UK Competitiveness

1. Current state of competitiveness compared to other leading economies

¨ ‘94- ’96 : UK output capita = 100 by comparison to West Germany (126) and US (164)
¨ UK has lowest output per worker, per hour, and lowest capital and labour productivity in comparison to France Germany and the US
¨ Corresponds to 20-30% behind France/Germany and 40% behind US, despite British workers doing 9hrs more than their German and 5% more than their French counterparts
¨ Only 90% of British products pass quality control first time compared with Germany’s 97% (due primarily to poorly skilled workforce. In turn, parts are “recycled” and it may take up to 10 times as long before they leave the factory, lowering productivity)
¨ Any comparatively stronger perform...