scholarly journals Demand, dysfunction and distribution: The UK growth model from neoliberalism to the knowledge economy

Author(s):  
Nick O’Donovan

Theories of ‘growth models’ explain capitalist diversity by reference to shifting drivers of aggregate demand in different national economies. This article expands the growth models framework beyond its conventional focus on debt-driven and export-driven demand, through an ideational analysis of Thatcher’s vision of a property-owning democracy, and Blair’s knowledge-driven growth agenda. Drawing on policymakers’ statements, it shows how these hypothetical growth models differed from the debt-driven growth model that ultimately prevailed. Using data on the distribution of wealth and wages, it highlights how both approaches failed to generate sustainable demand; in Thatcher’s case, because of an insufficiently broad distribution of capital ownership, in Blair’s case, because of an insufficiently broad distribution of lucrative knowledge work. This indicates that explanations of dysfunctional growth models need to consider not just the split of national income between labour and capital, but also the distribution of both labour income and capital income between households.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
KC LOH

Abstract: The theory of marginal utility describes how consumers choose between goods. However, marginal utility has also found application in a wide range of weightier subjects. For example, marginal utility can be used in the allocation of resources in healthcare programmes. This paper posits that marginal utility is also applicable in the allocation of the national income among corporations, government, and households. Using data from the UK Office for National Statistics, this paper finds that for the most part of the decade, from 2009 to 2018, household disposable income fell short of what might be considered an optimal share of the national income.


2006 ◽  
Vol 198 ◽  
pp. 97-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehsan Khoman ◽  
Martin Weale

We set out a framework for measuring the adequacy of saving in the United Kingdom by assessing the absolute level of savings based on individual preferences of different ages. We examine this relationship between age and savings using data from the Expenditure and Food Survey 2004–5. We show that, while the level of national saving is about 8.4 percentage points of net national income lower than is required if one assumes that each cohort pays its own way, wealth holdings are considerably higher than are required on the same basis. Looking at household, rather than national saving, the current pattern of benefits on public sector pensions removes the need to save for old age. While perhaps £4000m of household wealth holding can be accounted for by bequest and other transfer motives, our results suggest excess wealth holding of around £1600m in 2004.


2003 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Majoros

The study introduces a Hungarian economic thinker, István Varga*, whose valuable activity has remained unexplored up to now. He became an economic thinker during the 1920s, in a country that had not long before become independent of Austria. The role played by Austria in the modern economic thinking of that time was a form of competition with the thought adhered to by the UK and the USA. Hungarian economists mainly interpreted and commented on German and Austrian theories, reasons for this being that, for example, the majority of Hungarian economists had studied at German and Austrian universities, while at Hungarian universities principally German and Austrian economic theories were taught. István Varga was familiar not only with contemporary German economics but with the new ideas of Anglo-Saxon economics as well — and he introduced these ideas into Hungarian economic thinking. He lived and worked in turbulent times, and historians have only been able to appreciate his activity in a limited manner. The work of this excellent economist has all but been forgotten, although he was of international stature. After a brief summary of Varga’s profile the study will demonstrate the lasting influence he has had in four areas — namely, business cycle research and national income estimations, the 1946 Hungarian stabilisation program, corporate profit, and consumption economics — and will go on to summarise his most important achievements.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 412
Author(s):  
Ivan Bjelanovic ◽  
Phil Comeau ◽  
Sharon Meredith ◽  
Brian Roth

A few studies in young mixedwood stands demonstrate that precommercial thinning of aspen at early ages can improve the growth of spruce and increase stand resilience to drought. However, information on tree and stand responses to thinning in older mixedwood stands is lacking. To address this need, a study was initiated in 2008 in Alberta, Canada in 14 boreal mixedwood stands (seven each at ages 17 and 22). This study investigated growth responses following thinning of aspen to five densities (0, 1000, 2500, 5000 stems ha−1 and unthinned (control)). Measurements were collected in the year of establishment, and three and eight years later. Mortality of aspen in the unthinned plots was greater than in the thinned plots which were not significantly different amongst each other. Eight years following treatment, aspen diameter was positively influenced by thinning, while there was no effect on aspen height. The density of aspen had no significant effect on the survival of planted spruce. Spruce height and diameter growth increased with both aspen thinning intensity and time since treatment. Differentiation among treatments in spruce diameter growth was evident three years from treatment, while differentiation in height was not significant until eight years following treatment. Yield projections using two growth models (Mixedwood Growth Model (MGM) and Growth and Yield Projection System (GYPSY)) were initialized using data from the year eight re-measurements. Results indicate that heavy precommercial aspen thinning (to ~1000 aspen crop trees ha−1) can result in an increase in conifer merchantable volume without reducing aspen volume at the time of harvest. However, light to moderate thinning (to ~2500 aspen stems ha−1 or higher), is unlikely to result in gains in either deciduous or conifer merchantable harvest volume over those of unthinned stands.


Author(s):  
Francois-Xavier Ageron ◽  
Timothy J. Coats ◽  
Vincent Darioli ◽  
Ian Roberts

Abstract Background Tranexamic acid reduces surgical blood loss and reduces deaths from bleeding in trauma patients. Tranexamic acid must be given urgently, preferably by paramedics at the scene of the injury or in the ambulance. We developed a simple score (Bleeding Audit Triage Trauma score) to predict death from bleeding. Methods We conducted an external validation of the BATT score using data from the UK Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN) from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2018. We evaluated the impact of tranexamic acid treatment thresholds in trauma patients. Results We included 104,862 trauma patients with an injury severity score of 9 or above. Tranexamic acid was administered to 9915 (9%) patients. Of these 5185 (52%) received prehospital tranexamic acid. The BATT score had good accuracy (Brier score = 6%) and good discrimination (C-statistic 0.90; 95% CI 0.89–0.91). Calibration in the large showed no substantial difference between predicted and observed death due to bleeding (1.15% versus 1.16%, P = 0.81). Pre-hospital tranexamic acid treatment of trauma patients with a BATT score of 2 or more would avoid 210 bleeding deaths by treating 61,598 patients instead of avoiding 55 deaths by treating 9915 as currently. Conclusion The BATT score identifies trauma patient at risk of significant haemorrhage. A score of 2 or more would be an appropriate threshold for pre-hospital tranexamic acid treatment.


Open Heart ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e001600
Author(s):  
Joanne Kathryn Taylor ◽  
Haarith Ndiaye ◽  
Matthew Daniels ◽  
Fozia Ahmed

AimsIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK was placed under strict lockdown measures on 23 March 2020. The aim of this study was to quantify the effects on physical activity (PA) levels using data from the prospective Triage-HF Plus Evaluation study.MethodsThis study represents a cohort of adult patients with implanted cardiac devices capable of measuring activity by embedded accelerometery via a remote monitoring platform. Activity data were available for the 4 weeks pre-implementation and post implementation of ‘stay at home’ lockdown measures in the form of ‘minutes active per day’ (min/day).ResultsData were analysed for 311 patients (77.2% men, mean age 68.8, frailty 55.9%. 92.2% established heart failure (HF) diagnosis, of these 51.2% New York Heart Association II), with comorbidities representative of a real-world cohort.Post-lockdown, a significant reduction in median PA equating to 20.8 active min/day was seen. The reduction was uniform with a slightly more pronounced drop in PA for women, but no statistically significant difference with respect to age, body mass index, frailty or device type. Activity dropped in the immediate 2-week period post-lockdown, but steadily returned thereafter. Median activity week 4 weeks post-lockdown remained significantly lower than 4 weeks pre-lockdown (p≤0.001).ConclusionsIn a population of predominantly HF patients with cardiac devices, activity reduced by approximately 20 min active per day in the immediate aftermath of strict COVID-19 lockdown measures.Trial registration numberNCT04177199.


Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Sha ◽  
Dick Schijven ◽  
Amaia Carrion-Castillo ◽  
Marc Joliot ◽  
Bernard Mazoyer ◽  
...  

AbstractLeft–right hemispheric asymmetry is an important aspect of healthy brain organization for many functions including language, and it can be altered in cognitive and psychiatric disorders. No mechanism has yet been identified for establishing the human brain’s left–right axis. We performed multivariate genome-wide association scanning of cortical regional surface area and thickness asymmetries, and subcortical volume asymmetries, using data from 32,256 participants from the UK Biobank. There were 21 significant loci associated with different aspects of brain asymmetry, with functional enrichment involving microtubule-related genes and embryonic brain expression. These findings are consistent with a known role of the cytoskeleton in left–right axis determination in other organs of invertebrates and frogs. Genetic variants associated with brain asymmetry overlapped with those associated with autism, educational attainment and schizophrenia. Comparably large datasets will likely be required in future studies, to replicate and further clarify the associations of microtubule-related genes with variation in brain asymmetry, behavioural and psychiatric traits.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562110196
Author(s):  
Alex Davies ◽  
Amy Davies ◽  
Yvonne Wren ◽  
Scott Deacon ◽  
Alistair R.M. Cobb ◽  
...  

Objective: The mainstay of palatal repair in the United Kingdom is the intravelar veloplasty (IVVP). It is not always possible to align the oral mucosa in the midline to achieve tension-free repair. The addition of lateral relieving incisions may aid transposition of the oral mucosa to allow closure. The aim of this study was to explore cleft features that may predispose to a requirement for relieving incisions in order to allow palate closure. Design: We performed a national multiinstitutional retrospective study using data from the UK Cleft Collective cohort study. Patients: The study sample consisted of 474 patients who had undergone IVVP at the time of palatal closure across all 16 of the UK cleft units. Results: We found strong evidence for the requirement for relieving incisions in patients with an increased degree of clefting per the Veau classification ( P < .001), increasing palatal soft-edge width ( P < .001) and moderate evidence of an associated use in patients with Pierre Robin sequence ( P = .015). Insufficient data were available to explore the relationship between intertuberosity distance and the presence of fistula formation with the use of relieving incisions. Conclusions: The results of this study identify cleft features that increase the likelihood for requiring lateral relieving incisions to allow palatal closure. The degree to which the addition of relieving incisions to IVVP affects maxillary growth and speech outcomes is unknown. Further study is required to answer this important question.


Author(s):  
Ron Johnston ◽  
Charles Pattie

The funding of political parties is an issue of considerable contemporary concern in the UK. Although most attention has been paid to the situation regarding national parties, the new funding regime introduced in 2001 also applies to constituency parties, and some concerns have been raised regarding the limits on spending and expenditure there. Using data released by the Electoral Commission on all donations above a specified minimum to constituency parties, this article looks at the pattern of donations over the period 2001–05. It then analyses the impact of spending on the 2005 constituency campaigns, showing that for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats substantial donations enhanced their vote-winning performances in seats where their candidates were challengers whereas for Labour substantial donations aided its performance in marginal seats that it was defending.


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