“It is structural, not demand-side, policies that most influence economic performance over the long term. The experience of reforming economies as diverse as Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Poland is testimony to that. But structural policies take ages to produce effects. The initial consequence is usually a reduction in expenditure, which slows economic activity. It typically takes five years or more for positive effects to start to outweigh the negative. No surprise that politicians so seldom undertake reform. They know that the negative consequences will occur on their watch, while the benefits will accrue to their successors. Look at how Labour has benefited from the policies of Mrs Thatcher”. –Dr John Llewellyn, answering “what, over the past 35 years as a professional economist, I have learnt that is of real use”