Productivity Puzzles
The Productivity Institute
Join Bart van Ark, Professor of Productivity Studies at the University of Manchester, and the managing director of The Productivity Institute as he brings you discussions with leading minds from the UK and abroad about how to improve productivity for almost everything: from health care to car manufacturing, at national and regional levels, for business and for your own personal productivity.
This podcast series investigates why UK productivity is lower than in many other countries and why are there such large differences in productivity across and within the regions and devolved nations. We’ll also get the best insights from res...
A Productivity Agenda for the Devolved Nations
In this episode of Productivity Puzzles, we examine the productivity performance of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. How do the three devolved nations perform on productivity? What are the differences and the similarities between them? How do they compare to England?
The discussion features insights from Melanie Jones, John Turner, and Graeme Roy. Together, they discuss the economic indicators influencing productivity in the devolved nations and explore how regional and national policies c
Strategic Productivity: Unlocking the UK’s Productivity Potential
How do different leaders within a firm think about productivity? This can vary significantly between the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Human Resources Officer, and the Chief Information Officer. How do they work with their teams on productivity-related issues? What are the opportunities and barriers they face?
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
Irena Teneva, Associate Director of Research & Development team at AICPA/CIMA, which amalgamates the American Institute of Certified Professi
Wrapping Up 2024: Is there a productive growth path forward?
2024 has been quite a year. A new government, big plans, but a growth and productivity revival isn’t visible yet. These things take time. Is the UK still on track for a reset of policy to boost growth and productivity? Or is there something fundamentally wrong with how we're thinking about these subjects?
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge & Director at The Productivity Institute.Richard Jones, Vice-President for Inn
Industrial Strategy: What To Do and What Not To Do?
With a new government in town, industrial strategy is back. Why now? How will it help growth and productivity? How do we get it right? And, perhaps equally important, how do we make sure we don’t get it wrong this time?
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
Dame Kate Barker, Chair of the Universities Superannuation Scheme and Chair of The Productivity Institute’s Governing Council.Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and Specialist partner at Flint Global.Andrew Westwo
Business model innovation and strategic productivity
Why is business model innovation the key to an organisation’s productivity? What does it take to do it right? New technologies and new business practices don’t just come out of the blue. They happen because firms embed them in their processes so they can create a valuable proposition for their customers. This episode explores the challenges and opportunities for both large incumbents and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in adopting new business models, particularly in the context o
UK Election 2024: A Productivity Plan
The election manifestos published in the second week of June 2024 sparsely recognise the importance of productivity. This is perhaps because it's not the most glamorous topic for voters to be excited about being canvassed on their doorstep. But for any incoming government, productivity will need to run through the core of the policy agenda in the coming years.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.Dame Di
How do business leaders think about productivity?
Why should firms care about productivity? How does it add to the bottom line? What exactly drives productivity? And how can you get better at it? This episode is a conversation with three current and former business leaders talking about how they think about productivity, what it means to them, and what practical productivity measures their firms use.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
Katy Davies, Managing Director of Evolve Your Future.Lou Cordwell, Special Advisor to the Off
Government policy and business productivity: does it help or harm?
What is the best thing government can do to help improve business productivity? Provide more business support? Create better conditions for doing business? Or simply, get out of the way. In other words, can government policy and business growth ever become a happy marriage?
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by a co-host:
Stephen Roper, Professor of Enterprise at Warwick Business School, founding Director of the Enterprise Research Centre, Co-Director of the Innovation Research Caucus,
Business Dynamism: is turbulence good for productivity?
What is business dynamism? Do we need a bit more turbulence in business creation, growth and change to get productivity up again? This episode, the first of three on the productivity of firms, looks at the mechanism between productivity and business dynamism, whether there are big differences between countries, and whether and how we can get a bit more turbulence.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by a co-host:
Rebecca Riley, Professor of Practice at King’s College London; Director of
Wrapping up Productivity Puzzles 2023: brief interviews with productivity experts
The final episode of Productivity Puzzles Season 2 examines whether 2023 has brought us closer to putting the productivity puzzle together. What are some of the most important insights from this season of the podcast? And what can we learn from The Productivity Institute's Productivity Agenda? The conversation covers the challenges in institutional decision-making, the diffusion of technology and skills, and diversity in firm performance, investment and the adoption of good practices, as we
Revisiting the UK productivity puzzle: national and regional perspectives
Is the UK Productivity Puzzle anywhere closer to being solved? Where do we see progress? And what are the pieces of the jigsaw that still need to be found? This episode of Productivity Puzzles, released during National Productivity Week, examines the outlook for productivity growth and the best policies that will lead to better outcomes.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
Ed Balls, Former Secretary of State and Shadow Chancellor; Professor of Political Economy at King’s College,
Why does the UK do so well on the Global Innovation Index?
How do we measure innovation and compare it across countries? And how can it be that the UK is doing so well as an innovation nation, while we seem to be underperforming on productivity?
This episode of Productivity Puzzles takes a deep dive into the latest 2023 Global Innovation Index (GII) and its implications for the UK's productivity. The UK ranks fourth on the Global Innovation Index, showcasing strengths in R&D, scientific output, and intangible asset intensity. But why does that
What makes firms productive? Lessons learned from across G7 economies
What makes a business productive? Do businesses have a sense of what they’re good at and where to improve? This episode of Productivity Puzzles looks at the Productive Business Index produced by Be The Business, one of The Productivity Institute’s strategic partners. The index, which has been published since 2020, serves as a barometer on how business leaders think their organisation is faring. The discussion looks at what UK businesses can do to catch up with peers in the G7 and how govern
Science, Technology, Innovation and Pro-Productivity Policies
What have policies to boost science, technology and innovation done for productivity? Which policies are most effective? Which countries have been most successful in using them? This episode of Productivity Puzzles steps away from the usual panel format to engage in a reflective conversation between Bart van Ark and Dirk Pilat, a seasoned expert with over three decades of experience in shaping science, technology, and innovation policies.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by
Dirk Pila
Turnaround Cities: Lessons learned for the UK
How have some troubled cities overseas turned themselves around? What did they invest in? How did they organise themselves? Cities are concentrations of economic activity where businesses tend to locate, not just because many of their customers are there, but also because that’s where most of the skilled workers live and where – more broadly – innovation is happening. Economists call this agglomeration effects. But these benefits do not come automatically. Some cities have successfully rein
Artificial Intelligence and Productivity
Will artificial intelligence rescue us from the productivity demise? If humans cannot get productivity up, can intelligent machines bring about the productivity revival? While certainly not the only digital technology that has come along in the past few decades, AI perhaps speaks to our imagination more than all those before it as it directly impacts on the daily activities of many listeners to this podcast. This episode analyses various facets of AI, including generative AI, its potential
Greening Productivity
Can we make the economy greener and still be productive? Or even better, can productivity help us to make the economy greener? This episode of Productivity Puzzles examines what climate change and the transition to a Net Zero means for productivity, and whether the challenges to green the economy make it even harder to raise productivity. Crucially, can productivity help to make the economy greener? Can green technology and innovation be used more productively than other technologies?
Ho
Can We Make the Four-Day Week Work?
Is the five-day work week becoming something of the past? Does working less make us and the organisations that we work for better off? Could it even make us more productive?
This episode explores the four-day work week, which has become a popular topic in the media, chats at the water-cooler, and, more recently, in boardrooms. With more firms committing to a shorter work week without a noticeable cut in workers’ wages, Bart and his guests look at how we could maintain productivity while re
Skills, Innovation, and Productivity: Further Education Colleges and Place
How do Further Education Colleges contribute to the provision of skills needed for innovation and productivity in regions, cities and towns? How do they identify what businesses need, and how do they work with firms, local government and other schools? This episode of Productivity Puzzles focuses on the findings of a summary report looking into these issues, which was commissioned by The Productivity Institute and supported by the Gatsby Foundation.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined
Science and Innovation Policy for Hard Times
There is a new UK government department for science, innovation, and technology. Will the new standalone entity turn Britain into the science superpower that it hopes to become? Will the new department lift productivity growth during the hard times that the country is currently facing? This episode of Productivity Puzzles investigates these issues and more.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
Richard Jones, Vice-President for Innovation and Regional Economic Development and Professo
Global and European Productivity Outlook 2023-2030
What do we know about where productivity is heading? What will happen to productivity in the UK, around Europe, and even around the world? This episode takes a forward-looking perspective on future productivity and what needs to be done to realise that productivity potential. What policy changes can be made and what measures can businesses implement to improve the productivity outlook.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
Catherine Mann, External member of the Monetary Policy Committ
The Productivity Policy Agenda: Short-Term Priorities and Long-Term Commitments
Should the next Prime Minister embrace productivity as a cornerstone of the policy agenda for the new UK government in September? Can it help to get us through the economic winter ahead of us, and onto a path of sustained recovery? What policies are most critical, what should be continued, strengthened or perhaps stopped?
The final episode of Season 1 of Productivity Puzzles looks at the policy agenda for the new government, with discussion on the key elements that will help productivity
Making Public Sector Productivity Practical
Despite showing slow productivity growth over the past decade, the public sector has performed better than the private sector and there is quite a bit of scope for further improvement. This instalment of Productivity Puzzles delves into how and why productivity could grow in the public sector.
This episode is a prelude to the publication of the Making Public Sector Productivity Practical report, which is soon to be released by The Productivity Institute and Capita. You can pre-register t
Productivity and well-being
How can productivity benefit not just business and the economy, but also ourselves? What does it take for a society to grow productivity and raise well-being? Can digital technology make us happier, as well as more productive?
In this episode, we look at which investments are needed to create more well-being and what role social factors, such as trust, play in raising productivity and well-being. The discussion is varied, with conversations about how we measure well-being effectively and w
The Wales Productivity Challenge
Did you know that the manufacturing sector in Wales accounts for a larger share of the economy than elsewhere in the UK? That the Welsh economy is also developing exciting new activities in arts and culture and tackling the difficult balancing act between raising productivity and improving health and well-being head on?
In this episode, we take a deep dive into the productivity performance of Wales and how it stacks up against the rest of the UK. We’ll discuss the key drivers, sectors and
Can productivity rescue the global economic recovery?
Are economies making the most of their human and material resources? Through most of modern history, we've assumed that progress in technology and efficiency will make every person employed and our work more productive over time. Is this a hopeful trend? Is it still holding true? Will it hold true throughout the 21st Century?
This special episode of Productivity Puzzles has been produced in conjunction with The Conference Board, a non-profit business membership and research group organisat
Restarting the Future: How Intangibles Can Fuel Productivity
Why has economic growth slowed down? Have we already exhausted the benefits from the digital revolution? Are the trusted institutions of the 20th century now failing in the investments most needed for future growth in productivity?
This episode takes a deep dive into the book Restarting the Future: How to Fix the Intangible Economy, which provides a new explanation for why growth has slowed and why we need a reset of institutions and policies. The topics covered include R&D, software
Staying productive in uncertain times
How do we respond to uncertainties that crises create? Are they holding us back in investing, hiring and innovating? Or can crises make us more agile and resilient, perhaps even more creative and inventive? How do we balance risks and opportunities? And what might that mean for productivity?
The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit and the renewed level of geopolitical uncertainty from the war in Ukraine will upset our economies, businesses, jobs and living standards for years to
New business formation and productivity
Why do we need new firms? How important is business creation for employment and productivity? How has the coronavirus pandemic affected the churning of businesses? In this episode of Productivity Puzzles, we discuss business dynamism, which is about the birth, growth and decline of businesses, also called churning. The evidence shows that churning is good for the creation of new jobs, for providing opportunities for firm, industries and regions to invest and grow, and a key driver of produc
The Links Between Productivity and Pay
Productivity is key to sustained economic growth, but how does it make each of us financially better off? Do productivity gains always end up in our pockets in terms of better pay?
In this episode, we’ve invited scholars from the US, Canada and the UK to discuss their recent research, published in the International Productivity Monitor, which suggests productivity doesn't always make everyone better off.
We are going to explore how and why the links between productivity and pay have chang
Levelling Up and Productivity: The Role of Industrial Policy, Institutions and Fiscal Mechanisms
How do we level up regions in a sustained manner - raising productivity and living standards, and reducing inequalities? Why do institutions matter and what should change to make it work?
The government introduced its Levelling Up agenda to the UK as part of its 2019 election manifesto and a long-promised White Paper on the subject is expected soon. There has been no shortage of suggestions in recent months on what to do to advance economic and social progress in UK-wide regions and citie
Health and Productivity in the Workplace
Are healthy workers productive workers? And if so, why do companies still struggle to put health and well-being at the centre of good business performance? And how can this be changed?
In this episode, host Bart van Ark is joined by Sir Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Alliance Manchester Business School. He’s a world leading expert on workers’ health and well-being and also President of the Chartered Institute of Personal Development in the UK.
They d
Can labour shortages help raise productivity?
How do we keep our shelves stocked for Christmas? Can we be sure our favourite restaurant will stay open? Does the NHS have the staff to reduce ever-growing waiting lists? Can productivity growth help to face the challenges of rising labour shortages in the UK economy?
In this episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the issue of an increased shortage of workers in our economy - especially so-called “skilled blue collar workers”. Host Bart van Ark is joined Yael Selfin, a Partner and Chief
Practical Productivity: How to Transform Performance?
How can companies transform their business by becoming more productive? What are the things stopping us doing this? What simple practical techniques are there to restore and increase productivity? In short, what is practical productivity?
We’ve often said it before - productivity is not the thing that keeps most business leaders awake at night. Productivity is not usually part of a company’s KPIs, and while many in our audience don’t need convincing on why productivity matters overall, we
Can we still measure productivity in the modern economy?
The one big question anyone working on productivity issues gets most is: how do you actually measure it? How do we count what we make? And can we capture everything needed to produce products and services? And can economists and statisticians keep up with the rapid changes in today’s modern economy?
To answer these questions, host Bart van Ark is joined by Josh Martin, Head of Productivity at the Office for National Statistics, Rebecca Riley, director of the Economic Statistics Centre of
How can productivity create sustained growth in Northern Ireland?
This year marks the centenary of Northern Ireland’s creation. What has it done for the economy? And in particular for the productivity of its people and businesses? Has greater economic stability in the 23 years since the Good Friday agreement helped to advance productivity? And what will Brexit and the Northern Ireland protocol mean for productivity going forward? Host Bart van Ark talks to three experts - Dame Rotha Johnston, Professor John Turner and Dr. Esmond Birnie about the productiv
Will hybrid and flexible work help or hurt productivity and well-being?
Are hybrid working models good for productivity? Do employers and employees think differently about the pros and cons? And how does flexible working affect our mental health and well-being? Is there a trade off with productivity that we need to think about? Let’s find out.
In this episode, host Bart van Ark talks to Andy Start, CEO Government Services (Capita) & Professor Diane Coyle of the University of Cambridge about how the pandemic has dramatically changed the way many of us work
Can levelling up raise productivity in the Northern Powerhouse?
In this episode Bart talks to Lord Jim O’Neill, Dame Nancy Rothwell & Professor Philip McCann about raising productivity in the Northern Powerhouse, a powerful concept introduced more than five years ago with the aim to rebuild a competitive economy in northern England. Our guests have been there from the start and discuss what it’s delivered so far, its challenges, future directions and how it contributes to the government’s levelling-up agenda.
Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by C
Productivity in UK health care during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
In this episode Bart talks to Prof. Diane Coyle, Dr. Jennifer Dixon & Kaya M. Dreesbeimdiek on productivity in UK health care during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
They discuss how we measure health productivity. What has happened to health productivity during the COVID-19 pandemic? How do we rebuild a resilient health care sector to enable higher productivity in an uncertain environment?
Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a
Productivity in the post-COVID 19 era
Could COVID 19 be the game changer for the economy and create a true productivity miracle in the coming years? In this episode Bart talks to McKinsey’s Jan Mischke and Tera Allas about a recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute: “Will productivity and growth return after the COVID-19 crisis?”
They discuss why businesses should focus on operational efficiency to improve productivity, how the boldest firms have emerged the strongest from the crisis and how rapid digitisation is transf
Why Does Productivity Matter?
In this episode Bart talks to three esteemed economists - Andy Haldane, Dame Kate Barker and Professor Nick Crafts - who explain what productivity actually is and why it matters to everyone.
They discuss why UK productivity has slowed down since the 2008 financial crisis, creating a rising gap between the UK and other advanced economies in Europe. They also explain why increased productivity is important for raising living standards - drawing on lessons from the industrial revolution, how
Welcome to Productivity Puzzles
Why does productivity matter? How can it drive business success, economic recovery, but also prosperity, wellbeing and inclusive sustainable growth?
Join Bart van Ark, Professor of Productivity Studies at the University of Manchester, and the managing director of The Productivity Institute as he bring you discussions with leading minds from the UK and abroad about how to improve productivity for almost everything: from health care to car manufacturing, at national and regional levels, for