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Reuters:
Voters count cost of living standards pain

16 April 2015

On paper, the Conservatives should reap dividends from a sharp recovery in Britain's economy which outpaced the world's other big, rich nations last year.

Employment has surged, including in the West Midlands where logistics firms have set up operations, providing new jobs to a workforce that once relied on the mines.

But after years of wages rising less than inflation almost without interruption - something the Bank of England's chief economist has described as unprecedented since at least since the mid-1800s - Labour is trying to focus voters on its image of Britain in the grip of a 'cost-of-living crisis'.

"People are likely to feel the recent changes more than what happened over the previous three or four years" said John Van Reenen, a professor at the Centre for Economic Performance, part of the London School of Economics.

This article appeared on Reuters Online on 16th April 2015. Link to article

Related links

CEP Election Analysis #24 - Real Wages and Living Standards
John Van Reenen webpage
Steve Machin webpage
CEP's 2015 Election Economics Series

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