Hammond’s goal in this Budget should be to restart the productivity engine

Matthew Whittaker makes the link here between productivity, living standards and the Budget next week. For a longer-term view on the productivity challenge facing Brexit Britain, read Diane Coyle’s essay from our December issue. 

As a nation, we’re working smarter than we used to. A decade ago, for every hour we worked, we produced about £31.30 of stuff; today each hour of graft generates £31.85 of output. That sounds like good news. If we’re becoming more productive we should be able to treat ourselves to a pay…