In May, the Progressive Economy Forum hosted a policy workshop entitled ‘Enhancing the Bank of England Toolkit’ centred on the Financing Investment report produced by GFC Economics for the Labour Party. The original report proposed, among other recommendations, that the Bank of England should be given a remit to boost productivity growth by 3% per year.
Our event consisted of a series of discussions on the future of policy on the Bank of England, with a focus on productivity, housing and the threat of climate breakdown. At the heart of the discussion was the question of whether, and if so how, the Bank of England can play a role in addressing imbalances in the UK economy.
We were joined by John McDonnell MP, Anneliese Dodds MP, PEF Council members Ann Pettifor, Professor Daniela Gabor, Peter Rice (co-author of the Financing Investment report), Lord Adair Turner, Professor Dirk Bezemer, Frank van Lerven and Grace Blakeley among others.
The four sessions were:
- Overview of ‘Financing Investment’
- Credit Guidance and Enhanced Macroprudential Tools
- Green Financing and the Bank of England
- Housing and the Bank of England
With the workshop, we hope to have contributed to the development of progressive thinking on enhancing the Bank of England, particularly with regard to productivity, the housing crisis and the threat of environmental breakdown.
Banner photo: Flickr / James Stringer