Andrew G Haldane: Is all economics local?

Speech by Mr Andrew G Haldane, Executive Director and Chief Economist of the Bank of England, at the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) Annual Lecture, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, 7 May 2019.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
08 May 2019

It is wonderful to be here at the University of Sheffield, my alma mater, to give the SPERI Annual Lecture. I have been a great admirer of SPERI's work over the years. It has played an important role in shaping the conversation about public policy, economically and socially, locally and nationally. My topic today echoes many of the themes SPERI has championed - the role of local perspectives and policies in better understanding the economy and in shaping a better society.

Tip O'Neill, the former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, famously said "all politics is local". Those words probably apply to politics everywhere. They have also probably been true at every point in history. But at this particular point in history, with local or national identities becoming an increasingly potent force shaping our economies and societies, those words have a particular resonance.