Ramen Home The Message About Productivity

As the Chancellor prepares to announce his latest Budget, here’s why we think his main focus should be doing something to improve productivity.

Stop me if you've heard this before...growth is back!

Hooray...

But businesses aren't investing much

Via OECD

And real wages are stuck.

Via OECD

At the same time the population is ageing.

Via CIA World Factbook

All of this means people in work need to be more productive...but they're not.

Via ONS

The amount that each person in work is producing is a lot lower than in other G8 countries.

Increasing productivity is critical.

Via blog.yourkarma.com

More productivity will increase wages and allow us to afford the rising pensions and healthcare costs of an ageing population.

Luckily, we've figured this out and now there's Abenomics!

Via telegraph.co.uk

Wait, what?! Is that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in a jet?

Oh yeah...all these charts are for Japan, not for the UK.

Via lookincool45.deviantart.com

The UK doesn't have low business investment, stagnant wages, an ageing population and awful productivity...

Via londonist.com

...oh no wait...yes it does.

Via londonist.com

One is rightly not amused.

It took 20 years for the penny to drop in Japan. What about us? Will it click in Budget 2014?

Via various

It doesn't look promising.

Our politicians need to be bold towards 2015 and beyond...just like Shinzo has been in Japan.

Via economist.com

While the UK's situation isn't exactly the same as Japan's, an ageing population combined with no growth in output from those in work are the central problems we need to tackle to ensure the long term health of our economy.