Confronting the Productivity Challenge, LRI Roundtable

Description of impact

The Long Run Initiative (LRI) is a forum for academic experts, business leaders & public policymakers. It provides insights from the analysis of long-run experiences and trends to provide context and deepen understanding of the grand challenges facing businesses and government. The event was organised by the LRI in conjunction with the Chief Executives Club at Queens to bring together these constituencies and engage them in discussion around corporate strategies and government policies that can address challenge of low productivity.

Who is affected

The event was attended by over 60 participants from academia, business, and policy making. Attendees included David Sterling (Interim Head of Civil Service), Diarmuid McLean (Director of Strategic Policy, Dept. of the Economy), Suzanne Wylie (Chief Executive Belfast City Council), Steve Orr (CEO, Catalyst Inc), Brian Murphy (Managing Partner, BDO Hayward), John Healy (Managing Director, Allstate), Neil Gibson (Chief Economist, EY), Chris Conway (CEO, Translink).

Narrative

For 250 years, consistent improvements in productivity have created an engine for economic growth, greater prosperity and better standards of living. Since the Global Financial Crisis, that two-and-a-half century winning streak has stalled: productivity has flat-lined. Productivity – how to generate it and sustain it – constitutes one of the most complex and serious challenges facing both enterprise and public policy. To address these questions the event bought together speakers including:Diane Coyle (Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge) Nick Crafts (Professor of Economics, University of Sussex) Emma Flynn (Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research & Enterprise, Queen’s University Belfast) The Hon. Kevin Lynch (former Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet, Government of Canada) Angela McGowan (Director of the Confederation of British Industry, Northern Ireland) David Paulson (Professor of Practice, Queen’s University Belfast) John Turner (Professor of Finance and Financial History, Queen’s University Belfast)

Impact status	Completed
Impact date	08 Nov 2019
Category of impact	Economic Impact, Public Policy Impact
Impact level	Engagement