Edited by Ben Shimshon
Published 2006 (ISBN 1 902488 92 X)
Transcripts of a series of seminars held between December 2003 and March 2004 to discuss the policy implications that flow from the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s speech to the Social Market Foundation of February 2003, and the challenges posed by Professor Porter’s DTI report UK Competitiveness: Moving to the next stage. Over the course of the series we attempted to address questions such as how to develop competition further within the natural monopolies, and the problem of monopolies within the network industries; the future role and function of industry specific regulators, particularly in relation to balancing the manifold social and environmental impacts of the energy sector. The final seminar offered a wider view of Britain’s competitiveness, focusing on Professor Porter’s analysis of the underlying reasons for the persistence of the productivity gap with our main competitor countries. Each seminar saw these themes drawn out through presentations by, and discussions between, politicians, business people, commentators, academics and public servants from across the political spectrum.