Combien coûtent les jours fériés à l'économie?

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Bank holidays versus the economy?
 
In Britain, we had not one but two bank holidays recently. The extra bank holiday was to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, her 60 years on the throne. Of course, we were happy to have an extra day off, on top of the usual eight per year, but what was the effect on the economy?

Some history.
British bank holidays have been recognised since 1871. The name Bank Holiday comes from the time when banks were shut and so no trading could take place.

There is currently a total of 8 permanent bank and public holidays in England, Wales and Scotland and 10 in Northern Ireland. These include Christmas Day and Good Friday, which in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are common law holidays (they are not specified by law as bank holidays but have become customary holidays because of common observance).

Britain, like many countries, is in recession. And according to a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, each bank holiday costs today the UK economy £2.3bn. In fact, if we no longer had bank holidays, annual output would be boosted by £19bn.

But how easy is it to quantify? And do bank holidays actually boost output, at least in some sectors? If you have a day off, you might spend the bank holiday visiting tourist destinations, shopping or eating in restaurants, for example. The Easter holidays are the peak time for spending on garden equipment and DIY. And a lot of money was spent on bunting, flags and food for the jubilee!

Moreover, if you know that there is a bank holiday next week, you will probably work harder this week because you will have less time to do the same amount of work as usual. You might even have to work overtime. Indeed, business leaders no doubt factored in the extra bank holiday into their plans.

There is also, on this occasion at least, the boost from tourism. Visit England said four million people took overnight trips to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. They spent an average of £175 each. Spokesperson Sarah Long told the press: “The jubilee celebrations have captivated audiences at home and around the world, and will hopefully attract increased visitor numbers for years to come.”

Prime Minister David Cameron believes that it was a tremendous opportunity for Great Britain even if there was an impact on the economy. “People say that obviously bank holidays aren’t good for the economy. I think it’s more important than that. This year we have two extraordinary events – 60 years of Her Majesty on the throne and the Olympics, and they’re moments where we’ve got the chance to show off the best of Britain,” he said.

It is not clear whether last year’s extra bank holiday to celebrate the royal wedding had an impact on GDP or not. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that GDP fell by 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2011. But the wedding was not the only possible cause for the drop. “You can’t say the royal wedding was worth x percent,” ONS statistician Jacqui Jones told the press. “We also had the warmest April in 100 years and the Japanese tsunami, which had an effect on supply chains.”

And surely, it is in these times of recession that what we really need is an extra day off, a reason to celebrate, a boost? The royal wedding last year and the jubilee this year lifted the national mood. And perhaps that is just as important.

By Bex