Q: On supply-side, disappointing productivity...>

BOE: Q: On supply-side, disappointing productivity growth has been feature of

your tenure. Is there a particular explanation you subscribe to?

- A: There's a mix of explanations. Early on, they were more immediate and

obvious (GFC). More recently one can see the impact(s) of uncertainty,

contingency planning due to Brexit. This has weighed on some economic pickup.

More generalised underlying factors include that when there are broad

technological changes to an economy (cites computers, machine learning, Internet

of things, genetics), this takes a while to flow through and the wholesale

changes to how an economy operates. BoE is not at the cutting edge of big data,

machine learning etc and is an example of how economies can be slow to change.

- Q: What effect will Brexit have on productivity?

- A: Now no longer expect much of a pickup in productivity. Hard to point to

effect of Brexit in forecasts. Part of the downgrades include effect of moving

to new trade relationship and now forecasts naturally capture more of this new

trade landscape. Very difficult to give precise breakdown.