How a day at the seaside could solve the British productivity puzzle | Simon Goodley

Economists have long said bank holidays are bad for the economy. But perhaps the opposite is true

At the memorial service given for Denis Compton in 1997, the great England cricketer's former county captain delivered a eulogy. In it, JJ Warr regaled the Westminster Abbey congregation with tales of sporting derring-do, but also talked about the off-field work ethic of his old friend during the introduction of the three-day week in 1974. Warr recalled asking Compton what he thought of Ted Heath's new regime, when the batsman supposedly replied: "I am not going to work an extra day for anybody."

The tale is an obvious favourite among Lord's members during those brief passages of play when consciousness calls. But what is rarely discussed is how the anecdote suggests there was an extra talent in Compton's locker, aside from the colossal sporting gifts that brought him a Test batting average of 50, league and FA Cup winners' medals with Arsenal, and a putative world record for running out teammates. Compton, it seems, may also have been ahead of his time as a right-on, left-leaning economist.

It looks as though the demand side accounts for up to half of the collapse in productivity growth we've seen