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Sustainable Economy > Published by Cormac Hollingsworth, September 20th 2011 at 5:59 pm

Without growth will we even halve the deficit?

The IMF downgrades to UK growth today is awful news for those who are hoping to cut the deficit.

George-Osborne-grim We’ve already done a simulation of how the downgrades in the OBR GDP growth rate for 2011 feeds into a rising 2011 borrowing. The new IMF prediction for 2011 growth at 1.1% was our line in the sand of whether the coalition would borrow more than the OBR predicted for the Darling budget, 8.3% of GDP. We were worried about that level, and it now looks greatly at risk.

But the IMF has slashed 2012 growth even more. We’ve not got the OBR/Treasury model, but we can do a very rough calculation of the cumulative effect of downgrades in 2011 and 2012 growth on 2012 borrowing:

Versus June 2010 Predictions

2011 GDP growth

2011 borrowing

2012 GDP growth

2012 borrowing

Nov 2010	-0.2	0.1	-0.2	0.1
March 2011	-0.6	0.4	-0.3	0.7

The table shows how the OBR’s downgrades in 2011 and 2012 growth fed into a large rise in 2012 borrowing. From the table, the small downgrades in 2012 growth does not explain the large change in March 2011 prediction for 2012 borrowing. However, the cumulative change in 2011 together with 2012 growth, i.e. the level of GDP in 2012, has clearly had an effect on the 2012 borrowing.

Versus the OBR’s prediction, the IMF predictions are the following:

2011 GDP growth

2012 GDP growth

OBR prediction	1.7%	2.5%
IMF new forecasts	1.1%	1.6%

The IMF now expects 2012 GDP to be 1.5% lower than the OBR predicted.

From a simple sensitivity analysis, the effect of this lower GDP suggests borrowing in 2012-13 will be 8% of GDP. That is versus 5.5% predicted by the OBR following the June emergency budget.

We will get the forecasts from the OBR in November, but what is clear is that while in March the OBR was slashing growth forecasts for just this year, we’re now facing a “lost decade” (the IMF’s words not ours) and growth is being serially downgraded.

We admit our analysis is very rough, but the IMF downgrade of cumulative growth of 1.5% will have a significant impact on borrowing. Without growth we face a real risk borrowing will not be falling fast enough for the deficit to halve. Our final table shows both the Darling budget (halving the deficit by end of parliament) and the March 2011 budget (bringing the deficit to zero by the end of the parliament):

2011 borrowing

2012 borrowing

Left Foot Forward projection	8.3%	8.0%
Mar 2011 OBR Forecast	7.9%	5.5%
Darling budget OBR forecast	8.3%	6.6%

In both cases, the 2012 borrowing is falling. But that’s because there was growth in 2012. Without growth, the deficit will not be cut.

http://twitter.com/vlcastle/status/116205879174508544 Vicky Castle

Without growth will we even halve the deficit? http://t.co/wSxNIT3X by @CormacHolly #TheLostRecovery #PlanB
http://twitter.com/labour52rose/status/116217640380407808 Alex Braithwaite

RT @leftfootfwd: Without growth will we even halve the deficit? http://t.co/crmWcJg2
http://twitter.com/abparchitects/status/116218464489840640 M Humphrey-Gaskin

RT @labour52rose: RT @leftfootfwd: Without growth will we even halve the deficit? http://t.co/Ry5aLEfW
http://twitter.com/marksouthville/status/116218671629737984 Mark Williams

Without growth, the deficit will not be cut. @CormacHolly @leftfootfwd
http://t.co/XAbTmkHL #falseeconomy #time4planB
http://twitter.com/redstar987/status/116224480300376066 Redstar PCS Stoke

Without growth will we even halve the deficit? http://t.co/wSxNIT3X by @CormacHolly #TheLostRecovery #PlanB
http://twitter.com/june4th/status/116239243973636096 Noxi

RT @leftfootfwd: Without growth will we even halve the deficit? http://t.co/1QHjQcAR by @CormacHolly #TheLostRecovery #PlanB
http://twitter.com/staffsunison/status/116256439126863872 Staffordshire UNISON

Without growth, the deficit will not be cut. @CormacHolly @leftfootfwd
http://t.co/XAbTmkHL #falseeconomy #time4planB
http://twitter.com/hens4freedom/status/116263661366026240 Hens4Freedom

RT @leftfootfwd: Without growth will we even halve the deficit? http://t.co/lYwh5jgc by @CormacHolly #TheLostRecovery #PlanB #NewsClub
http://twitter.com/lighthearteddan/status/116284909852696576 Daniel Weichman

Without growth, the deficit will not be cut. @CormacHolly @leftfootfwd
http://t.co/XAbTmkHL #falseeconomy #time4planB
http://twitter.com/trakgalvis/status/116357254604787712 Trakgalvis

RT @leftfootfwd: Without growth will we even halve the deficit? http://t.co/3nzBJ5HV by @CormacHolly #TheLostRecovery #PlanB #NewsClub
Ash

Now let’s hammer this message home. I am tired of shouting at politicians of all parties who keep appearing on my TV saying things like ‘we need to cut the deficit, but we also need to grow the economy’ and ‘we can’t do any more to stimulate growth, because we’ve committed ourselves to reducing the deficit’.
Selohesra

IMF said 17% of double dip so presumably 83% of modest ongoing growth – compare that to 100% chance of economic meltdown in Greek style if Brown, Balls & Co had been allowed to carry on recklessly spending money they did not have on vanity projects, non-jobs & spiralling benefits to buy the votes of the non-contibutors to society
Awake!

from newswires this morning:
‘banks in Spain and Italy are curbing loans and charging customers more as aftershocks from the sovereign debt crisis drive their borrowing costs higher.’
They then cite a pumps and filter maker who wanted to borrow a pump and filter maker who wanted to expand but coudn’t cos the loan was to expensive.
Currently in the UK u can now get a 10 year fix mortgage at UNDER 4%!! Never been offerd at that rate.
So keep slagging off the man oversaw 250k private sector job creation in the last year, stabilised numbers in a torrid backdrop, has a plan with some inbuilt flexibility (nothing else been put forward), and has made Britain a safe haven currently.
http://twitter.com/hmsgilmore/status/116517560601673729 Huston Gilmore

Clegg argues that cutting is in the 'national interest', but cutting demand looks like it may increase deficit http://t.co/Vqip9WP7 #ldconf
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