One of the best predictors that a firm will be very poorly managed is that it's family owned and has a chief executive who inherited their position. Two thirds of British family firms chose their CEO in this way. That compares to one third of American family firms and a tenth of German ones. The UK's tax code gives up to 100% inheritance tax relief for businesses that have passed down the family, which could encourage better management. Another boost could come from more competition.
Our correspondent visits town after devastated town. Poorly enforced building codes are one clear factor in the rising death toll—and a political backlash looms. Britain’s productivity problem is at least partly a problem with bad managers; we look at the substantial gains to be had from better-run companies. And the valuable data to come from an ambitious, national-scale sex survey.
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