Productivity Puzzles

If one in five working‑age people are inactive, what does that say about the UK’s productivity problem? Why does ill health push so many people out of work in the UK, but not in peer countries?

Rising economic inactivity linked to health has become a major challenge for the UK economy. In this discussion, Charlie Mayfield draws on insights from the Keep Britain Working review to explore the role employers can play in supporting people to remain in work. The conversation examines how workplace practices, health support and collaboration between employers, government and communities can help strengthen workforce participation and productivity.

Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:

Charlie Mayfield, Chair, Keep Britain Working Review, and Former Chair, John Lewis Partnership

For more information on the topic:

Keep Britain Working: final report, independent report for the UK Government. 
George Williams, How to keep Britain working: Making the Vanguard Phase a success, Lancaster University, (05/03/2026).
Sam Atwell, How to Keep Britain Working, Health Foundation (28/10/2025).
CIPD, Keep Britain Working review makes employee wellbeing impossible for business to ignore, says CIPD (11/11/2025).
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Business model innovation and strategic productivity.
The Productivity Institute, Working ‘on’ the business not just in it (21/06/2021).

About Productivity Puzzles:

Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, nine Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

If universities are engines of growth, why isn’t productivity accelerating? What’s the point of educating graduates if regions can’t keep or use them?

Skills are central to regional economic performance, but translating the supply of graduates into broader workforce productivity remains a challenge. In this session, Duncan Ivison discusses the relationship between higher education, further education and place-based development. Using Greater Manchester as an illustration and drawing on international examples, the conversation explores how policy can strengthen skills systems, support graduate retention and migration, and better connect education with regional economic growth.

Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:

Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor, The University of Manchester

For more information on the topic:

Duncan Ivison: higher education is a system, not a market, Times Higher Educational Supplement (17/10/2024).
Aadya Bahl and Henry G. Overman (2026) Hive of talent: what would it take to raise skills and productivity in Greater Manchester? Centre for Economic Performance.
Recording of Skills, Talent and Productivity in Greater Manchester event, The Productivity Institute YouTube channel (29/04/26).
Redouane Sarrakh, Jason Heyes (2026) Training Practices and Skills Needs in Yorkshire, the Humber and the North East, Yorkshire, Humber and North East Productivity Forum Paper 2026, The Productivity Institute.
Damian Grimshaw, Mary O’Mahony, Anthony Rafferty (2026) Skills, Organisations and Worker Engagement: Summary of People Research Programme, Productivity Insights Paper No. 083, The Productivity Institute.
Athene Donald, Joe Peck and Andy Westwood (2025), Prioritising Skills for Regional and National Growth, in Bart van Ark et al, eds., Joining Up Pro-Productivity Policies in the UK, The Productivity Institute and National Institute of Economic and Social Research, pp. 91-101.
Lessons for UK universities from the Australian experience by Duncan Ivison, Financial Times (23/09/24).
Free speech, the Fallowfield Redevelopment, and catching the 142: An interview with Duncan Ivison, by Ella Logan-Wilson and Miles Davenport, the Mancunion (09/10/24).
University of Manchester launches Unit M to supercharge inclusive growth, The University of Manchester (08/10/24).
Unit M launches first deep tech accelerator cohort to fast-track innovation across Greater Manchester (2026) The University of Manchester.

About Productivity Puzzles:

Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, nine Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Do we need to rethink how we measure productivity in the age of digital technologies and AI?

Productivity is a fundamental measure of how effectively people, firms and places transform resources into improved living standards. Diane Coyle talks about why understanding productivity depends on improved economic measurement, including more accurate valuation of intangible, natural and digital capital. She also explains why the effects of technologies such as digitalisation and AI remain difficult to capture in traditional statistics, with significant implications for policy and how we judge economic progress.

Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:

Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge

For more information on the topic:

Diane Coyle (2025) The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters, Princeton University Press.
Diane Coyle (2025), Old Wine in New Digital Bottles: The Challenges of Measuring the Digital Economy. Review of Income and Wealth, 71.
Stephen Roper and Chander Velu (2026) Adoption, implementation, alignment – maximising the performance benefits of digital investment, Productivity Insights Paper No. 084, The Productivity Institute.
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Will hybrid and flexible work help or hurt productivity and wellbeing?
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Industrial policy, institutions and fiscal mechanisms.
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Productivity and well-being.
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Science and Innovation Policy for Hard Times.
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Books Festival: Diane Coyle & Jan Mischke.

About Productivity Puzzles:

Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, nine Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Why doesn’t digital technology always translate into productivity growth? What if the technology and your business model don’t quite fit?

Despite unprecedented advances in digital technologies, productivity growth has stalled, revealing a striking paradox: innovation is abundant, but its benefits are not. We discuss with Chander Velu why the issue lies not in the technologies themselves but in the failure to redesign how organisations create and capture value when adopting automation, digital fabrication, or quantum technologies.

Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:

Chander Velu, Professor in Innovation and Economics, University of Cambridge

For more information on the topic:

Stephen Roper, Chander Velu (2026) Adoption, implementation, alignment – maximising the performance benefits of digital investment, Productivity Insights Paper No. 084, The Productivity Institute.
Silvia Massini, Mabel Sanchez-Barrioluengo, Xiaoxiao Yu, Myungun Kim, Philip Chen, Chander Velu (2025) Adoption of Advanced Digital Technologies and Platforms: Insights from a UK national survey, Working Paper No. 049, The Productivity Institute.
Chander Velu (2026) The business of quantum technologies and the future of productivity.
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Business model innovation and strategic productivity.
Productivity Puzzles podcast, The Productivity Puzzle: Lessons Learned and What’s Next?.

About Productivity Puzzles:

Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, nine Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Why do places matter for productivity? If productivity is local, why is policy still so centralised in the UK?

Productivity varies widely across regions, shaping economic opportunity and growth. Drawing on international evidence and Philip McCann’s extensive research on regional development, the discussion considers how cities and regions can strengthen their economic performance and contribute to national productivity growth. 

Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:

Philip McCann, Sir Terry Leahy Chair in Urban and Regional Economics, Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester

For more information on the topic:

Philip McCann (2026) Regional Access to Capital and Investment Finance: Summary of results from TPI Research Programme. Productivity Insights Paper No. 086, The Productivity Institute.
Raquel Ortega-Argilés, Philip McCann (2026) Knowledge Diffusion and Regional Productivity Growth: Summary of TPI Research Programme 2023-2026. Productivity Insights Paper No. 087, The Productivity Institute.
Raquel Ortega-Argilés, Pei-Yu Yuan (2024) Do UK Research and Collaborations in R&I Promote Economic Prosperity and Levelling-up? An analysis of UKRI funding between 2004-2021, Working Paper No. 046, The Productivity Institute.
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Turnaround Cities: Lessons learned for the UK.
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Industrial policy, institutions and fiscal mechanisms.
Productivity Puzzles podcast, Levelling up and the Northern Powerhouse.
Unlocking Wales' Productivity Potential podcast, Understanding Productivity in Wales.

About Productivity Puzzles:

Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, nine Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.