Royal baby girl born: If the princess makes £1 billion for the economy, what could we spend the money on?

The birth of a girl will bring in more money to the UK economy than a boy - in the long term

Sophie McIntyre
Saturday 02 May 2015 23:28 BST
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A princess could bring in more revenue than a prince
A princess could bring in more revenue than a prince

The Duchess of Cambridge’s daughter will bring in more than £1 billion to the UK economy in her lifetime, according to experts – enough to pay for two hospitals.

Director of the UK's Centre for Retail Research, Joshua Bamfield, has estimated that she will lead to add £150 million per annum to the UK's economy – that's more than £1 billion by the time she is six.

As the UK comes out of austerity, here's what £150 million could buy:

Around 40,000 polling stations will be in use on 7 May

£150 million is the average cost of administering an election.

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It could fund 3,900 nurses or 1,800 hospital doctors for a year.

According to the King’s Fund, it could also pay for 25,050 hip replacements.

Disabled people are being left stranded in their own homes due to a 'culture of law- breaking' within local government over obligations to adapt homes and make them more accessible

In terms of welfare, it would buy just over 22,000 state pensions or could fund 345,000 people's disability living allowances.

The Ministry of Defence could also buy six challenger tanks or one and a half Typhoon jets for the money, according to the BBC.

Turning to education, the Government could use £150 million to pay for six extra secondary schools or free school meals for 375,000 children.

Experts have suggested that the birth of a girl will bring in more money to the UK economy than a boy – in the long term – according to City AM.

However, the spending frenzy predicted in the coming days is not anticipated to be as much as the £247 million boost brought in by the birth of Prince George.

Mr Bamfield, said: “I think there will be an immediate boost of around £80 million when the baby is born, with around £20 to £35 million spent on souvenirs and such like.”

Mr Bamfield suggests that the birth of a girl could bring in a “significant” longer term economic boost, which could be of particular benefit to the fashion industries.

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