minds of policy makers in recent years and concrete steps have been taken in response. The new National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) are examples of policy action in the right direction, but more can be done. The NIC should be granted statutory powers. Also, the budget targets in the fiscal rule should focus on day-to-day spending instead of overall spending.”

Notes for editors:

The full briefing, “Infrastructure in the UK- Time to Rebuild?” is available on NIESR’s special General Election page. It was co-authored by Oriol Carreras and Amit Kara.

For more information or to arrange an interview with the author of this briefing please contact NIESR Press Office: Luca Pieri on 020 7654 1931 / l.pieri@niesr.ac.uk / press@niesr.ac.uk 

The briefing is part of a series made possible thanks to funding by the Nuffield Foundation to ensure public debate in the run-up to the General Election is informed by independent and rigorous evidence.

NIESR aims to promote, through quantitative and qualitative research, a deeper understanding of the interaction of economic and social forces that affect people's lives, and the ways in which policies can improve them.

Further details of NIESR’s activities can be seen on http://www.niesr.ac.uk  or by contacting enquiries@niesr.ac.uk . Switchboard Telephone Number: +44 (0) 207 222 7665