Question 3: Should a windfall tax be used to (fully or partially) finance support to households?
Answer:
No opinion or other
Confidence level:
Not confident
Comment:
Since the government needs to raise more money anyway a windfall tax shouold not be ruled out permanently. But I do take seriously the argument about sending the wrong message to business.
Question 2: Which of the following is the best way to address the impact of rising energy costs on household finances?
Answer:
Uniform price caps
Confidence level:
Confident
Comment:
We are in an emergency so we need a scheme which works and doesn't unintentionally leave a lot of people unprotected (think the bedroom tax). The present scheme seems to fit the bill though no doubt given enough time and better computer systems a superior one could be devised.
Question 1: Overall, which of the following best characterises how the government’s proposed energy policies will leave the average UK household over the medium term:
Answer:
Better off
Confidence level:
Very confident
Comment:
Obviously the average household is much better off this year with the cap than without any assistance at all. In the medium to long run there is a loss from the higher price of imported energy which someone has to pay. I think the cap is best thought of as a consumption-smoothing scheme which individuals would have found it difficult or impossible to replicate privately. So to the question, who pays for it?, the answer is future taxpayers in proportion roughly to their income since our tax system is progressive. So the scheme spreads out over time the inevitable loss from higher energy prices . If the current level of energy prices proves to be permanent then the scheme will eventually have to be phased out. But this seems too pessimistic.
Question 1: What is the primary factor driving regional productivity disparities in the UK?
Answer:
Sorting
Confidence level:
Confident
Comment:
Regional productivity disparities in the UK is all about London and the SE versus the rest. Agglomeration efects are present in all regions. But history explains the power of London to attract highly-skilled individals to move there to set up new firms and industries. A recent example is AI and fintech in the Shoreditch and Kings Cross areas.
Question 3: Relative to tax plans at the beginning of the year, the UK government should respond by:
Answer:
Cutting tax intake
Confidence level:
Confident
Comment:
The additional supply shock generated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine should be combated by tighter monetary policy coupled with looser fiscal policy.
The CFM surveys informs the public about the views held by prominent economists based in Europe on important macroeconomic and public policy questions. Some surveys focus specifically on the UK economy (as the CFM is a UK research centre), but surveys can in principle focus on any macroeconomic question for any region. The surveys shed light on the extent to which there is agreement or disagreement among these experts. An important motivation for the survey is to give a more comprehensive overview of the beliefs held by economists and in particular to include the views of those economists whose opinions are not frequently heard in public debates.
Questions mainly focus on macroeconomic and public policy topics. Although there are some questions that focus specifically on the UK economy, the setup of the survey is much broader and considers questions related to other countries/regions and also considers questions not tied to a specific economy.
The surveys are done in collaboration with the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
Assisting Households Facing Rising Energy Costs
Question 3: Should a windfall tax be used to (fully or partially) finance support to households?
Question 2: Which of the following is the best way to address the impact of rising energy costs on household finances?
Question 1: Overall, which of the following best characterises how the government’s proposed energy policies will leave the average UK household over the medium term:
Levelling Up Productivity Gaps in the UK
Question 1: What is the primary factor driving regional productivity disparities in the UK?
The Impact of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine on the UK Economy
Question 3: Relative to tax plans at the beginning of the year, the UK government should respond by:
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