Treasury Committee Inquiry recommends longer OBR forecast horizons

I have been advocating for better long term economy policy making on the Treasury Committee. In our inquiry into the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), we heard economists such as Paolo Surico, the former heads of the OBR equivalents in the US, Professor Douglas Elmendorf, and the Netherlands, Laura van Geest, favouring longer forecasts.

As a result, I’m really pleased the Committee are recommending an additional ten year forecast because innovation policies, such as on R&D, show their maximum impact beyond the current OBR forecast horizon of five years.

Read the report here.

Covered in the Times and the Guardian.