Resolution Foundation Events Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Recordings of live Resolution Foundation events discussing our latest research and hosting policy debates on improving the living standards of low-to-middle income families.
For the first time in over a decade, over a million young people across Britain are not in employment, education or training. The causes of the crisis are myriad and complex, but at least one of the ways out of it is straightforward – businesses need to be incentivised to take on more young people. However, these incentives could take many forms, and finding the right hiring solutions is a crucial issue being explored by Alan Milburn’s Review into young people and work.
What is really holding businesses back from hiring young people today? Is it high labour costs, a lack of appropriate skills, or are other barriers at play? What kinds of incentives have worked best in other countries? Are wage subsidies more effective than tax cuts? And how much might a bold new package for employers cost?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions, featuring a keynote speech from Alan Milburn. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research, we will also hear from leading employers and experts on how businesses can be incentivised to take on more young people.
Ten years ago, the UK voted to leave the EU – a decision that was always bound to cause significant economic disruption. But it’s far from the only big economic shock we’ve experienced since – from pandemics to trade wars and now the AI revolution. While many will spend this anniversary looking backwards, it’s just as important to look forward and consider how we can navigate economic change in the decade ahead.
How has the UK’s trade in goods and services changed over the past decade, and how much is down to Brexit compared to other global shifts? How has the UK fared compared to its G7 peers? What does the past decade of economic change mean for the future of the UK’s industrial strategy? And are there strengths to leverage, as well as weaknesses to defend?
The Resolution Foundation has hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research marking ten years since the Brexit vote and just over five years of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, we will hear from leading experts on at the scale of economic change the UK has experienced over the past decade and how to boost growth over the next ten years.
Listen to High Resolution, our main podcast, here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5f5tUJPYEowcKhNS7cnZLY
We spend a lot of time thinking about money, but almost no time thinking about how odd it actually is. No other abstract concept plays such a significant role in our everyday lives, with this system built entirely on trust.
The Bank of England, as the guardians of Britain’s money, have for the first time written a book about how it makes the world go round – and what happens when it breaks down. In their new book Money: The Inside Story, economists Rupal Patel and Jack Leslie pull back the curtain on how money is supposed to work, what happens when it doesn’t, and where it might be going next.
How is money created? What happens in a crisis? And what might new technologies mean for the future of money?
The Resolution Foundation has hosted an event to mark the launch of Jack and Rupal’s new book. Joining them on stage will be acclaimed author, journalist and co-host of the hit new FT Podcast The Story of Money Gillian Tett, who can shed light on how money has shaped history and taken down even the sharpest minds.
Listen to High Resolution, our main podcast, here: https://linktr.ee/highresolutionpodcast
Collective bargaining has long been crucial to worker power in Britain. But after decades of union decline, a collective voice is increasingly rare leaving workers to assert themselves individually in the workplace instead. Yet in reality, many workers in low-paid and precarious sectors such as hospitality, cleaning and warehousing – the focus of new Resolution Foundation research – feel they have little to no influence over the decisions that impact them, including on pay and hours.
How does the power balance between firms and workers play out in low-paid and precarious sectors? How have the key ways workers exert power changed? And what does this mean for wider labour market conditions and dynamism?
The Resolution Foundation has hosted an event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of research featuring a new survey and qualitative interviews with Organise members in precarious sectors of the economy, we will hear from leading experts on how power is experienced at the bottom of the labour market, and the implications for employers and policy makers.
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Social security has been undergoing a quiet revolution across the UK. While attention has focused on the roll-out of Universal Credit, many other aspects of the benefits system are devolved, allowing governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to take different approaches to welfare.
As newly elected MSs and MSPs prepare to take their seats in the Senedd and the Scottish Parliament, and as the issue of welfare reform continues to loom large over Westminster, understanding what these differences are, and what reforms have worked well, could help to improve the system for everyone.
What are the key differences in social security across the four nations of the UK, and is it fair that families may be entitled to very different amounts in different parts of the UK? Which reforms have worked best, and hold lessons for other governments? Should we go further in devolving social security, or does the partially-devolved, partially-reserved nature of social security cause problems for claimants in devolved nations? And what are the wider lessons for welfare reform?
The Resolution Foundation hosted an event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from new research by the Safety Nets project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and which the Resolution Foundation has contributed to, on social security across the four nations, we will hear from leading experts on what lessons can be learned for further welfare reform.
The Labour Government has had a bruising start to the Parliament. It is trailing badly in the polls and is expecting a battering in the local, Welsh and Scottish elections in early May. Another relaunch and plan for a comeback in the second half of the Parliament is expected soon. But the parameters of this relaunch are hotly disputed.
With:
Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde UniversityYuan Yang MP, Labour MP for Earley and WoodleyTom McTague, Editor in Chief of the New StatesmanJames Smith, Research Director at the Resolution FoundationRuth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair) To read the report: See it. Say it. Sort it. • Resolution Foundation
Nearly one million 16-24 year olds across the UK today are not in employment, education or training. There are many drivers of the recent rise in NEETs, from the costs of hiring to worrying trends in young people’s mental health. But the UK has long had a higher NEET rate than many other advanced economies, and so we also need to look deeper at structural issues like the education and benefits systems.
With Alan Milburn’s independent review into tackling the NEETs challenge currently underway, now is the time to think how we can really improve the transition from education to employment for young people today.
To what extent are young people today disadvantaged in the labour market? How could the benefit system be reformed to improve outcomes for young people? Why does post-16 education continue to let down those not taking the traditional A-levels to university path? And what would a holistic package to address our NEETs problem look like?
Although the eventual impact of the escalating war in the Middle East is unknowable, we do know that it is already adding to cost of living pressures, that inflation and the path of interest rates will be higher, and that growth rates for GDP and disposable incomes will be lower (and may turn negative). The Resolution Foundation is hosting a pair of events in April to unpack what the effects of the war are on the UK economy, and how policy makers should respond.
This second event will focus on the wider outlook for the economic and public finances.
How much might the war reduce the UK’s growth prospects? What fresh policy support might be needed in the face of a potentially acute and prolonged price shock? How will this affect interest rates and mortgages? And what might an outlook for lower growth, higher inflation, higher debt servicing costs and fresh policy support mean for the public finances, and the Chancellor’s fiscal rules?
Following a presentation of wider domestic economic implications of the war in the Middle East, the Foundation will be joined by leading experts in their fields to discuss what might unfold, and how the Government and Bank of England should respond.
The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.
Although the eventual impact of the escalating war in the Middle East is unknowable, the increase in the price of oil and gas means we already know energy and petrol costs are set to rise. Knock on effects will hit food prices and wider inflation, not to mention the second-round effects on wage negotiations, interest rates, debt-servicing costs and wider economic growth. The Resolution Foundation is hosting a pair of events in April to unpack what the effects of the war are on the UK economy, and how policy makers should respond.
Part I will focus on the coming cost of living crunch.
What is the outlook for petrol prices, energy bills, the cost of a supermarket shop and wider inflation? How might this affect the outlook for family living standards? Can the Government respond to this coming cost of living crunch effectively? And how can it balance the need to provide clear, effective and targeted support with a price tag that the UK economy can afford?
The Foundation will be joined by leading experts in their fields to discuss the impact on households, and how the Government should respond.
Part II will focus on what the economic fallout of the war could mean for growth and the state of the public finances, and how this could shape future interest rate decisions and the next Budget. This event will take place on Wednesday 22nd April.
All developed countries are grappling with a falling birth rate, and the UK is no different. While the UK’s birth rate has often fluctuated, it has fallen sharply since 2012, and a rebound anytime soon looks unlikely. There are cultural and economic drivers behind the recent shortfall; and the implications will be both immediate and pose challenges well into the future.
Is the UK’s declining birth rate worth worrying about in the first place? What explains the recent trend of falling birth rates? Should policymakers be acting on this, and if so, what could be done?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and discuss these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest research on the significant implications of Britain’s plunging birth rate, we will hear from leading experts on why it matters, how, and if, policymakers should respond, and what we can learn from across the globe.
The dream of owning your own home is a powerful life goal for many. Once realised, it comes with better living standards, as well economic security. But many families are failing to get over the barriers to accessing a mortgage – from finding a deposit to passing banks’ affordability tests. Indeed, many would say such regulation has gone too far and it is time for a loosening.
To what extent has falling home ownership among young and lower-income families been driven by regulation, wider market conditions or government policy? How many people are on the margins of home ownership, and what is stopping them from making that next step? Should policy makers intervene to support home ownership, and what are the risks of intervention in terms of elevated house prices, mortgage debt and loans on the Government’s balance sheet?
In his new book Why Populists Are Winning and How to Beat Them, British Labour Party Politician and the MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North Liam Byrne draws on original research from across Europe and America to explore why populism has seduced voters worldwide. Liam sets out populism’s ‘five tribes’ – and which of these voters can still be won back by the centre. Drawing connections between rising inequality and the growing appeal of populism, Liam sets out a game-plan to tackle the populist surge.
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate key questions – and answers – raised by Liam’s book. He will be joined by Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice, alongside David Guake and Gaby Hinsliff, to unpack this timely call to action.
Britain has long seen lower intergenerational social mobility than many of its peers, with those from lower-income backgrounds receiving lower earnings as adults than those from more affluent backgrounds. University is often seen as the ticket out of this social mobility trap, but is this true? Unpacking the factors driving persistent earnings gaps for young people based on their background is vital if we’re to lift living standards for those from lower-income backgrounds.
How significant is the earnings gap between graduates from different backgrounds and how does this change over time? To what extent can this be accounted for by educational choices and where people work – and how much cannot?
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The Treasury promised us a boring non-event, which on the day was massively over-shadowed by events in the Middle East anyway. Ruth Curtice discusses the merits of annual fiscal events, the difficulty of getting growth going, and what to expect in the Chancellor's upcoming (and unprecedented) second Mais Lecture, with James Smith (Chief Economist at the Resolution Foundation) and Giles Wilkes (Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government).
Read Understatement of the year on our website today, for the full detail of our Spring Forecast response.
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The Government came into office promising to tackle policy uncertainty by limiting major fiscal events to one a year. They failed to deliver this last year, but are determined to deliver a ‘policy free’ Spring Forecast next week. Have they achieved greater policy certainty, or been scuppered by the cost of policy U-turns, public service pressures, major changes in the UK economic outlook, or problems that need fixing before the Autumn Budget?
SpeakersDavid MilesMember of the Budget Responsibility Committee at the OBRDharshini DavidBBC’s Deputy Economics EditorJames SmithChief Economist at the Resolution FoundationRuth CurticeChief Executive at the Resolution Foundation
Catch up on a recording of our recent event discussing the outlook ahead of the Chancellor's Spring Forecast.
The Autumn Budget was barely three months ago, but the UK has experienced plenty of economic and political drama since then. In the short time between OBR forecasts, there have been encouraging signs on the public finances and the outlook for inflation. But growth remains sluggish and uncertainty elevated amid rising geopolitical tensions. There are some signs of productivity ‘green shoots’, but the risk is they are indicative of higher unemployment.
SpeakersKaren Ward - Managing Director at JPMorgan Asset ManagementYael Selfin - Vice Chair and Chief Economist KPMG in the UKAndy King - Specialist Partner at Flint GlobalJames Smith - Chief Economist at the Resolution FoundationRuth Curtice - Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Britain does not feel like a nation at ease – and hasn’t done for a very long while. By more than two-to-one, Britons last year judged the country to be on the “wrong track” rather than heading in the “right direction”. Ruth Curtice, the Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, discusses the experiences and prospects for the nation's poorer half with Scarlett Maguire and Tom Clark.
The Resolution Foundation has documented two decades of UK economic underperformance and stagnant living standards.
18 months into a government elected on a mandate of change and growth, and following the publication of Mountain climbing, we're assessing their growth strategy – its intentions, its achievements, and its prospects moving ahead into an uncertain world. Lord David Willetts, the President of the Resolution Foundation, is joined by Sophie Hale, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, and Anna Leach, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors.
The UK has made good progress towards net zero in recent decades. But the agriculture sector stands out as having made barely any progress. To meet our legally-binding climate targets, agriculture and land use will need to decarbonise seven times quicker this decade than in the past 15 years. Fundamental changes to how we make food and use land will be needed. But decarbonisation in this area is hard and any efforts will need to overcome considerable political and living standards barriers to reform.
How can policy makers meet the decarbonisation challenge while protecting living standards for farmers and consumers, while also upholding food security? How can better-designed land-use policy play a role? How should the sector’s generous subsidy system be overhauled? And who should pay for greening food production?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of our latest policy proposals on the farming sector, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges of cutting emissions from food production, reshaping how land is used, and how to take a living standards-first approach to these.
The roll out of Universal Credit began way back in April 2013, a process that has been beset by delays, design changes, controversy and criticism from across the political spectrum. But 13 years on, the roll out is almost complete and Universal Credit is here to stay. As we approach this crucial milestone and the Government is undertaking its own internal review of the benefit, now is a good opportunity to take fresh look at UC’s design and structure and ask what operational changes could be made to improve the experience and outcomes for the seven million families claiming UC today.
How could changes to Universal Credit improve income stability for its claimants? How could the interaction between the benefit system and work be smoother? What could be done to improve trust in Universal Credit? And can make Universal Credit be made to work better without breaking the bank?
Resolution Foundation Research Director Lindsay Judge talks you through the learnings from recent benefit reforms in Scotland, joined by Louise Murphy and Ben Geiger. Read 'Delivering dignity' on our website today to learn more.
Adult social care is a vital public service. But this is not reflected in the pay and job quality on offer for England’s 1.5 million social care workers. Low-pay, zero-hours contracts, and breaches of labour market rules are worryingly widespread, and have contributed to a longstanding recruitment and retention crisis. The Government has rightly sought to address this by setting up a new Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (ASCNB), that brings together workers and employers to draw up a Fair Pay Agreement (FPA). But there are still big questions about how to turn this worthy ambition into deliverable improvements across the sector.
How can the ASCNB be set up quickly while delivering lasting improvements to care workers’ conditions? Which workers should be covered by the FPA, and what terms and conditions should be included? And how should the FPA be enforced in a sector currently rife with labour market non-compliance?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person event and interactive webinar to debate and discuss these questions. Following a presentation of the key recommendations from a new Resolution Foundation report, we will hear from leading experts on the key policy questions the Government needs to resolve to ensure the success of the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body and Fair Pay Agreement.
Immigration is one of the most salient and polarised issues among the British public – and one that successive Government policy initiatives have failed to resolve. Now central to the UK’s political debate, the issue regularly makes headlines and is used as a device by parties to win public opinion. Seen by some as a missing part of the UK’s growth strategy, and by others as having gone too far, any discussions are often binary and divisive. And while politicians recognise the need to get immigration policy right; they continue to be torn over what strategy is best, let alone how to deliver it.
In his latest book Why Immigration Policy Is Hard, Professor of Economics at the LSE and former Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee Alan Manning makes the case that while immigration policy will never satisfy everyone, that doesn’t mean it can’t be (and needs to be) done much better. Using cutting-edge international research, Alan seeks to inform debate by first building a picture of migration across the world, then assessing the issue from both the migrant and receiving countries’ perspective. Alan then assesses options for policy design, pushing for decisions to be made even where there are difficult trade-offs.
The Chancellor has prepared the pitch for a tough second Budget, with tax rises expected as part of a fiscal strategy designed to reassure markets that the UK’s public finances are firmly under control. But the Chancellor has also promised to protect the NHS, boost growth and support families with the cost of living. Acting decisively on all of these priorities would be no mean feat as part of a Budget that takes more than it gives.
How tough a settlement has the Chancellor delivered on tax rises and spending cuts? To what extent have manifesto pledges been breached? How much will the measures announced help or hinder economic growth? Who are the main winners and losers? And to what extent has this Budget laid the groundwork for the rest of the Parliament?
SpeakersRichard HughesChair of the Office for Budget ResponsibilityKamal AhmedColumnist at the Daily TelegraphYael SelfinVice Chair and Chief Economist at KPMGJames SmithResearch Director at the Resolution FoundationRuth CurticeChief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Please note that due do technical difficulties the last couple of minutes of this event are not included in the recording.
November 13th 2025
The Budget run-in has centred around what taxes the Chancellor will need to raise to meet her fiscal rules. But housing could potentially play an equally decisive role. Ambitious planning reform could deliver the economic growth that Britain so desperately needs, the current mess of property taxation is ripe for reform, and better support for families in rented accommodation could raise living standards and reduce child poverty. Successive governments have failed to grapple with Britain’s housing challenges, but can the Chancellor afford not to grasp it?
How can planning reform be strengthened, and what might it mean for growth? How much appetite is there for touching the terrible twin taxes of stamp duty and council tax? And how should housing feature in the Government’s new Child Poverty strategy that will sit alongside the Budget?
SPEAKERS
Emily WilliamsDirector of Residential Research at SavillsPaul CheshireEmeritus Professor of Economic Geography at the LSEJamie CarswellDirector of Housing and Safer Communities at the Royal Borough of GreenwichHannah AldridgeSenior Research and Policy Analyst at the Resolution FoundationRuth CurticeChief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
The Resolution Foundation has recently published research assessing how the Government can help families with high energy bills. Our Chief Executive discussed the proposals with Jonathan Marshall (one of our Principal Economists) and Adam Scorer, the Chief Executive of National Energy Action. Tune in to learn about the drivers of Britain’s stubbornly high household energy bills, and how reform of the costs added onto bills offers a route for helping families with the cost of living this winter. To learn more, read 'Splitting the bill' on our website today: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/splitting-the-bill/
After delivering her first Budget last autumn, which included the biggest tax rises in decades to fund a major boost to public services, Rachel Reeves said that she would not be coming back with more tax increases. Fast forward 12 months and she’s about to do just that given a deteriorating outlook for the public finances risk the fiscal rules being broken. So the task for the Chancellor at this Budget is to show that she is serious about meeting her rules, boosting growth, and relieving cost of living pressures. Delivering all three in one Budget is an unenviable task.
How has the UK’s economic outlook changed since March? To what extent is our economic future being shaped by present uncertainty, or past poor performance? How much tax and spend tightening might the Chancellor need to? And how can she raise more revenue in a way that does the least harm to economic growth and living standards?
The number of 16-24 year olds who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is increasing, and drawing more political focus. Policy makers are right to worry about this major living standards concern – not earning or learning in early adulthood can stunt careers and earning potential for many years into the future. But if we’re to help NEETs we need to understand who they are and why they’re NEET, so that solutions are based on actual rather than imagined problems.
How many young people are NEET in Britain today? What’s driven the recent change, and how does it differ by age and gender? What are the key education and labour market problems facing young people today, and what can policy makers do to help them?
In recent years, UK households have faced a number of economic challenges, contributing to subdued growth and increased living costs. These pressures have been particularly noticeable during the period of elevated inflation following the pandemic, and higher interest rates in response. These conditions have influenced household finances and behaviours, which affects how policymakers seek to shape the monetary policy environment.
In a keynote speech at the Resolution Foundation, External Member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee Dr. Catherine L. Mann will discuss how the recent episode of above-target inflation and higher interest rates have affected households’ consumption, savings, and financial behaviour. As part of that assessment, she will also consider how above-target inflation tends to be associated with higher volatility and uncertainty, and what that means for households’ decisions.
Following Catherine’s keynote address, we will hear a response from former MPC member Michael Saunders before both panellists take part in a Q&A, chaired by President of the Resolution Foundation David Willetts.
The story of wealth across Britain has, until recently, been a straightforward one – decades of rising prices, benefiting those lucky enough to own assets. But that story has been upended in the past few years as interest rates rocketed off their historically low levels in response to the highest inflation in decades. Britain needs to look again at the size and distribution of household wealth, and people’s ability to become wealthier.
What happened to household wealth during the pandemic? What has that meant for wealth inequality? Were some families financially vulnerable even before the cost of living crisis? To what extent do people become more or less wealthy over time? And how does wealth mobility – or the lack thereof – affect people’s lifetime living standards?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the Foundation’s Wealth Audit we will hear from leading experts on the level, distribution and mobility of wealth across Britain, and why it matters.
Britain is desperate for stronger economic growth, and technological progress – notably through AI – is often touted as a route out of stagnation. After all, technological change is commonly thought to have been the main driver of economic growth throughout history. However, if that reading of technological change is far too simplistic, with progress in fact far stilted, what does that mean for our future economic prospects?
In a groundbreaking new book, economist Carl Benedikt Frey looks back over the past millennium to show how technological change has driven growth, but also stagnation. Using these lessons from history, Carl then looks ahead to the impact of AI – whether it will really deliver the stronger economic growth we all crave, or what can be done to shape that change.
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer the questions by Carl’s new book. He will be joined by Resolution Foundation President Lord Willetts to discuss the impact of technical change on economic growth and living standards, and what policy makers can do to shape that change in a positive direction.
The Chancellor has fired the starting gun on the run-in to one of the most challenging second Budgets in living memory. The Chancellor has already said her fiscal rules are sacrosanct, but higher gilt yields, policy u-turns and a likely growth downgrade mean she is on track to miss them without further fiscal consolidation. With spending plans agreed only last June, all roads point to more tax rises.
What should be the tax strategy for the upcoming Budget and beyond, and what might that mean for who loses out? Is there an economic case for breaking Labour’s tax manifesto commitment, and is it worth the political cost of doing so? And how should the Chancellor align her tax strategy with wider ambitions to boost growth and living standards?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest research on how to deliver tax reform that doesn’t damage growth, we will hear from leading experts on the trade-offs the Chancellor is likely to face on tax in her upcoming Budget.
Savings are supposed to be the first line of defence against financial shocks. But in reality, millions of families across Britain don’t have enough to be more than a few pay-days away from trouble. For many low-income households in particular, the focus is less about building up savings and more avoiding the building up of debts and arrears. All of this can leave families vulnerable to one-off costs such as a car break-down or bust boiler – let alone bigger shocks such as redundancy.
How financially resilient are the 13 million low-to-middle income families that make up Unsung Britain? After the cost of living crisis and the rise of ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ schemes, how many families are in problem debt? How can those on lower incomes be encouraged to save more? And how should we deal with the large rise in rent, council tax and utilities arrears?
Speakers
Tim Jarvis
Director for Markets at Ofgem
Vikki Brownridge
Chief Executive of StepChange
Sebastian Burnside
Group Chief Economist at NatWest Group
Felicia Odamtten
Economist at the Resolution Foundation
Ruth Curtice
Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation
After a not-so-quiet summer, MPs are returning from recess to a torrent of public policy challenges. Immigration remains the public’s top concern, with the economy and the NHS not far behind. Defence has also climbed the list – with the extra spending it brings adding to already daunting public finance pressures. Decisions on these issues come with unavoidable trade-offs; at a time when the parties will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on their own performance in the polls.
What are the biggest public policy challenges facing the UK? Which of these are most important to the public? What are the options for addressing these, in the immediate and long-term? And what might the implications of potential decisions the Government make on these be?
Speakers
Rob Ford
Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester (Virtual)
Anita Charlesworth
Senior Economic Adviser at The Health Foundation
David Bailey
Professor of Business Economics at the Birmingham Business School
Anand Menon
Director of UK in a Changing Europe
Ruth Curtice
Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
The Chancellor has fired the starting gun on the run-in to one of the most challenging second Budgets in living memory. The Chancellor has already said her fiscal rules are sacrosanct, but higher gilt yields, policy u-turns and a likely growth downgrade mean she is on track to miss them without further fiscal consolidation. With spending plans agreed only last June, all roads point to more tax rises.
What should be the tax strategy for the upcoming Budget and beyond, and what might that mean for who loses out? Is there an economic case for breaking Labour’s tax manifesto commitment, and is it worth the political cost of doing so? And how should the Chancellor align her tax strategy with wider ambitions to boost growth and living standards?
SPEAKERS
Dan NeidleTax lawyer, journalist and commentatorLord David WillettsPresident of the Resolution FoundationAdam CorlettPrincipal Economist at the Resolution FoundationRuth CurticeChief Executive at the Resolution Foundation
Britain is desperate for stronger economic growth, and technological progress – notably through AI – is often touted as a route out of stagnation. After all, technological change is commonly thought to have been the main driver of economic growth throughout history. However, if that reading of technological change is far too simplistic, with progress in fact far stilted, what does that mean for our future economic prospects?
In a groundbreaking new book, economist Carl Benedikt Frey looks back over the past millennium to show how technological change has driven growth, but also stagnation. Using these lessons from history, Carl then looks ahead to the impact of AI – whether it will really deliver the stronger economic growth we all crave, or what can be done to shape that change.
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer the questions by Carl’s new book. He will be joined by Resolution Foundation President Lord Willetts to discuss the impact of technical change on economic growth and living standards, and what policy makers can do to shape that change in a positive direction.
Making Britain work for everyone: How can employers go further to recruit and retain disabled workers?
Speakers include Charlie Mayfield, lead of the Keep Britain Working review Boosting employment among people with a health condition or disability is a crucial part of this Government’s agenda; from reaching an employment rate of 80 per cent, to reducing economic inactivity and curbing welfare spending. Yet disabled people continue to face barriers to employment. Encouraging employers to go further in hiring and retaining disabled people is key to shifting the dial on this.
From healthcare to carers’ careHow disabilities and caring responsibilities impact the lives of lower-income BritainThe rising prevalence of ill-health and disability across Britain has been under the spotlight recently; not least the implications for the country’s benefits bill. But the impact on those who are ill or disabled, and the family members who care for them, has been less discussed. Disability and the caring needs that can come with it already disproportionately affect the poorer half of Britain, and many of these families face a severe income penalty as a result.
A timely discussion exploring the profound transformation of global trade, amid rising tariffs and mounting geopolitical tensions.
What are the broader economic implications for the UK, US and wider global landscape?
The discussion will be chaired by Chaired by the Rt Hon Lord David Willetts, joined by an expert panel; Professor Meredith Crowley, Russell Napier and Sherman Robinson.
Brought to you by the Resolution Foundation, Society of Professional Economists and Royal Economic Society.
New deal or no dealHow will the Employment Rights Bill impact workers, businesses and the wider economy? Kate BellAssistant General Secretary at the TUCNeil CarberryChief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment ConfederationDarren NewmanEmployment Law ConsultantNye CominettiPrincipal Economist at the Resolution FoundationGreg ThwaitesResearch Director at the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
The price is tightHow are the cost of essentials affecting low-to-middle-income families across Britain? SpeakersClare MoriartyChief Executive of Citizens AdvicePeter LevellDeputy Research Director at the IFSLalitha TryEconomist at the Resolution FoundationMike BrewerDeputy Chief Executive at the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Britain is racked by pay divides – on gender, race, age and education status. But one of its starkest inequalities centres on geography, which is far more complex than Londoners earning more than everyone else. But while regional pay inequality is widely discussed, what drives these divides is less well understood. And that really matters if we’re to tackle these inequalities.
The Government’s fiscal events have had a shaky start so far. The Autumn Budget unveiled £41 billion of tax rises by 2029-30, while the Spring Statement was dominated by controversial welfare reform that will hit poorer families the hardest. The Spending Review provides a fresh opportunity to focus on growth and living standards, as it sets out the details of over £40 billion additional annual day-to-day public service spending, and over £100 billion worth of infrastructure funding. But with Britain facing the strong headwinds of global economic turbulence and strained public services, will it be third time lucky for the Chancellor?
Has the Government boosted public services across the board, or has the NHS taken the lion’s share of the cash? Has public investment centred on repairing Britain’s fraying social infrastructure – its schools, hospitals and housing stock – or building new economic and energy infrastructure? Have limited resources been effectively prioritised to support growth and improve living standards? And how might the Spending Review shape the upcoming Budget this Autumn?
The effects of Covid-19 and double-digit inflation may have faded, but the cost of living remains a top concern for families. Recent tax increases, coupled with rising utility bills and housing costs, are adding to the pressures that households face. The jobs market is loosening with unemployment rising and real-pay rises shrinking. And these domestic pressures sit aside global economic uncertainty that will inevitably impact families at home.
How has the outlook for living standards changed in light of recent events? What do these developments mean for the experiences of different households? How might changes in the economic or policy outlook affect households, for better or for worse? And what policies would have the biggest impact for lower-income families?
What are the labour market experiences of foreign-born workers? How do systemic issues allow poor practices to persist? What are the wider implications for the UK labour market? And how can policy – including the measures in the upcoming Employment Rights Bill – better protect workers?
Our homes are now the second biggest contributor the UK’s carbon footprint, and efforts to address this rely on the widespread replacement of gas boilers with electric heat pumps. But the rollout of heat pumps is slow and behind schedule, despite generous grants on offer, and particularly so among low-to-middle income families and those living in urban areas. Home heating is one of the most visible parts of the net zero transition to households, and a policy shift is required to get more fitted into homes and ensure that all families ultimately benefit via lower energy bills. But these shifts are neither free, nor straightforward.
Despite the cuts announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, spending on public services is set to be on average £43 billion higher over the years of the upcoming Spending Review, compared with what was set out by the previous Government at the 2024 Spring Budget. But with much of this extra spending front-loaded to this year and next, questions remain about funding pressures in the years after that. These services are vital for families – providing ‘in kind’ benefits which provide a huge boost to the living standards of lower-income households. So future provision will make a difference to the outlook for living standards.
What is driving the US’ impressive productivity outperformance? How does it differ from the UK, and what lessons can be drawn? And what can firms and policy makers do to reverse the UK’s productivity woes, and prevent another decade of economic stagnation in Britain?
The minimum wage has been a huge success story since its introduction in 1999 – but 2025 might be its trickiest year yet. The combination of increases to employer National Insurance and a bigger-than-expected 6.7 per cent rise in the National Living Wage has left businesses warning of jobs cuts and hiring freezes. Previous such warnings haven’t materialised, but with the jobs market already in recession territory, might this year be different? It is amidst this uncertainty and challenging backdrop that the Government will need set out a longer-term plan for the minimum wage.
How has the economic outlook changed since last Autumn? What are the impacts of any tax and spend decisions the Chancellor has made to meet her fiscal rules? How might they affect households across the income distribution? And what does the latest outlook, and the Chancellor’s response, tell us about Britain’s quest for stronger growth and rising living standards?
In her Budget last Autumn, the Chancellor set out plans to boost public spending and investment by £300 billion, alongside the largest tax increases in over 30 years. She also announced new, binding fiscal rules and left herself £10 billion of headroom against meeting them. But the UK economy – and the world – has changed in the past five months…
To what extent will the UK’s poor recent economic performance feed through into the Office for Budget Responsibility’s new economic and fiscal outlook, and how it will affect the amount of headroom the Chancellor has? What policies may be required – on tax, welfare and public service spending – to hit the fiscal rules? And how do these policies sit in the wider context of the UK needing to defend itself and its allies, grow its economy, and boost living standards throughout the country?
Britain is becoming sicker, with a sustained increase in levels of ill-health and disability. This creates financial challenges for families, and a fiscal challenge for the Government, with spending on incapacity and disability benefits forecast to rise from £40 billion today to £60 billion by the end of the Parliament. Everyone agrees that the current system is not working. But no-one can agree on how to change it. The Government will need to break that stalemate in its upcoming Green Paper.
Most people are used to receiving regular monthly pay cheques, hopefully with the occasional bonus and an annual rise. But while this is often taken for granted, for other workers the size and timing of their pay cheques are far more volatile – with knock on effects on their ability to pay bills, save, plan ahead and smooth their living standards over time. But with Brits notoriously adverse to talking about pay, the scale of earnings volatility across the country is unknown.
The new Government is currently preparing a child poverty strategy, and hoping to emulate the success of the last Labour government, which lifted over half a million children out of poverty over its first five years. This ambition is needed too, because unless action is taken, poverty rates are expected to rise over the course of the parliament. But Britain in the mid-2020s is very different to the late-1990s – a new approach will be needed to lift children out of poverty over the next decade.
What reduced child poverty in the late-1990s and 2000s, and to what extent can that approach be repeated today? What is the role of work, housing, and social security in lifting families above the poverty line? How much might it cost to deliver a successful child poverty strategy? And what are the costs of not doing so?
In recent decades the UK has become an increasingly diverse country. And yet, persistent and significant ethnic inequalities remain. While the jobs and pay gaps experienced by those from an ethnic minority are becoming better understood, the key living standards question of housing affordability is still under-discussed. With even higher-income ethnic minority groups spending a greater share of their budgets on keeping a roof over their heads compared to White British households, the puzzle of why they are paying more for their housing remains unsolved.
How much of the housing affordability gap can be explained by age, tenure and location? How do housing conditions differ between ethnic minority groups? How do these inequalities feed into the country’s wider housing crisis? And what can policy do to ensure the most disadvantaged groups benefit from improvements to Britain’s housing stock?
Speakers:
Florence Eshalomi MP, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee
Kwajo Tweneboa, Social issues campaigner
Camron Aref-Adib, Researcher at the Resolution Foundation
Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
How worrying data and market unrest could affect Britain’s economic outlook.
Government debt markets across the world are having a jittery start to 2025, and the UK is one of the most affected economies with gilt yields volatile amid concerns about stagflation, though they have started to fall back in recent weeks. While these movements pass most people by, they can have a material impact on their living standards. For policy makers, a deteriorating economic outlook may need to be confronted too – either through a changed path for interest rates, or tough choices on tax and spend.
Speakers: Katharine Neiss, Deputy Head of Global Economics at PGIM Fixed Income Mohamed El-Erian, President of Queens’ College, Cambridge University James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Doubts about the financial returns from gaining a degree and concerns about too many people now going to university persist in the debate about the future of UK higher education. But in a new paper published by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, Resolution Foundation President and former universities minister David Willetts challenges this pessimistic outlook.
The Resolution Foundation and the King’s Policy Institute are hosting an in-person and interactive event to discuss the controversial question of the returns from university for graduates, firms and the wider economy, and how we can better assess the long-lasting benefits of higher education. Following a presentation from Lord Willetts, we will hear from leading experts including the Rt Hon Baroness Jacqui Smith, the minister responsible for universities in the Department for Education. Chaired by Professor Bobby Duffy.
2025 is shaping up to be a big year in UK politics, as the Government’s ambitions set out across various White Papers start to be turned into deliverable action on the ground. The Spending Review could also set the tone for the rest of the Parliament, as the Chancellor sets out how to invest £100 billion wisely, and Ministers show how they intend to improve public services in the face of severe financial constraints. The living standards outlook is no less challenging. If 2024 was the year of the election, then 2025 looks set to be the year of the post-election squeeze, as real earnings growth falls while taxes go up. The new economic milestone of raising living standards across the UK may feel some way off.
Rising employment has been one of the biggest economic changes for lower income families over the past quarter century, with the number of workless households falling by a third since 1996. But while more people from poorer households are entering the workforce, they are not necessarily getting on in their careers or enjoying the work they do. This second report of the Unsung Britian project – supported by JPMorganChase – examines low-to-middle income families’ experiences of employment, pay and job quality.
What constraints do low-to-middle income families face when it comes to raising employment? Which industries do they work in, and how does this impact on their pay and hours security? Which aspects of work are important to them, and what do they consider when making employment decisions? What barriers do they face to job mobility?
How should the Government set its new Industrial Strategy?
The Government is gunning for growth, and a new Industrial Strategy lies at the heart of this agenda. But while an Industrial Strategy is supposed to set long-term policy thinking, it also comes to the fore in acute political crises, as Ministers have already found with threatened closures to steel plants and car factories. As the new Government sets out fresh long-term thinking on how it can support British industries, what should inform a new Industrial Strategy for the decisive decade ahead?
How should industrial strategy balance a front-footed focus on leveraging the strengths of many of its services sectors, with a more defensive approach to protecting vulnerable industries, like advance manufacturing? To what extent should place feature in a national strategy, and should any of that strategy be devolved to City-regions and local areas? Where does policy help or hinder firms’ expansion? And how much difference can a new Industrial Strategy make in terms of boosting jobs, living standards and economic growth?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of key highlights from new RF research and a speech from Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, a panel of Britain’s leading politicians and policy experts discuss how a new Industrial Strategy might succeed in boosting growth.
British firms are still adjusting to the Brexit shock that has affected UK firms’ ability to trade with our biggest trading partner bloc. Now a new shock is looming from the country we trade most with via threats of universal tariffs from the President-Elect Donald Trump. But the impact of these huge trade shocks will differ across different sectors, and across importing and exporting firms. Understanding where the UK’s trade strengths and vulnerabilities lie will be crucial as the Government develops a new trade strategy for the decade ahead.
Which sectors have been vulnerable to recent shocks, and which have continued to grow? How have firms responded to Brexit in the way they trade, and what does this mean for people’s lived experience of trade trends? Is Britain’s status as a services superpower under threat? And what does this mean for the Government’s new UK trade strategy that can navigate a post-Brexit, intra-Trump world?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from major new research on how the UK’s trading relations are evolving, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for devising a new UK strategy in a turbulent world for trade.
British household wealth has been on a rollercoaster ride in recent years. Increased saving during the Covid-19 pandemic boosted wealth, only for interest rate rises during the cost-of-living crisis to wipe out wealth gains.
Since the late 1970s overall measures of wealth inequality have been relatively stable. But this hides big changes in wealth gaps both within generations, and between them. And as wealth is passed down through generations, the state of wealth in Britain today has huge implications for current and future living standards, for young, old and middle-aged alike.
How has recent economic turbulence affected Britain’s story of growing wealth, and growing wealth gaps? How have higher interest rates affected wealth inequality, and how might wealth transfers through inheritances and gifts affect future trends? What are the long-term implications for continued wealth inequality, particularly for younger generations? And is there a role for policy in tempering these trends?
Transfers between generations – from care given to younger or older relatives, to gifts, inheritances and a roof over one’s head – play a vital role in society. But despite their importance to family living standards, they are often misunderstood. If we’re to better appreciate how modern Britain operates, we need to understand the economic significance of these intergenerational transfers, and what they mean for individuals and families.
How has the extent and intensity of care provided across generations changed over time, and for what reasons? Have demographic and economic changes increased the need for intergenerational support? Who can access intergenerational financial support, and who provides it? And what does this mean for different people’s ability to work, live comfortably and get ahead in a career?
Speakers:
Ann Berrington, Professor of Demography & Social Statistics University of Southampton
Eliza Filby, Author and historian of generations and contemporary values
Molly Broome, Economist, Resolution Foundation
David Willetts, President of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
There are around 13 million low-to-middle income families across Britain today. This diverse group of families are at the heart of the country’s economic prospects, and any government’s political mandate. And yet they are poorly understood – who they are, how their lives have changed, and the stresses and strains they are under. In order to better understand low-to-middle income Britain, the Resolution Foundation is launching a new 12-month project –with support from JPMorganChase – which will also investigate what can be done to boost their living standards.
The Unsung Britain project was launched with new research, and a speech by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook at an event at our Westminster offices.
Speakers:
Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning
Polly Toynbee, Author and Columnist at The Guardian
Abigail McKnight, Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the LSE
Lalitha Try, Economist at the Resolution Foundation
Gavin Kelly, Executive Chair of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
The first Budget of the new Parliament is a particularly important one, giving the Chancellor a unique opportunity to set the economic framing for the next five years. It’s also often a chance to take painful decisions – post-election tax rises are a time-honoured tradition.
The Resolution Foundation hosted its traditional ‘morning after the night before’ event to debate and answer questions about the Budget. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its overnight analysis of Autumn Budget 2024, we heard from leading experts – including the Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Richard Hughes.
The next big hurdle on Britain’s path towards a green economy is decarbonising every-day travel. Emissions from getting around – from cars, vans, buses, trains and planes – make up the greatest share of the country’s carbon footprint, and have hardly shrunk in the past decade. So, if we want to go green, we need to overhaul the ways in which families get from A to B. Moving from polluting petrol to cheaper electric vehicles (EVs), ensuring lower income families can access EVs or affordable public transport, and that flying pays its way, are vital if the transition is to achieve widespread public consent and support.
How can we support lower-income families to access EVs which are more expensive at the point of purchase, but cheaper to run? Will public transport continue to get more expensive relative to driving in the future, and if so how can we support families who don’t or can’t drive? And with high emissions flights bouncing back after the pandemic, how can we ensure that frequent flyers pay their way in the net zero transition?
Painful post-election Budgets are a time-honoured tradition in Britain, and the new Government’s upcoming fiscal event will be no exception, with the PM and Chancellor already warning of tough decisions being made. Expectations are being set for higher taxes, higher borrowing or lower spending – or perhaps a combination of all three.
What tax and spend decisions might the Chancellor consider in order to put the public finances on a more even keel, and what might this mean for family finances? Can the tough medicine in the Budget be squared with the need to kickstart growth? How might the new Government navigate the politics of a post-election Budget? And what could this mean for the rest of the Parliament?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research – the last in a five-part series about the economic challenges facing the new Government – we will hear from leading experts on the Chancellor’s options in her first Budget.
One of the key goals of the Pensions Commission, published almost two decades ago, was to reform pension saving so that more people were encouraged to save enough for a decent income in retirement. The main policy recommendation of the Commission – auto-enrolment – has been rolled out and ramped up since then, and in doing so has completely transformed the savings landscape across Britain. But is it meeting the key goal of boosting pensions adequacy?
How much do people need to save for a decent income in retirement, and how does it vary across the income distribution? How have the pensions adequacy targets suggested by the Pensions Commission back in 2006 been affected by policy and economic changes since then – from taxes and the triple lock, to interest rates and annuities? Are people saving enough for their retirement now? And what does that mean for the new Government’s pensions review?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research – funded by the People’s Pension – on pensions adequacy, we will hear from leading experts – including the Chair of the Pensions Commission Lord Turner – on whether auto-enrolment is delivering in terms of securing decent retirement incomes for workers, and where the policy might go next.
Britain has left the EU almost five years ago, and the economic damage – particularly when it comes to trade – is now clear. The new Government has put resetting UK-EU relations at the heart of its growth mission. But the concrete actions announced so far are unlikely to make much difference. A far more ambitious approach to rebooting our trading relations will be needed to really shift the economic dial.
How much difference will reducing uncertainty make, compared to actively removing barriers to trade? Should the UK pursue closer regulatory alignment with the EU, and if so which sectors should be prioritised? What meaningful changes can be made within the UK protocol, and where might the UK need to rethink existing agreements? And how much is both economically and politically feasible?
The Resolution Foundation and UK in a Changing Europe are co-hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on UK-EU trade priorities, we will hear from leading experts on what reforms would have the most impact, and what the new UK government might be able to achieve.
The UK has made progress in addressing societal inequalities, but continues to be shaped by interlinked structural disparities. That includes those related to gender, race, class, sexuality, age and disability. Five years ago, the Resolution Foundation and UCL collaborated on a commission exploring the interactions between these inequalities. Since then, the UK has gone through significant challenges, including a pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis, so how have UK inequalities evolved?
How have disadvantaged groups been affected by recent economic shocks, and what structural barriers persist? How do the issues of health and disability – which have risen up the political and public policy agenda – interact with other inequalities? And how do structural inequalities fit into the new Government’s agenda, and what key policy challenges must they address?
The Resolution Foundation, in partnership with UCL, hosted a webinar to explore these important questions. After presenting the key findings from the Structurally Unsound report and new research on the changed landscape of structural inequalities in the UK, leading experts discuss how to tackle persistent societal inequalities.
Speakers:
Alesha De Freitas, Head of Policy, Advocacy and Research at the Fawcett society
Imran Rasul, Professor of Economics at UCL
Olivia Stevenson, Deputy Director of Public Policy at UCL
Nye Cominetti, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
The past 15 years of economic stagnation has caused families’ living standards to flatline, and the new Government is right to put ‘kickstarting’ growth at the heart of its agenda. Already, Ministers have set out what many of their pro-growth reforms will be – from reforming planning rules to delivering 1.5 million homes, to setting up Great British Energy, devolving more power to City mayors, and creating a new deal for workers. Delivering these policies is a huge challenge in itself – but will they do enough to kickstart growth?
How big an effect can these reforms have on growth and productivity? How can policy makers ensure the biggest economic bang for their buck? Are there important pro-growth reforms that the Government is missing out on? And what might the combined, long-term effect of these reforms look like in terms of the size of the UK economy by the end of the decade?
The new Government has set an ambitious target of delivering 1.5 million new homes over a five-year period – at a rate that hasn’t been achieved since the 1960s – and has put planning reform at the heart of its agenda. But successive governments have aimed high, but delivered low, when it comes to housebuilding. Overcoming this record will require a lot of capital expenditure, in both political and cash terms.
What are the devils in the detail when it comes to getting controversial planning reforms right? What other interventions might be needed to enable firms to build new properties at scale? Where should new homes be built, and what role should social housing play? And how will future homeowners – and their neighbours – be affected by a successful housebuilding drive?
The Chancellor has set the date for the first Budget of Labour’s Government – 30th October – and has emphasised the stark fiscal difficulties facing the country, even if she goes ahead with the £23 billion a year of future tax rises announced by her predecessor but not yet implemented.
What can we expect on tax in the upcoming Budget? How will the Chancellor navigate tax policies that may be economically sound but politically challenging?
Catch up on this Resolution Foundation event now.
The Government has come into office promising major workplace reforms that could amount to the biggest shake-up of the workplace in a generation. The ‘New Deal for Working People’ pledged a number of reforms, including to unfair dismissal, sick pay, employment status, zero hours contracts, the minimum wage, as well as changes to how employment rights are enforced. And while many of these reforms affect all workers, low earners will be most affected as they are disproportionately likely to have insecure work contracts, receive statutory rather than occupational sick pay, and not receive basic legal entitlements such as paid holiday leave.
But, although the Government has set a clear direction of travel, there are many questions still unanswered. How will probationary periods be used – will protection against unfair dismissal really be a ‘day one’ right? Does announcing a cautious one-year minimum wage policy mean there are bigger changes still to come? How should possible trade-offs with employment be handled? What would be the impact of giving zero-hours contract workers a right to regular hours?
The last Parliament was truly awful for growth in household living standards. The combination of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis left the country on course for the worst parliament for disposable income growth since the early 1950s. But while the possibility of future growth remains, it currently looks set to fall a long way short of the levels Britain experienced in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
What is the overall outlook for living standards over the parliament? From real wages, to employment, housing costs and tax and benefit changes, what is driving the outlook for disposable income growth? Which groups are most likely to receiving a living standards windfall, and who’s most at risk of further stagnation? And what can the new Government do to ‘beat the forecasts’ and secure strong living standards growth across Britain?
The new Labour Government says it wants clean energy – and wider action on climate change – at the heart of its new economic strategy, pledging to go further and faster on decarbonising electricity, insulating homes, and shifting to electric vehicles than plans in the previous parliament.
These changes will facilitate economic growth and climate recovery in the long run, but the short-term costs in both political and actual capital investment should not be underestimated, and will need to be carefully considered. In particular, the Government should be acting now to ensure the costs are fairly shared, and do not lead to further declines in living standards for low-to-middle income households.
What scale of public investment can be achieved, given the condition of the public finances? How should the Government encourage the levels of private investment required? How can these costs be fairly shared across different regions and households? And will there be enough political will to deliver the investment needed for a fair transition?
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/net-zero-investment/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/net-zeroing-in-on-investment/
Labour has returned to power in Westminster for the first time in 14 years. The new Government has a big electoral mandate but faces a momentous task in delivering lasting economic and social change. From kickstarting growth and reducing poverty, to reforming the planning system, energy market and workplace conditions, Labour’s agenda is fraught with political and economic risk. Yet it also arrives in office with a commanding majority and the opportunity to set out an ambitious governing agenda.
What are the biggest challenges that the new Government faces? How should the new Chancellor approach her first Budget and Spending Review? When should we expect Labour’s extensive list of reforms and new strategies to start making a difference to people’s lives? And what are the prospects of the Starmer government forging a new political and economic settlement in the country?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Bringing together a panel of Britain’s political scientists, commentators, policy experts and economists, we’ll discuss the outlook for a new Labour Government.
View the election briefings: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/major-programme/election-2024/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/times-are-changing/
Since 2010, Britain’s labour market has gone through a period of boom and bust – with record jobs growth in the last decade followed by a struggle to return to pre-pandemic employment rates in the 2020s. And while the country has experienced an unprecedented pay depression, a rising minimum wage has driven down low pay to its lowest level in decades. Debates about that record, and different parties proposals for the future, are central to this general election.
How has Britain’s labour market changed since 2010? How well have we dealt with the big issues of the past? What will be the most immediate challenges facing whoever takes office after 4th July? And how do the different parties plans measure up against those challenges? Where are the big areas of conflict and consensus? And what does this mean for workers?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest General Election 24 briefing on the state of the UK labour market, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we will hear from leading experts on a range of key issues from the future of low pay to boosting the quantity and quality jobs.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/job-done/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/is-britain-working-2024/
Health-related benefit spending is rising – particularly among children and younger adults – and this increase is forecast to accelerate in the years ahead. With record numbers of people claiming disability benefits, incapacity benefits or both, there are serious questions to answer about what lies behind this trend and its impact on the health of those affected, the public finances and the wider economy. Worryingly, too often the understanding of this change is poor, posing a major challenge for whoever governs after the election.
What is driving the rise in health-related benefit spending? Is it the inevitable consequence of an ageing society, a sign that we are a sicker Britain than we used to be or have changes to the benefit system over the last 14 years played a role? How big an issue could this be over the next parliament, and how are the main political parties planning to address it?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest General Election 24 briefing on health-related benefits, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we will hear from leading experts on what’s driving the rise in claims and spending, previous efforts to tackle the issues, and what might lie ahead.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/under-strain/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-cost-of-poor-health/
Britain’s welfare system has undergone a major overhaul over the past decade, with major reforms as well as major cuts. In more recent years it’s faced unprecedented pressures, from the Covid-19 pandemic to the cost-of-living crisis. The social security system is at the heart of many general election debates, and this one looks set to be no exception.
How has our social security system changed since 2010? Who has gained or lost out from these changes? What are the main challenges facing Britain’s welfare today and in the years ahead – from an ageing population, to high levels of child poverty? And what are the main parties’ plans for the future of our welfare state?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its latest General Election 24 briefing on the UK’s changing welfare state, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, we will hear from leading experts on where these reforms have left our social security safety net, and why that matters for families, the public finances and the wider economy.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/ratchets-retrenchment-and-reform/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-state-of-welfare/
A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
Scotland is in many ways a microcosm of this challenge. It has become a hub for creative industries, is home to several world-class universities and a thriving community of businesses – strengths that need to be harness and leveraged. But it also has high levels of deprivation, with homelessness reaching a record high and nearly half a million people living in very deep poverty last year. Scotland won’t be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment. This is the central challenge facing policy makers both in Holyrood and Westminster.
What should a new national economic strategy for Scotland include? What would the pursuit of stronger economic growth mean for local, national and UK-wide policy makers? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Glasgow, and nations like Scotland, in rising to these challenges?
Read Ending Stagnation here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ending-stagnation/
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation-glasgow/
Tax and spend are at the heart of every general election – understandably as they represent the most significant choices made by most governments. The size and shape of the state has changed substantially since 2010. Despite spending cuts and tax rises, public debt levels are up. Whoever wins the next election will have to wrestle with the same forces, as Britain looks to deliver public services for an ageing population, in a less peaceful world, and with the public finances already under considerable strain.
How has the size and shape of the state changed since 2010? Why are taxes and debt levels up? What are the biggest challenges and opportunities going into the next parliament? How have the main parties responded so far to these questions? And what will their plans mean for the public finances, and public services, in the years ahead?
To kick off a series of over a dozen timely, topic-based General Election 2024 briefings, supported by the Nuffield Foundation, the Resolution Foundation hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer questions about the changing size and shape of the state. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on this topic, we heard from leading experts on the challenges for the next parliament.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/debt-dramas/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/state-crafting/
Economies around the world exited the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, and jumped straight into the biggest inflation surge for four decades, with a cost-of-living crisis accelerated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But with inflation finally back close to its target of two per cent, to be confirmed by the ONS on Wednesday 22nd May, now is the time to assess where the cost-of-living crisis has left our economy.
How does the UK experience compare to that elsewhere? Where has it left the relative prices of different goods and services, and the wages of different kinds of workers? How has it affected living standards, and households’ behaviour in terms of their spending and saving? And what might its legacy be in terms of the public and personal finances?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the cost of living crisis, we will hear from leading experts on both its impact, and lessons learned, for policy makers and the wider public.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/paying-the-price/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/inflation-scarring/
A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
This national picture is also reflected in cities across the North East. These cities have built on their industrial heritage to become hubs for economic development, with economic strengths in subsea technology, games development and medical science – helping to reduce its ‘jobs gap’ with the rest of the UK. But there are also high levels of deprivation and low levels of productivity, so the region won’t be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment.
What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? What are the prospects for cities like Newcastle in rising to these daunting but reachable challenges? And how can we ensure that the benefits of thriving city centres reach other parts of the North East too?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event, in partnership with Insights North East, to debate Britain’s future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly in the North East – can secure widely shared prosperity.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/setting-a-new-path-to-greater-shared-prosperity/
A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
This national picture is also mirrored in Bradford. The city and surrounding area have built on their industrial heritage to become hubs for economic development, while the award of City of Culture reflects the city’s thriving creative industry. But the city also has high levels of deprivation, and won’t be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment.
What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Bradford – and regions like West Yorkshire – in rising to these daunting but reachable challenges?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event, in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, to debate Britain’s future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly Bradford and the wider West Yorkshire region – can secure widely shared prosperity.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/building-a-better-britain/
1999 saw the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd all meet in their full form for the first time. This marked the most significant act of devolution of the 20th Century, and it has changed the United Kingdom significantly over the past quarter of a century. The process of devolution has continued to evolve, with the extent of the devolution of economic powers building over time. And those powers have been used, with different tax, spending, and social security choices made across the nations. As devolution hits its 25th birthday, now is the time to take stock of what has been done, and what has been learned.
How have devolved nations used policy levers differently, whether to raise revenue or address priorities like reducing child poverty? Have different growth strategies been pursued across the nations, and what are the different approaches to strategic economic policy making? Has devolution of economic powers gone too far or not far enough? And what lessons can policy makers in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Westminster learn from devolution so far – and from each other – to improve economic decision making across the whole United Kingdom?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major conference, in partnership with PolicyWISE, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will hear from leading politicians, economists and policy makers on the lessons from devolution, including keynote speeches by the Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and the Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford.
1999 saw the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd all meet in their full form for the first time. This marked the most significant act of devolution of the 20th Century, and it has changed the United Kingdom significantly over the past quarter of a century. The process of devolution has continued to evolve, with the extent of the devolution of economic powers building over time. And those powers have been used, with different tax, spending, and social security choices made across the nations. As devolution hits its 25th birthday, now is the time to take stock of what has been done, and what has been learned.
How have devolved nations used policy levers differently, whether to raise revenue or address priorities like reducing child poverty? Have different growth strategies been pursued across the nations, and what are the different approaches to strategic economic policy making? Has devolution of economic powers gone too far or not far enough? And what lessons can policy makers in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Westminster learn from devolution so far – and from each other – to improve economic decision making across the whole United Kingdom?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major conference, in partnership with PolicyWISE, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will hear from leading politicians, economists and policy makers on the lessons from devolution, including keynote speeches by the Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and the Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford.
Speakers:
Chair: Clodagh Rice, Business Correspondent for BBC NI
David Phillips, Associate Director at the IFSProfessor Katy Hayward, Queen’s University BelfastJonathan Tench, Director of Well-being Economy and Programmes, Future Generations Commission
1999 saw the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd all meet in their full form for the first time. This marked the most significant act of devolution of the 20th Century, and it has changed the United Kingdom significantly over the past quarter of a century. The process of devolution has continued to evolve, with the extent of the devolution of economic powers building over time. And those powers have been used, with different tax, spending, and social security choices made across the nations. As devolution hits its 25th birthday, now is the time to take stock of what has been done, and what has been learned.
How have devolved nations used policy levers differently, whether to raise revenue or address priorities like reducing child poverty? Have different growth strategies been pursued across the nations, and what are the different approaches to strategic economic policy making? Has devolution of economic powers gone too far or not far enough? And what lessons can policy makers in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Westminster learn from devolution so far – and from each other – to improve economic decision making across the whole United Kingdom?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major conference, in partnership with PolicyWISE, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will hear from leading politicians, economists and policy makers on the lessons from devolution, including keynote speeches by the Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and the Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford.
Speakers:
Chair: Clodagh Rice, Business Correspondent for BBC NIEmma Congreve, Deputy Director at the Fraser of Allander InstituteDyfed Alsop, Chief Executive of the Welsh Revenue AuthorityLindsey Whyte, Director General of International Finance at HM Treasury
1999 saw the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Senedd all meet in their full form for the first time. This marked the most significant act of devolution of the 20th Century, and it has changed the United Kingdom significantly over the past quarter of a century. The process of devolution has continued to evolve, with the extent of the devolution of economic powers building over time. And those powers have been used, with different tax, spending, and social security choices made across the nations. As devolution hits its 25th birthday, now is the time to take stock of what has been done, and what has been learned.
How have devolved nations used policy levers differently, whether to raise revenue or address priorities like reducing child poverty? Have different growth strategies been pursued across the nations, and what are the different approaches to strategic economic policy making? Has devolution of economic powers gone too far or not far enough? And what lessons can policy makers in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Westminster learn from devolution so far – and from each other – to improve economic decision making across the whole United Kingdom?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major conference, in partnership with PolicyWISE, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We will hear from leading politicians, economists and policy makers on the lessons from devolution, including keynote speeches by the Former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and the Former First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford.
Over one-in-ten workers across Britain is employed on some form of precarious contract. The problems with such working arrangements for some workers are well known: they have limited control over their working patterns and insecure incomes too. But why firms use, or even come to rely on them, is rarely discussed and poorly understand. We need a far better understanding of both the causes of precarious employment and the consequences if work practices were to change.
What kinds of firms and sectors are most likely to employ staff on precarious contracts? Does that vary across different types of employment, from fixed term to zero hour contracts? Do firms choose this approach to better serve their customers, give workers the flexibility they want, or does it boil down to the bottom line? What would it take for firms to change their approach – and what would the consequences be?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate these questions, and share new evidence from a specially commissioned survey of firms. Following a presentation of this research, which marks the start of a major new project on precarious work, supported by Unbound Philanthropy, we will hear from leading experts from the world of business on firms’ use of insecure contracts.
Read the report here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/firm-foundations/
View the slides from the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/precarious-profits/
The UK’s transition towards a net zero economy requires a complete overhaul of our power sector. We don’t just need electricity generation that has been decarbonised, but a huge amount more of it as we switch away from heating our homes with gas and powering our cars with petrol. This will require a huge step up in investment – we must raise wind turbines, build nuclear power stations and expand the national grid. And that investment will need to be paid for.
How big is the investment required to decarbonise our energy systems? What will it cost – and how will that cost vary depending on the choices we make and the interest rates markets charge? How big is the impact on household bills likely to be? And what will it take to ensure the costs and benefits are spread fairly across society?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on how the power sector can be decarbonised in a fair and efficacious way, we will hear from leading experts on how they think the UK can rise to this challenge.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/electric-dreams/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/powering-britain/
Universal Credit, announced back in 2010 and introduced in 2013, will be fully rolled out by whoever wins the next election. The benefit has been on a rollercoaster over those years – with the IT underpinning it causing major teething problems, and later success in processing unprecedented numbers of claims during the pandemic. In the long years since Universal Credit was planned, both the system and Britain have changed a lot. So now is the time to step back and review the system the next government will inherit.
How has the eventual form Universal Credit has taken differed from the system of legacy benefits it replaced? Has Britain changed since 2010 and how has that affected Universal Credit – including which groups the benefit supports? Who wins and loses from the switch, and how has that been shaped by wider cuts to social security in recent years? And what comes next, for Universal Credit and Britain’s social security system more broadly?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research assessing the rollout of Universal Credit so far, we will hear from leading experts on what the future of social security in the UK might look like.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/in-credit/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/in-credit/
The combination of high house prices and stagnating incomes over recent decades, coupled with the decline of social housing, mean that millions more of us are private renters. And they are renting for longer too. Private rents have risen swiftly in the wake of the pandemic. What happens next matters hugely for millions of families, and yet the drivers of private rental costs are poorly understood with a range of explanations being proposed for the post-pandemic surge.
To what extent has landlords selling up driven the recent rise in rental prices? Or are other factors – such as earnings growth or higher interest rates – more significant? What should we expect the future to hold for rents? And what does this mean for renters, landlords, and policymakers?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on what is driving recent trends in private sector rent levels, we will hear from leading experts on the short and longer-term outlook.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/through-the-roof/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/building-pressure/
The introduction of the minimum wage back in April 1999 was a controversial policy choice, with businesses warning that it would lead to widespread job losses. But 25 years on, it has proved to be a great policy success that has been built on by several governments. Raising the legal wage floor has significantly reduced low pay and inequality, without any substantial employment effects. With the minimum wage on track to reach its target of two-thirds of median hourly earnings this year, virtually eliminating hourly low pay in Britain, it’s time to reflect on the successes of this approach and aims for the future.
How has the UK labour market changed since the introduction of the minimum wage? Why has it been able to evolve into a far higher wage floor than originally intended? What’s next for the minimum wage – or should the priority for change now move elsewhere? And what lessons can be learnt from the way the minimum wage was introduced and the role the Low Pay Commission has played over the past quarter-century for designing policy in future?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to mark the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the minimum wage. Following a presentation on the impact of the minimum wage on the labour market, we will hear from leading experts on what’s next for the minimum wage and lessons for other policy areas.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/labour-market-outlook-q2-2024/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/setting-a-high-bar/
A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis, and England’s biggest cities beyond London all have productivity levels below the national average. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
In many ways, Bristol reflects the challenges facing the country as a whole. It has long been a hub for high-value aerospace manufacturing and also has considerable strengths in services, including education, creative industries and green technology. But it also faces considerable challenges – from poor public transport to high housing costs – that limits growth and reduces living standards. Harnessing the city’s many strengths will be critical to meeting the economic challenges of the coming years, but Bristol won’t truly thrive unless all its citizens benefit from growth and investment.
The Budget on 6th March was the Government’s last chance to shape the economic agenda before the next election – and rise to the challenge of boosting prosperity.
What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? What are the prospects for cities like Bristol in rising to these daunting but reachable challenges? And has the Budget helped or hindered Britain’s economic prospects?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event in collaboration with Bristol Ideas and Business West to debate Britain’s future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly in Bristol and the South West – can secure widely shared prosperity.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/boosting-prosperity-in-britain/
Book launch for The Longevity Imperative by Professor Andrew J Scott
Britain, along with many other countries, is getting older and living longer. This demographic shift has huge health, economic and societal impacts, but too often the debate is limited to the fiscal costs of an ageing society, and pressures on the NHS. Instead we need to take a broader view of the changes this will bring, and the changes we can shape so that people live not just longer lives, but happier and healthier ones too.
What has happened to life expectancy, what is likely to happen and what constitutes the longevity imperative? What are the economic consequences of this in terms of the public finances, productivity and the labour market? What can we do to age better? And how might this change how we live our longer lives?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to mark the new launch of Andrew Scott’s new book The Longevity Imperative, and to debate and answer these questions.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/living-life-to-the-full/
The upcoming Spring Budget may be the last big fiscal event before the General Election, one of few chances for the government to set the terms of the economic debate. And with the government trailing heavily in the polls, and the economy entering a mild recession at the end of last year, the pressure is on to make it a game-changing Budget economically and electorally. But the Chancellor will also have to confront real trade-offs if he’s deliver a Budget that works for both the next six months, and the five years after that.
How big are the Chancellor’s tax cuts? Do they change the big picture of the government’s wider tax raising plans? What is the outlook for public services after the election? Where does the government plan to take the social security system, as it copes with rising numbers of us being sick or disabled? And will any of this make any difference to who forms the next government, and what they’re able to do?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis of Spring Budget 2024, we’ll hear from leading experts on what the Budget means for the election, and the economy.
Read the overnight analysis: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/back-for-more/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/game-changer/
A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
Nottingham is in many ways a microcosm of this national challenge. It has become a hub for creative industries in the East Midlands, serving as the headquarters for major firms like Games Workshop, as well as global giants like Boots and e.on. The city’s many strengths – including the world-class university and services firms – must be harnessed to meet the economic challenges of the coming years. But it also has high levels of deprivation, and won’t be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment.
What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Nottingham, regions like the East Midlands, and nations like Britain to be able to rise to these challenges?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event with the Institute for Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham to debate Britain’s future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly Nottingham and the wider East Midlands region – can secure widely shared prosperity.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation-nottingham/
The rising prevalence of mental health problems among young people over recent decades is becoming increasingly concerning. While evidently distressing for the young people and their families, periods of poor mental health can also have significant detrimental impacts on their education and job prospects. Increasing support provided in schools and universities has gone some way to address this – but gaps remain, particularly in colleges and workplaces, while young people who want to return to education once their health has improved can often struggle.
How has the prevalence of mental health problems in young people changed in recent years? Which cohorts in particular are most likely to experience declines in mental health? How can periods of poor mental health affect young people’s education and labour market outcomes? And what support should policymakers put in place to help young people into good-quality jobs?
The Resolution Foundation – as part of the Young people’s future health inquiry, in partnership with The Health Foundation– is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the final report for this project, which draws on the experiences of young people shared in our focus groups, we will hear from leading experts.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/weve-only-just-begun/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/healthy-starts/
An election is coming, and therefore so are tax cuts in the Budget on 6th March. But the size of those tax cuts are dependent on the amount of fiscal room for manoeuvre the Chancellor has. And their shape will reflect where his political and economic priorities lie. Plus tax cuts come in a context of tax rises already announced, and spending cuts pencilled in for after the election.
Has the economic outlook changed over recent months? How much fiscal wriggle room might the Chancellor get from the Office for Budget for Responsibility? Should the priority be announcing tax cuts, or scrapping planned spending cuts? And will Budget ’24 make the slightest bit of difference to the election to come?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the Foundation’s Budget preview, we will hear from leading experts on what’s likely to be in it and where that leaves the election, and the outlook for whoever has to govern after it.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-election-budget/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/tax-cuts-today-spending-cuts-tomorrow/
Britain is an open economy, and has become more open over recent decades – despite the impact of Brexit and ‘slowbalisation’. But the quantity and type of goods and services we trade isn’t the only thing that has shifted. So has what we consume and where we work. All of these shifts affect our exposure to trade, from its day to day flows to occasional sudden shocks. Yet we pay next to no attention to these issues, which are critical to our living standards.
How has globalisation changed the country’s exposure to the gains, and risks, from trade? Who is most affected, and how much does it matter for their living standards? How does trade affect us as consumers, and as workers? And what might the impact of future trade shocks be?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on how changing trade patterns have affected our living standards, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for workers, firms and policy makers.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/decent-exposure/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/trading-standards/
British households aren’t saving enough. Pensions auto-enrolment has got far more of us saving for retirement, but too many of us are not on track for a comfortable old age. More immediately, too few of us have access to rainy-day pots to help us through an unexpected shock. Traditional approaches to encourage people to build up this kind of savings, focused on tax incentives, haven’t worked. And there are tensions not only between saving more for retirement or to boost financial resilience today, but also with consumption that has been squeezed badly during the cost of living crisis.
How do we manage the trade-offs between saving and consumption? Can we save more for our pensions, without leaving people with even less rainy day savings? And what lessons can we learn from approaches that have worked and led to Brits saving more?
The Resolution Foundation – in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust – hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation that outlines the Foundation’s recommendations for building a cohesive savings system, we heard from leading experts on the issue of savings and financial resilience in the UK.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/precautionary-tales/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/saving-for-today-and-tomorrow/
In recent decades age has replaced class as one of the key determinants of a voter’s values and voting behaviour. But these trends never sit still, especially as issues – from Europe to the environment, and the economy – rise and fall in terms of their electoral salience. We know that the next election will be very different to the last election. But the issue terrain on which the election will be fought, and what that means for different types of voters, is still up for grabs.
What issues are most salient for different age cohorts, and how might it have changed since the last election? To what extent do other voter characteristics like income, education status and housing tenure play a role, both in how people vote, and whether they vote at all? And what might be the generational battle lines in the coming General Election?
The Resolution Foundation hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on intergenerational voting intentions, we heard from leading experts on how these issues might play out during the election year.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/poll-position/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/new-age-or-age-old-appeal/
The worst of the cost of living crisis appears to be behind us, with inflation more than halving since its peak. But 2024 may not be plain sailing economically, and it certainly won’t be politically with an election in store. While wages are at last growing faster than prices, economic growth has flatlined while taxes, and housing costs, are rising. Meanwhile, the outlook for the public finances is unstable, as politicians try to tempt voters with tax and spending commitments in the run up to the election. With the economy set to be the key election battleground for the first time since 2015, how households feel about their financial prospects, and that of the country as a whole, will matter hugely.
How is the cost-of-living crisis likely to evolve in 2024? What economic challenges and opportunities – for households, businesses and the country – can we expect in the year ahead? What role will the economy play in the coming general election – and what aspects of it will different parties want to focus on?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and online event to debate and answer these questions. We will hear from a leading panel of experts on what will shape British politics and economics in the year ahead, before an interactive audience Q&A.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/from-merry-christmas-to-a-messy-new-year/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/turning-a-corner/
Inflation is down, but Britain’s cost-of-living crisis is still very much with us. The legacy of previous price rises for energy and food are now combining with a new pressure: housing. Private rents are rising at their fastest rate in over a decade, while the impact of higher interest rates is still feeding through into mortgages. But there is a glimmer of hope in pay packets, which are growing again in real terms after another painful squeeze.
How are the twin trends of rising housing costs and rebounding pay being felt? How much variation do these averages hide – and is it the same people seeing their rents surge and pay rise? Are renters or those with a mortgage being harder hit? And what does this all mean for the next stage of the cost-of-living crisis?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from our latest cost-of-living survey, we will hear from leading experts on how Britain’s latest living standards crunch is evolving.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/pressure-on-pay-prices-and-properties/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/rising-rents-and-rebounding-wages/
The goal of a new economic strategy is not a somewhat richer, somewhat fairer, version of the UK’s stagnant status quo, but a more enduring shift in direction; economic change will have to be embraced and steered. And yet despite popular claims that change is speeding up, it is slowing down; the reallocation of labour between sectors is at its lowest level in over 90 years.
Panel discussion on 'Steering economic change' at the final report conference for The Economy 2030 Inquiry.
Speakers:
- Gregory Thwaites, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation
- Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times
- Professor David Edgerton, Professor of History at King’s College London
- Stephanie Flanders, Head of Bloomberg Economics
- Lord David Willetts, President of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ending-stagnation/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation/
Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer MP, in conversation with Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief of The Economist, at the final report conference for The Economy 2030 Inquiry.
The UK has great strengths, but is a decade and a half into a period of stagnation. The combination of slow growth and high inequality is proving toxic for low- and middle-income Britain. The result is a country falling behind its peers, where taxes, rather than wages, are rising, and living standards were under strain long before the cost of living crisis struck. The task facing the UK is to embark on a new path.
A new economic strategy for Britain must leverage rather than downplay its strengths, confront rather than ignore its weaknesses, face-up to rather than wish-away trade-offs, and align rather than silo agendas stretching from industrial policy to tax reform and the net zero transition.
Over the past three years, the Resolution Foundation has been collaborating with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE on The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, to investigate, understand and confront these economic challenges. The project culminated in a major new book and conference – Ending Stagnation – where we set out and discussed Britain’s path to a fairer and more prosperous future.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ending-stagnation/
For poorer and middle-income families today, it is not just low growth but also the skewed way in which it is shared, that produces stagnation. Indeed, low growth and high inequality means typical households in Britain are 9 per cent poorer than their French counterparts, while our low-income families are 27 per cent poorer.
Panel discussion on 'Getting inequality down' at the final report conference of The Economy 2030 Inquiry.
Speakers:
- Lindsay Judge, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation
- Mark Drakeford, First Minister of Wales
- Christina McAnea, General Secretary of UNISON
- Andy Haldane, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts
- Gavin Kelly, Chair of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ending-stagnation/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation/
The UK has many strengths, from world-class universities and creative industries to high employment. But having grown more quickly than most advanced economies from the 1990s to the mid-2000s, the UK has been in relative decline ever since: the average productivity gap with France, Germany and the US doubled, to 18 per cent, between 2008 and 2022.
Panel discussion on 'Getting growth up' at the final report conference of The Economy 2030 Inquiry.
Speakers:
- Emily Fry, Economist at the Resolution Foundation
- Dr Swati Dhingra, Associate Professor of Economics at CEP LSE
- Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council
- Dame Sharon White, Chair of the John Lewis Partnership
- Professor Diane Coyle, Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at Cambridge University
- Dr Anna Valero, Distinguished Policy Fellow at CEP LSE (Chair)
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ending-stagnation/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation/
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt MP, in conversation with Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief of The Economist, at the final report conference for The Economy 2030 Inquiry.
The UK has great strengths, but is a decade and a half into a period of stagnation. The combination of slow growth and high inequality is proving toxic for low- and middle-income Britain. The result is a country falling behind its peers, where taxes, rather than wages, are rising, and living standards were under strain long before the cost of living crisis struck. The task facing the UK is to embark on a new path.
A new economic strategy for Britain must leverage rather than downplay its strengths, confront rather than ignore its weaknesses, face-up to rather than wish-away trade-offs, and align rather than silo agendas stretching from industrial policy to tax reform and the net zero transition.
Over the past three years, the Resolution Foundation has been collaborating with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE on The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, to investigate, understand and confront these economic challenges. The project culminated in a major new book and conference – Ending Stagnation – where we set out and discussed Britain’s path to a fairer and more prosperous future.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ending-stagnation/
Presentation by Resolution Foundation Chief Executive, Torsten Bell, at the final report conference for The Economy 2030 Inquiry.
The UK has great strengths, but is a decade and a half into a period of stagnation. The combination of slow growth and high inequality is proving toxic for low- and middle-income Britain. The result is a country falling behind its peers, where taxes, rather than wages, are rising, and living standards were under strain long before the cost of living crisis struck. The task facing the UK is to embark on a new path.
A new economic strategy for Britain must leverage rather than downplay its strengths, confront rather than ignore its weaknesses, face-up to rather than wish-away trade-offs, and align rather than silo agendas stretching from industrial policy to tax reform and the net zero transition.
Over the past three years, the Resolution Foundation has been collaborating with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE on The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, to investigate, understand and confront these economic challenges. The project culminated in a major new book and conference – Ending Stagnation – where we set out and discussed Britain’s path to a fairer and more prosperous future.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ending-stagnation/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation/
This panel discussed the role of social innovation and investment in bringing about good work in the UK, and the role of foundations and action-oriented researchers to turn this agenda into reality.
Chair – Gavin Kelly, Chair of the Resolution Foundation
Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest
Anna Thomas, Director of the Institute for the Future of Work
Paul Kissack, CEO of Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Watch the whole conference: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/workertech-conference/
This panel discussed the current status of the labour market enforcement landscape, how technology can be used to enhance worker power for low-paid or precarious workers, and how unions can make the most of technology opportunities.
Chair – Klara Skrivankova, Director of Programmes at Trust for London
Hannah Slaughter, Senior Economist at Resolution Foundation
Kate Dearden, Head of Research, Policy and External Relations at Community Union
Jeegar Kakkad, Director at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
Emma Back, Co-founder at Equal Care Coop
Watch the whole conference: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/workertech-conference/
This panel discussed the current landscape for training and skills, how tech can be used to ensure workers in low-paying jobs can access upskilling and reskilling, and the biggest barriers to workers using tech for training.
Chair – Danielle Walker-Palmour, Director of Friends Provident Foundation
Helen Gironi, Director of Ventures at Ufi Ventures
Claudine Adeyemi, CEO and co-founder of Earlybird
Louise Murphy, Economist at Resolution Foundation
Watch the whole conference: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/workertech-conference/
This panel focused on the opportunities and threats of using tech in the world of low-paid work, in particular for working conditions and training, and the role that social and impact investors can play in supporting WorkerTech.
Chair – Sarah O’Connor, Columnist at the Financial Times
Sherry Coutu, Chair of WorkFinder
Stephen Muers, CEO of Big Society Capital
Anna Maybank, CEO and co-founder of Breakroom
Andrew Pakes, Deputy General Secretary at Prospect Union
Watch the whole conference: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/workertech-conference/
The economy is set to be a defining feature of the run in to next General Election. Inflation is falling, but so too is consumer confidence. Tax revenues are going up, but NHS waiting lists aren’t coming down. In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor will be navigating these short-term challenges, but also addressing longer-term questions about Britain’s weak growth and strained public finances.
What is the latest outlook for the UK economy ahead of the General Election next year? To what extent did the Chancellor balance pressure on the public finances with political pressure to please voters? How might the Chancellor’s decisions improve economic growth or boost living standards? And what does the likely penultimate fiscal event before the UK goes to the polls tell us about the economic battleground that the next General Election will be fought over?
The morning after the Autumn Statement, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to discuss these issues and more. Following a presentation from Foundation staff of their overnight analysis of the Autumn Statement, we will hear from experts including the chairs of both the Treasury Select Committee and the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/a-pre-election-statement/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/autumn-statement-watch/
Low productivity is the foundational cause of Britain’s recent economic malaise, and raising it is a top priority for policy makers. Public and private investment in research and development is a key route to boosting productivity and future economic growth. But businesses often complain that policy makers are failing to create an environment that encourages private investment.
After the ONS revision how much are we now spending on R&D? How does our recent performance compare with other advanced economies? What barriers do we need to overcome to boost R&D spending? And how can it align it with a new economic strategy for the UK focused on boosting growth?
The Resolution Foundation and the Foundation for Science and Technology are co-hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions, as part of the Nuffield Foundation-funded Economy 2030 Inquiry. We will hear from leading experts on how R&D currently fits in the UK’s economic plans, and where it might fit into a future economic strategy.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/inventing-a-better-britain/
Advanced economies across the globe have experienced a series of unprecedented economic shocks since the start of the century. But they have not affected all generations equally. The disproportionate impact on the financial wellbeing of younger people has sparked concerns about generational fairness on both sides of the Atlantic. Fifteen years on from the global financial crisis, its impact is still being felt by the young, and the not-so-young-anymore, across Europe and America.
How have the living standards of millennials, boomers and Gen Xers fared on either side of the Atlantic? Have British generations been permanently scarred, or are they bouncing back? How have different cohorts coped with soaring housing costs, inflated asset prices, and wages that have barely budged in 15 years? And how can today’s working population expect to be supported in retirement, as the state struggles to reconfigure itself around an ageing population?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its annual Intergenerational Audit, covering pay, jobs, incomes, housing, welfare and wealth, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/an-intergenerational-audit-for-the-uk-2023/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/perma-crisis-people/
Devolution is essential to both tackle economic inequality across England and drive national economic growth. Significant change has already occurred, with metro mayors and combined authorities taking control over significant areas from transport to housing in areas covering large swathes of the country. But we have not seen fiscal devolution, as responsibility for how money is spent has not been coupled with significant powers over how, and how much, money is raised.
What should the next phase of devolution be? How should it connect to wider question of the UK’s economic strategy? Is there real appetite for genuine fiscal devolution? And are we ready for the major political and economic trade-offs that would bring?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Inquiry-commissioned research by Centre for Cities, we will hear from leading experts on the what the future of devolution should look like.
Read the policy provocation: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/in-place-of-centralisation/
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/in-place-of-centralisation/
The Chancellor has two just two more fiscal events in which to prepare the economic pitch for the upcoming General Election. The backdrop is a challenging and uncertain economic environment, alongside huge pressure on both public services and finances. With the Prime Minister making a virtue of the need to take tough decisions, the Chancellor will trying to both prepare his party for the coming election and the country, struggling with sluggish growth, for the decades ahead.
What is the outlook for the UK economy as inflation falls but interest rates remain high? Will the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest economic forecasts ease or tighten the pressure on the public finances? What decisions will the Chancellor take on tax and benefits, public and private investment and wider economic reform – and are those decisions the right ones? And what will the Autumn Statement tell us about the government’s economic pitch in the General Election?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from its pre-Autumn Statement report, we will hear from leading experts on what the Autumn Statement means for British economics and politics.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/preparing-the-pitch/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/preparing-the-pitch/
Britain faces a simply huge infrastructure challenge. As well as decarbonising our homes, we need to modernise our water, energy and transport networks, replacing basic infrastructure that often dates back to the Victorian era. Achieving this is likely to require major investment, regulatory reform and new institutions to drive forward change, as well as a strong will to stay the course. And Britain’s recent record is somewhat chequered…
How big is our Britain’s infrastructure challenge? How can public institutions support private sector investment? How important are new regulations, regulators and wider institutions in rebuilding Britain? And what barriers are we going to need to overcome?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, in partnership with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Inquiry-commissioned research by Mary Starks on how to regulate for the rebuilding of Britain’s infrastructure, we will hear from leading experts on this huge political and economic challenge.
Read the policy paper here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/watts-the-plan/
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/creaking-at-the-seams/
Britain urgently needs to boost its economic growth. But while there are many routes to doing so, most ultimately come down to people boosting national prosperity – and to do this they need the right skills for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. But Britain’s record on skills is chequered – its often world leading universities are politically unfashionable, routes into good work for non-graduates are limited, and too many employers have foregone their role in skilling our workforce.
How can we ensure growing sectors of the economy have enough tertiary-educated workers? How can we improve outcomes for those who don’t go to university? Can we ever make apprenticeships work at scale? And how can we ensure that Britain’s skills policy is driving better pay, progression and GDP growth?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, in partnership with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the roles of graduate and non-graduate routes in equipping young people with the skills needed to boost individual and national prosperity, we will hear from leading experts on how Britain can align its skills policy with its economic strategy.
Read the reports: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/people-powered-growth/
Britain’s macroeconomic policy that the Treasury and Bank of England have got used to is crisis management – from a financial crash to a global pandemic and a huge inflation spike. Both have adopted new approaches to supporting the economy, going far beyond textbook cuts to interest rates. Today the legacy is higher levels of debt, amid huge uncertainties about the future path of interest rates. But Britain’s macroeconomic policy framework – from the Chancellor’s fiscal rules to the Bank’s inflation target – remain largely unchanged this century.
Do today’s higher interest rates mean monetary policy makers have more scope to support the economy in a downturn? Or if a world of ultra-low interest rates returns, what does it mean for monetary policy effectiveness and inflation targeting? Can the Treasury repeat the likes of furlough or caps on energy prices when the next crisis hits? And would it take to meet both main parties’ commitment to see debt falling as a share of GDP – to fix the fiscal roof when the economic sun eventually gets round to shining once again?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, in partnership with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the big fiscal and monetary policy challenges facing Britain in the decade ahead, we will hear from leading experts on how to confront them.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/built-to-last/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/riding-the-economic-rollercoaster/
The last few years have not been easy times for any advanced economies. The UK, US, and Eurozone have all buffeted by major economic shocks, most recently by the most significant inflation surge in four decades. But while there are many common themes – huge inflation pressures, rising interest rates, tight labour markets and weak GDP growth – the drivers and evolution of these trends vary from country to country. The UK currently has higher inflation than seen across the Atlantic, and some expect it to see interest rates remain higher for longer too.
Why has inflation risen and fallen at different scales and speeds in different countries – and on different sides of the Atlantic? What does that tell us about who is most, and least, likely to experience a ‘soft landing’ from recent interest rate hikes? And what might this mean for elections expected in the US and UK next autumn?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – in partnership with leading US think-thank The Brookings Institution – to debate and answer these questions. We will hear from former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Board Donald Kohn on inflation in the US, and from other economists on the differences and similarities between the recent economic shocks felt in the UK, the US and other advanced economies, and what this might mean for their economic outlooks.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/worlds-apart/
Advanced economies across the world have been buffeted by acute shocks crises like the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine, at the same time as they are grappling with longer-term challenges like deindustrialisation, the rise of AI and globalisation. Labour markets across a range of countries have experienced persistent wage stagnation, the rise of insecure work, and growing calls for ‘good jobs’.
These shocks and challenges may be shared in nature but nations are developing different policy responses. Good jobs is a key pillar of Biden’s economic strategy, underpinned by the Inflation Reduction Act. But the UK lacks a good jobs strategy of its own, or indeed a wider economic strategy to tackle its twin challenges of low growth and high inequality.
What would a good jobs strategy in Britain look like? How would it stretch across trade, labour market, net zero, tax and benefit, and industrial policy? And what can we learn from current debates in the US about how to build a Good Jobs economy?
These are key questions for The Economy 2030 Inquiry, and that one of the world’s leading economists – Professor Dani Rodrik – will answer in a major lecture this autumn, hosted by the Resolution Foundation. Dani will set out his approach for a ‘good jobs’ strategy, including where it has applied successfully in the US.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/creating-a-good-jobs-economy/
Change is accelerating, or so we are told. But while the world is changing, it’s far less clear that Britain’s economy is. In fact we’re seeing less industrial change, as some sectors grow and others shrink, than has been the case for decades. Fewer workers are moving jobs. This matters because, while many of us are ambivalent about change, such economic dynamism has historically been a big driver of productivity – and pay – growth.
What has happened to the pace of economic change – for workers, firms and the economy as a whole? How much does this matter? Can policy makers help to foster a more dynamic economy? And what should be done to deal with the disruption that a more dynamic economy could bring?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on how to encourage more dynamism, we will hear from leading experts on the gains, challenges and trade-offs that more economic change will bring.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ready-for-change/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/more-change-please/
Losing your job in Britain can be a very expensive business. Low and flat rate benefits leave many workers facing huge income falls if they face a period out of work. This gives them a strong incentive to take a new job quickly – but not necessarily the best fit for their talents. And it discourages people from taking the risk of moving to a new job if they don’t know how it will work out. This is a problem for the worker, given moving jobs is a key way to secure a pay rise, and for all of us, holding back productivity growth that a more dynamic labour market supports.
How big is the problem of low job mobility in Britain, and how does it stunt pay and productivity growth? To what extent does the benefit system help or hinder workers’ ability and willingness to move jobs, and how well does it protect workers’ living standards when they experience unemployment? What would an effective earnings insurance system actually look like? And how much might it cost?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights from a new report on how a new earnings insurance system might work, we will hear from leading experts on how that system might impact UK dynamism.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/from-safety-net-to-springboard/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/risk-reduction/
Greater Manchester has long been centre-stage in visions of a more geographically equal country – from the Northern Powerhouse to levelling up. But the rhetoric has outpaced the reality: productivity and wages across the city region remain 10 and 4 per cent below the national average.
What it would take for Greater Manchester to become a much richer city – and who would benefit from such a transformation – is a central theme of the Economy 2030 Inquiry, a major project by the Resolution Foundation and LSE into what a new economic strategy for the UK might look like. Britain as a whole, not just the city itself, need a more successful Greater Manchester. But that will require significant change – on everything from housing and transport to how land is used and the jobs people do.
What would a more productive Greater Manchester look like? Is there a plausible strategy for the city to reach that point – and how does it differ from what is currently in train? What difference will recent public transport improvements make? Should housing continue to be prioritised in city centre land use decisions? And how should we expect success to impact different kinds of residents?
To debate these questions and launch the conclusions of this major Economy 2030 project on Greater Manchester, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar. Following a presentation of the report’s highlights, alongside the findings from a deliberative workshop with local residents, we will hear from leading experts on how to deliver greater prosperity for Greater Manchester.
The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido. This project is being run in collaboration with Centre for Cities.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/a-tale-of-two-cities-part-2/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/making-greater-manchester-great-again/
The West Midlands has played a pivotal role in British history as a manufacturing hub, driving innovation and economic growth which led to dramatic improvements in people’s living standards. But its city region has struggled to maintain this role over recent decades, and productivity is now 11 per cent below the national average. Both Britain as a whole, and the region itself, need a more successful Birmingham, and successful cities and towns across the wider region. But that will require significant change – on everything from transport and jobs, to how many people live there and where they live.
What would a more productive West Midlands look like? Is there a plausible strategy for the region – and Birmingham in particular – to reach that point, and how does it differ from the current policy approach? What difference could the planned expansion of public transport make? Should housing continue to be prioritised in city centre land use decisions? And how should we expect success – and change – to impact different kinds of residents?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights from a new report, alongside the findings from a deliberative workshop with local residents, we will hear from leading experts on how to deliver greater – and shared – prosperity for the West Midlands.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/a-tale-of-two-cities-part-1/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/building-momentum-in-birmingham-and-beyond/
Adam Smith was a leading political economy thinker of the Scottish enlightenment in the mid-late 18th century. But as the “Father of Capitalism” his pioneering work on free market economics has influenced politicians, philosophers and economists throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries too.
But modern Britain – as well as other advanced economies – is struggling with economic stagnation. Many people are questioning the central tenants of capitalism that Smith championed – from free trade and globalisation to regulation and the role of the state – and whether they can deliver the living standards growth that people need. What lessons can we learn from Adam Smith on the economic challenges facing Britain today?
To mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of Adam Smith, the Resolution Foundation is co-hosting an event with the Society of Professional Economists to discuss what his work can teach us about the economic challenges of Britain today. We will be joined by one of the leading experts on Adam Smith, Minister and author Jesse Norman MP.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/enlightened-economics/
There is overwhelming evidence that Britain’s social contract is under strain. Young people today aren’t enjoying big generational living standards improvements, and are struggling to match lifecycle milestones that previous cohorts enjoyed, like a secure job and a home that they own. These problems are widely recognised – but that doesn’t mean that solutions are widely supported.
Do different age groups acknowledge the specific issues that young generations face? How do family ties with younger generations influence older adults’ beliefs, support for targeted policies and voting behaviour? And what does all this mean for political parties’ strategies, given their increasingly age-concentrated voter bases?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from a new collaborative project between the Resolution Foundation and Nuffield College, Oxford, we will hear from leading experts on the key issues of intergenerational equity across Britain.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/family-matters/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/war-or-peace/
The cost of living crisis has not only dragged on longer than anyone hoped, it has evolved. As the focus has moved from energy bills to food prices, alongside rising rent and mortgage costs, the impact on different groups has changed. It will change further in the run in to a 2024 general election, with significant uncertainty about how far unemployment might rise and whether inflation will remain stubbornly high.
How has the cost of living crisis evolved over the past 18 months? How have different households been affected? What is the outlook for household finances in the run up to the next election, and which issues are likely to move centre stage? And how will this affect British politics in that pre-election year?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and online event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from our latest Living Standards Outlook, we will hear from leading experts on what the prolonged living standards squeeze means for households and policymakers.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/living-standards-outlook-summer-2023/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/a-living-standards-election/
Nationally set minimum standards – from the minimum wage to holiday pay – make a real difference to the quality of low-paid work. But these reforms can only go so far. Many problems in the world of work are concentrated in specific sectors, from social care to logistics. And even when problems are shared – such as a lack of training – the answers to address them may be different. While the UK has not seen innovation in labour market institutions for decades, other countries with similar labour markets – from New Zealand to the US – have begun exploring new routes to improving the quality of work.
Are there challenges with areas of lower-paid or lower-quality work that cannot be addressed by national regulations? To what extent do unions and potential new labour market institutions covering specific sectors offer routes to better work? What can we learn from other similar countries – from Ireland to New Zealand – that have done more experimentation? And what route should the UK take to delivering a good work agenda?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights from a new report on how to improve low-paid workers’ conditions, we will hear from leading experts on how unions and labour market institutions can deliver a strategy for good work.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/putting-good-work-on-the-table/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-innovation-job/
Britain has experienced a 30-year wealth boom, driven by record low interest rates, causing unprecedented levels of intergenerational inequality. But this has now been brought to an abrupt end, with the Bank of England embarking on the tightest rate-raising cycle since the early 90s – causing mortgage costs to rise, house prices to fall and pension valuations to crater.
What are the wider economic effects of rising rates and falling asset prices? To what extent might the pinch being felt by middle-aged mortgagors be offset by gains for young perspective first-time buyers and older generations reliant on savings? And with the long-term outlook for interest rates uncertain, should policymakers take action to mitigate the social consequences of Britain’s changing wealth landscape?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of our ongoing wealth across Britain project, in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights, we will hear from leading experts on the possible winners and losers from rising rates and falling wealth.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/peaked-interest/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/from-boom-to-gloom/
Britain is stagnating. Productivity growth is flatlining, workers today are earning the same wages as their predecessors in 2007, and living standards growth had slowed to a crawl even before today’s cost of living crisis. So we need a clear strategy for returning to rising, and widely shared, prosperity. Against that backdrop, it is important to understand what a return to growth will, and will not deliver. Some doubt that a return to growth is possible, while others question if it is even desirable – arguing that productivity growth doesn’t raise the wages of ordinary workers. Beyond growth, the roles of policies to redistribute (including through the benefits system) or predistribute (with a more equal sharing of rewards from the labour market) are hotly debated.
Does productivity growth boost ordinary workers’ pay packets? Would a return to rising wages help reduce inequality or drive it higher? Should policy makers focus on raising employment rates and the minimum wage, or on changes to the benefit system, to boost the living standards of those on low incomes? And fundamentally is there a plausible route to Britain seeing living standards rise and inequality fall?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights from a new report, we will hear from leading experts on how to ensure that economic growth delivers improved living standards for all.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/sharing-the-benefits/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/shared-prosperity/
Professor Silvana Tenreyro has been an External Member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) since July 2017. In her final speech as an MPC member, she will look back on some of the key events during her tenure. In a space of less than three years, the UK economy has been subject to two once-in-a-generation shocks, the pandemic with its aftereffects and the large increase in energy prices stemming from the war in Ukraine, which have increased inflation well above its 2 per cent target.
She will discuss the UK’s inflation targeting framework, and what policymakers can do to ensure its credibility in the face of such large inflationary shocks. The speech will focus on different aspects of policymaking and credibility: including the role of inflation expectations; central bank models and forecasts; and policy communications.
Silvana will also discuss where her views have evolved over her six years on the MPC. She will touch on differentiating between temporary and persistent influences on inflation; on communicating uncertainty around forecasts; and on giving guidance about future policy actions.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/economic-shocks-and-interesting-times/
Britain’s tax take has risen to a 70 year high. And while the pre-election clamour for tax cuts is growing, higher debt payments, struggling public services and tight fiscal rules mean taxes are just as likely to go up as down. But this rising quantity of tax revenue has not been matched by a rising quality of tax policy.
The system is a mess, with frequent fudges rather than reform, resulting in businesses unsure how their profits will be taxed. Some people are paying much higher tax rates than others with similar income levels. Our tax system is deepening, rather than helping resolve, some of the biggest challenges the UK faces – from housing to net zero. This needs to change if Britain’s taxes are to be fit for the decade ahead.
Should we expect higher taxes to last? Can higher taxes be better taxes – and what are the priorities for reform? How much difference could this make to the twin challenges of raising growth and reducing inequality? And do we need to rebalance our priorities between taxing labour, profits, consumption and assets?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from major new research, we will hear from leading experts on how to improve our tax system.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/tax-planning/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/from-quantity-to-quality/
Britain is in relative decline, as productivity and wages stagnate. This reflects a decade of shocks but also a longer lasting problem – Britain has spent recent decades living off its past rather than investing in its future. In both public and private investment the UK consistently lags behind its international peers, leaving British workers with less kit to work with, and fewer British firms competing at the cutting edge. Ensuring firms want to invest, and making sure they are able to do so, is therefore fundamental to our hopes of an economic revival. Both main parties recognise this task, but their focus on changes to corporation tax or promises of a more stable period of government are unlikely to deliver the scale of change required.
Why are so many firms reluctant to invest in their, and Britain’s, future? Are firms held back because returns on investment are low, or because finance is unavailable? What reforms – from corporate governance to pensions, taxation and planning – might move the dial? And if investment does rise, should that be financed from lower consumption at home or borrowing from abroad?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive hybrid event – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from major new research assessing how to reform the UK’s investment ecosystem, we will hear from leading experts on how to encourage British firms to invest more.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/beyond-boosterism/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/an-investment-nation/
Materials matter. They have been critical in shaping the path of human history, from the innovations we create to the relationships between nations. This has always been true from iron in the 19th Century to lithium that powers our smartphones today. But changing international dynamics – driven by shifting geopolitics, the recent energy crisis and the net zero transition – have the potential to put access to materials at the forefront of economics, politics and international relations.
In his new book – Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future – Ed Conway examines how six key substances have built our world, have the potential to transform our future, and the risks that reliance on these resources pose.
To mark the launch of the book, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a book launch at its Westminster office, as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The panel will discuss how we can balance our need for these resources with tackling climate change and managing geopolitical volatility.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/living-in-a-material-world/
Brexit was a seismic break for the UK, not least in bringing to a close a decades long trade strategy focused on integration with European markets. Since then the Government has successfully rushed to sign as many trade agreements as possible, but these largely roll over arrangements inherited from EU membership, with little prospect of further significant trading ties. It is far from clear what comes next — what a lasting post-Brexit trade strategy for the UK might be that recognises both our economy’s strengths and the wider global trade landscape, where geopolitics is playing an increasing role.
What are the priorities for the UK’s trade strategy now that the heat of Brexit negotiations have cooled, but global trade tensions are heating up? How should that strategy be integrated into a wider economic strategy for Britain? Which balance should be struck between a European or global focus? And can Britain protect manufacturing industries such as automotives, which are highly integrated into European supply chains, while ensuring the opportunities from faster growing service trade are seized?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive hybrid event – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from major new research assessing what the UK’s new trade strategy should focus on, we will hear from leading experts on the trade-offs involved in taking a new direction on trade.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/trading-up/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-uks-trade-trajectory/
Technological innovations – from new agricultural machinery to industrialisation and the invention of the computer – have powered economic progress over the past 1,000 years. But technological leaps do not automatically lead to living standards improvements, and can instead cause economic disruption and pose threats to workers.
As we stand on the precipice of a possible AI revolution, and desperately need a step change in our economic growth prospects, what can we learn from history about how to ensure that the next wave of technological progress feeds through into better living standards and higher wellbeing for citizens?
A ground-breaking new book – Power and Progress: Our Thousand-year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity by leading academics and authors Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson – answers this critical question through an examination of previous chapters of technological change. The authors set out what this experience suggests for today’s policy makers and citizens as they grapple with the implications of a new wave of technological disruption.
To mark the launch of the book, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a book launch at its Westminster office with author Daron Acemoglu, as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Daron will be joined by leading economist Diane Coyle to discuss how technology has shaped our economic history, and may shape our economic future too.
Watch the event back here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/shaping-the-next-revolution/
The UK is decarbonising its stock of cars quicker than most people expected – last year there were over a million Electric Vehicles (EVs) on our roads. This is great news for both people and the planet, as EVs are cheaper and cleaner to drive. But this transition presents challenges too – not least to the £32 billion of annual tax revenue collected from vehicles.
How can policy makers encourage the switch to EVs in a way that doesn’t land the Treasury with a fiscal hole, or low and middle income families with unfair tax bills? Are there tensions between decarbonising and decongesting our roads? And how can we build political support for vital – but contentious – reforms to road taxation?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from major new research on reforming road taxation, we will hear from leading experts on how to make the taxation of vehicles fit for the UK’s net zero transition.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/where-the-rubber-hits-the-road/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/running-out-of-road/
In a services-based economy like Britain, its cities should be leading its economic growth. But in fact England’s major cities outside London are actually less productive than the national average, and many have struggled to adjust to our post-industrial landscape. This is a common challenge for many cities in western economies. But while some cities have been left behind, others – from Lille to Dortmund, Bilbao to Pittsburgh – have turned around their economies and forged ahead.
How have industrial cities around the world successfully responded to major economic change and disruption? What policy lessons are there for cities across Britain? And what role should cities play in a new economic strategy for Britain?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from a new Navigating Economic Change essay on eight turnaround cities around the world, we will hear from leading experts on what cities across Britain can learn from those that have successfully transformed their economies.
Read the essay: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/lessons-from-successful-turnaround-cities-for-the-uk/
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/turnaround-cities/
Book launch event for We Need to Talk About Inflationby Stephen King
From investors and academics, to governments and central banks, almost everyone had assumed high and persistent inflation was dead and buried. But with inflation having soared to double-digits, people the world over are confronting a new economic reality of surging prices.
Reflecting on six key lessons from across the history of inflation, Stephen King’s new book We Need to Talk About Inflation examines the political and social upheaval it can cause and proposes ways for policymakers to avoid repeating the failures of the past.
What are the causes of today’s inflation surge? How worried should consumers and policymakers be about persistently high inflation? And how should fiscal and monetary policy makers respond?
To mark the launch of Stephen King’s new book, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a launch at its Westminster office. Stephen will be joined by leading macroeconomic expert Silvia Ardagna for a discussion on the outlook for inflation across the world in the years ahead.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/we-need-to-talk-about-inflation/
The UK’s cost-of-living crunch has entered its second year. While inflation should fall significantly in the coming months, the crisis is far from over. Prices are rising more slowly rather than falling. And the significant government support provided last year is being scaled back, while fast rising interest rates will affect more and more homeowners in the months ahead. Many people have used savings or support from friends and family to cope with the crisis so far – but this support is finite.
How is the cost-of-living crisis evolving as it enters its second year? How is the squeeze playing out across different families and generations? And what should policy makers be looking out for in the months ahead?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from our latest cost-of-living survey – supported by the Health Foundation – we will hear from leading experts on how the cost-of-living crisis has impacted the UK and evolved over time.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/hoping-and-coping/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/still-coping/
Keynote speech by Angela Rayner MP, followed by Q&A with Resolution Foundation Chief Executive Torsten Bell.
Debates about raising, or indeed cutting, legal protections for workers are a staple of British politics – with welcome progress including a rising minimum wage driving down low pay. But too often the reality that these rights, rates and rules mean little if they aren’t enforced is forgotten. The systems used to enforce workers’ rights are often fragmented and underfunded, making it harder to identify breaches and deter poor behaviour. It is still far too easy for bad employers to undercut good employers by ducking minimum legal standards. And our focus on individuals to enforce their own rights brings challenges when those most at risk from rights violations are the least likely to report it. The UK needs a new approach to better protect workers and enforce their rights, informed by our own experience but also that of other countries.
To what extent do UK firms comply with workers’ rights? How are workers’ rights currently enforced in the UK, and how does this differ to practices in other countries? And what reforms might enable enforcement agencies to be more successful at protecting workers from rights violations?
To mark the culmination of a three-year investigation into labour market enforcement – supported by Unbound Philanthropy and drawing on contributions from international research partners – the Resolution Foundation is hosting a half-day conference to debate and answer these questions. Following presentations of the key highlights from the investigation’s final report, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges of enforcing workers’ rights and how these can be overcome. The event will conclude with a keynote speech from Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner MP, followed by networking drinks.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/enforce-for-good/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/playing-by-the-rules/
Speakers include: Patricia Rice, Low Pay Commissioner; Matt Warman MP, Co-chair of the APPG on the Future of Work; John Kelly, Irish Workplace Relations; Lindsay Judge, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation; and Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation.
Debates about raising, or indeed cutting, legal protections for workers are a staple of British politics – with welcome progress including a rising minimum wage driving down low pay. But too often the reality that these rights, rates and rules mean little if they aren’t enforced is forgotten. The systems used to enforce workers’ rights are often fragmented and underfunded, making it harder to identify breaches and deter poor behaviour. It is still far too easy for bad employers to undercut good employers by ducking minimum legal standards. And our focus on individuals to enforce their own rights brings challenges when those most at risk from rights violations are the least likely to report it. The UK needs a new approach to better protect workers and enforce their rights, informed by our own experience but also that of other countries.
To what extent do UK firms comply with workers’ rights? How are workers’ rights currently enforced in the UK, and how does this differ to practices in other countries? And what reforms might enable enforcement agencies to be more successful at protecting workers from rights violations?
To mark the culmination of a three-year investigation into labour market enforcement – supported by Unbound Philanthropy and drawing on contributions from international research partners – the Resolution Foundation is hosting a half-day conference to debate and answer these questions. Following presentations of the key highlights from the investigation’s final report, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges of enforcing workers’ rights and how these can be overcome.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/enforce-for-good/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/playing-by-the-rules/
Speakers include: Kate Roberts, Head of Policy at FLEX; Kate Shoesmith, Deputy CEO of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation; Alan Bogg, Old Square Chambers; Hannah Slaughter, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation; and Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation.
Debates about raising, or indeed cutting, legal protections for workers are a staple of British politics – with welcome progress including a rising minimum wage driving down low pay. But too often the reality that these rights, rates and rules mean little if they aren’t enforced is forgotten. The systems used to enforce workers’ rights are often fragmented and underfunded, making it harder to identify breaches and deter poor behaviour. It is still far too easy for bad employers to undercut good employers by ducking minimum legal standards. And our focus on individuals to enforce their own rights brings challenges when those most at risk from rights violations are the least likely to report it. The UK needs a new approach to better protect workers and enforce their rights, informed by our own experience but also that of other countries.
To what extent do UK firms comply with workers’ rights? How are workers’ rights currently enforced in the UK, and how does this differ to practices in other countries? And what reforms might enable enforcement agencies to be more successful at protecting workers from rights violations?
To mark the culmination of a three-year investigation into labour market enforcement – supported by Unbound Philanthropy and drawing on contributions from international research partners – the Resolution Foundation is hosting a half-day conference to debate and answer these questions. Following presentations of the key highlights from the investigation’s final report, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges of enforcing workers’ rights and how these can be overcome.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/enforce-for-good/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/playing-by-the-rules/
The minimum wage has more than halved the share of low paid workers across Britain over the past two decades. This is a huge success – but it is far from job done. While low-paid workers today earn more, they are too often trapped on short-hours, facing poor working conditions or lacking the advantages higher earners take for granted – from sick pay to control over when they work. Too many jobs are seen as low status, even when they are highly valued. Good work should be a core objective of a renewed economic strategy for the UK – but it will require a new policy agenda, going far beyond the minimum wage, to achieve it. This will bring trade-offs that need to be confronted not wished away: better jobs for some will mean higher prices for others.
How much higher can the minimum wage go? What are the top priorities for wider improvements in the quality of work? Who will win, and who will lose, from efforts to spread good work? And what wider changes might a radical strategy to improve the quality of lower paid work in Britain bring for our economy?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from Low Pay Britain 2023, we will hear from leading experts on the future of lower paid work.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/low-pay-britain-2023/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/good-work/
The political context in which people grow up can play a hugely influential role in how that age cohort participate in democracy. From the dominance of different political parties and prevalence of strikes and protests, to the distribution of information and ideas through social media, the society people are raised in affects the ways in which they interact with politicians and political ideas. Maintaining an informed and engaged electorate in the decades to come requires grappling with these historical shifts and their implications for democratic governance.
Does the historical context of when a generation comes of age affect their political engagement? Are older generations, for example, who came of age in a period when elections were fundamental to the existence of democratic government, more likely to engage with political parties? What about younger generations coming of age in the historical moments that followed? And what can this tell us about how democratic governance and political participation could change in the future?
As part of the Connecting Generations series of Thought Leader Talks, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event with Professor Maria Grasso to discuss how age, period and cohort analysis can help us examine generational differences in political activities. Following a presentation by Maria, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for the future of politics and democracy.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/making-your-voice-heard/
The UK has been under-investing for decades. British business isn’t keen on investing, and the public sector if anything does even worse. Public investment is not only low by international standards, it’s very volatile. Politicians like to announce investment rises, but Chancellor’s also like to cut it when they need to make the fiscal arithmetic add up. Scrapping a bridge tomorrow is always easier than firing a nurse or raising taxes today. But sustained low investment has left us poorer and affected our lives in everything from the healthcare we receive to the homes we live in. Turning this situation around requires radical change to how do such investment, but investing to grow also comes with risks that need to be managed.
Why do British governments invest so little? How can we snap out of the cycle of public investment boom and bust? And what would it take to invest better, as well as more?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the challenges of boosting public investment in the UK and our proposed policy solutions, we will hear from leading experts on the feasibility of putting these policies into practice.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/cutting-the-cuts/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/thinking-about-tomorrow/
The United Kingdom is facing a decisive decade of huge economic change, from restructuring after Brexit and the pandemic, to urgently transitioning towards a net zero future, and adapting to technological shifts amid an ageing population. But it is doing that against a backdrop of low growth and high inequality, a toxic combination that leaves low- and middle-income households dangerously exposed to today’s cost of living crisis. South Yorkshire’s many strengths – including world-class universities in Sheffield and service sector firms across the region – must be harnessed to manage the economic changes of the 2020s well. But to really thrive, the region will need to find ways to ensure that everyone benefits from growth and investment.
What role can economic strategies – national and local – play in responding to the challenges of the 2020s, to secure higher growth and lower inequality? How will the changes to come affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Sheffield, regions like Yorkshire, and nations like Britain to be able to rise to these challenges?
As part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry – in collaboration with the LSE and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – the Resolution Foundation is hosting this event in partnership with the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Sheffield to debate and answer these questions. Based on the research findings from the Inquiry so far, we will be joined by leading experts to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly Sheffield and the wider South Yorkshire region – have responded to past periods of economic change, and how to make the coming decade of change a success.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-future-of-the-uk-economy-south-yorkshire/
The UK has gone through four Chancellors, three Prime Ministers and entered a cost-of-living crisis in 500 days since the last Budget way back in October 2021. On 15 March, Jeremy Hunt will unveil his first Budget, hoping to signpost the UK economy’s way towards a new, calmer, phase of lower inflation and higher growth. To that end, concrete steps to encourage people to remain in the workforce and firms to invest will be up in lights. Recent months have brought good news for the public finances, but the public face the prospect of rising energy bills and inflation that will continue to outstrip wage growth for some time to come.
How has recent good news, from falling European gas prices to lower than expected borrowing, fed through into permanent improvements to the economic and fiscal outlook? Where does Budget 2023 leave the cost-of-living crisis families are facing, including rising energy bills and widespread industrial strife across the public sector? Will the policies announced help to boost employment or investment – and therefore growth? And what does Budget 2023 tell us about the economic battleground that the next General Election will be fought over?
The morning after the Spring Budget, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to discuss these issues and more. Following a presentation from Foundation staff of their overnight analysis of the Budget, we will hear from the chairs of both the Treasury Select Committee and the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/were-going-on-a-growth-hunt/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/into-calmer-waters/
Speech by MPC member Swati Dhingra
Britain has been buffeted by many different economic shocks in recent decades, but the most recent is a huge terms of trade deterioration following a spike in energy prices and disruption to global supply chains in the wake of the pandemic. This has given the UK the highest inflation in 40 years and prompted a cost-of-living crisis for British households.
How should policy makers think about the damaging impact of inflation on families and firms, responding without deepening any resulting economic downturn? And what are the trade-offs that monetary policy makers face in addressing the exceptional cost-of-living crisis that Britain is living through now?
To debate and answer these questions, the Resolution Foundation is hosting the first public discussion from Bank of England MPC member Dr. Swati Dhingra, as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry with the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Following a short presentation, Swati will take part in an audience Q&A, chaired by RF Chief Executive Torsten Bell.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/a-cost-of-living-crisis/
2022 marked a tough year, with soaring inflation sparking a cost-of-living crisis and repeated government announcements to tackle it. And that was before the Autumn economic policy chaos. The economics and politics are now calmer. Inflation – and most importantly gas prices – is falling, and the Chancellor hopes to deliver a more ‘normal’ Budget against this backdrop on 15th March. But it may not feel like the good times have arrived for households, with energy bills set to rise in April and the country living with the impact of 15 years of relative economic decline.
How ‘normal’ will Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget be after the very abnormal Autumn? Has the economic and fiscal outlook changed significantly as gas prices have fallen back? What else will the Chancellor do to protect households from the continuing cost-of-living crisis? And can the Chancellor address some of the big challenges facing the UK, from recent rises in labour market inactivity to the longer lasting growth slowdown?
In the week ahead of the Spring Budget, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to discuss these issues. Following a presentation on the economic outlook, we will hear from leading experts on what the Budget may have in store.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/new-budget-same-problems/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/back-to-basics-budget/
Central bankers around the world have been busy raising interest rates from their historical lows in the face of mounting inflation, with the Bank of England raising the base rate at their last ten MPC meetings. But the big question for policy makers is not just what the impact of those rate rises has been, but what it will be. That lies behind the difficult judgement about whether enough has been done to bring inflation back down to target, which has big implications for living standards and the wider economy.
How big and how swift will the impact of interest rate rises be? Has the long duration of near zero bank rates, along with the recent shocks, changed the received wisdom that rates take 18-24 months to have their full effect? And, if a slower transmission means a longer period of above target inflation, does this affect inflation expectations?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major speech from Bank of England MPC member Dr. Catherine L Mann to debate and answer these questions. Following her speech, Catherine will take part in an audience Q&A, chaired by RF Chief Executive Torsten Bell.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-results-of-rising-rates/
Fast rising participation in the workforce was an important driver of growth in the 2010s, helping to offset the impacts of a productivity and wage stagnation. But that progress has gone into reverse in the wake of the pandemic, with older workers in particular exiting the workforce, prompting the government to launch a major review. This trend brings challenges for the economy and public finances, though for individuals and families the story is far more nuanced. There are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ reasons to stop working.
Who is exiting the workforce, and why are they doing so now? Is this a temporary post-pandemic blip or a sign of things to come as Britain’s population ages rapidly in the 2020s? How much should government focus on bringing people back into the labour market who dropped out during the pandemic? Or should it focus its efforts instead on groups – such as mothers, and people with disabilities – who have always been under-represented in the workforce?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from major new Resolution Foundation research on economic inactivity, we will hear from leading experts about how Britain can boost the size of its workforce in the 2020s.
Read the report here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/post-pandemic-participation/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/getting-britain-working/
Recent decades have not been kind to liberal democracy. Growth has slowed, inequality risen. Powerful voices argue that capitalism is better without democracy, while others argue that democracy is better without capitalism. But despite the travails of democratic capitalism this system brings substantial benefits. Turning the tide on populism requires both reflecting on these advantages and facing up to its failings.
What are the benefits of combining democracy and capitalism? Why have other systems become increasingly popular in recent years? Could a divorce between the two solve the problems we face? Or how can the tension-fuelled marriage between the two successfully endure?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to mark the publication of The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf, as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Joining Martin to debate our economic and political future will be leading expert on the global economy, Professor Ngaire Woods.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/saving-capitalism-rescuing-democracy/
We apologise that the start of this event has been cut off on our recording.
Social care is a large and important part of the UK economy, and will be a growing one with an ageing population and rising ill-health. But it is often also a lower paid one, with funding challenges, staff shortages and a history of risks around minimum wage underpayment. Workers wrestle with these challenges, alongside the benefits of a job that for many is a real vocation, with close relationships with clients and flexibility often valued.
What do workers see as the benefits and disadvantages of social care work? Which aspects of care work influence worker recruitment and retention? How successfully are workers’ rights enforced in the social care sector? And where should the priorities be for policymakers and employers looking to improve the quality of social care jobs?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the experiences of social care workers – supported by Unbound Philanthropy and drawing on focus groups with social care workers – we will hear from leading experts on how to confront the challenges facing the social care sector.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/who-cares/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/do-we-care-about-carers/
Savings matter. They help households cope in the face of economic shocks, take risks and plan for the future. But the UK has had a low savings rate for decades, and as a result households have entered today’s cost of living crisis with low savings levels. Policymakers have long recognised this challenge, and tried to address it with a wide range of incentives to encourage savings – from ISAs to the more recent Help to Save. But while such policies have cross party support, there is little focus on their effectiveness and on who benefits from them. This is all the more important as rising interest rates mean the cost of some incentives is going to rise substantially.
What is the state of peoples’ savings? How many different ways does government try to incentivise households to save? Who benefits from those policies? And how can policy better support people to save for a rainy day?
To mark the launch of new research exploring government incentives for saving in the UK, in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the report’s key highlights, we will hear from leading experts on what policymakers can do to enable people to save more, especially those on the lowest incomes.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/isa-isa-baby/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/saving-savings/
Part of the ESRC funded Connecting Generations Thought Leader series.
The financial crisis is largely considered to have increased inequalities between generations, with rising public debt leading to higher taxes for future generations, while the gains from rising asset prices have been accrued by older generations. Private intergenerational wealth transfers have grown – notably through the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ – but the scale and direction of public sector transfers are less clear cut. How policymakers confront the UK’s economic challenges – from tax rises and spending cuts, to priorities for public services and a new strategy for growth – will have varying implications for different generations.
How has the fallout from the financial crisis affected the financial resilience of different generations in the UK? To what extent are younger generations today worse off than previous generations were at the same age, and how might this change in coming decades? And what can policymakers do to minimise the gaps both between and within generations which have already arisen, and ensure that future policies share the financial burden fairly?
As part of the Connecting Generations series of Thought Leader Talks, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event with Professor James Sefton to discuss new research on private and public intergenerational transfers since the financial crisis. He will be joined by Professor Jane Falkingham (ESRC Connecting Generations, University of Southampton) and the session will be chaired by the Rt. Hon. Lord David Willetts (President of the Resolution Foundation).
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/wealth-booms-and-debt-burdens/
Britain’s cost-of-living crisis has been brutal this winter – even with significant government support – as bills rise and real wages fall. Inflation should ease in the year ahead, but government support is also being scaled back and rising interest rates will feed through into higher mortgage costs. The outlook is highly uncertain.
How are families coping with the cost-of-living crisis this winter, and what do they see as the challenges ahead? How are different groups being affected and coping with the squeeze? What comes next in terms of the living standards outlook for this parliament? Is the worst behind or ahead of us? And what difference has, and should, policy make?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and online event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the Foundation’s Living Standards Outlook 2023 – which includes a new survey of 10,000 people’s recent experiences of the crisis, funded by the Health Foundation – we will hear from leading experts on Britain’s living standards challenges.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-living-standards-outlook-2023/
View the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/new-year-renewed-squeeze/
The current energy crisis has highlighted the disaster that is Britain’s poorly insulated housing stock – costing millions of households hundreds of pounds this winter alone. And it is about time, with drastically improving the energy efficiency of our homes the biggest net zero challenge of the 2020s. But progress has been far too slow in recent years, on installing energy efficiency measures, or on answering some of the detailed policy questions this challenge brings with it.
What are the biggest barriers to bringing Britain’s Victorian housing stock into the 21st Century? Do households always have a financial incentive to do the right thing on energy efficiency measures? How should policy makers vary their approach across different tenures? And how can policymakers ensure that any incentives for installing insulation are distributed fairly, and drive change at a sufficient scale and pace to fulfil the UK’s net zero obligations?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the challenges of insulating the UK’s housing stock and our proposed policy solutions, we will hear from leading experts – including the Chair of the Government’s Net Zero Review Chris Skidmore MP – on the feasibility of putting these policies into practice.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/hitting-a-brick-wall/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/getting-warmth-up-and-bills-down/
The relationship between politicians and economists has always been complicated, and it has become particularly rocky in Britain over the last decade. Divisions during the Brexit referendum prompted Michael Gove to quip that Britain had ‘had enough of experts’ while a key pillar of Trussonomics was challenging existing economic institutions from the Treasury to the Bank of England and OBR. But technocrats remain a dominant force in economic policy making, and as politicians seek to overturn the UK’s recent record of economic stagnation the relationship between these two disciplines is as important as ever.
Have politicians and economists lost faith in each other, or is the picture more nuanced? What are the pros and cons of delegating more economic policy decision-making to experts? And how can politicians better improve voters’ understanding of the economy, and respond to voters’ economic concerns?
The Resolution Foundation together with Political Quarterly are hosting an event to mark the publication of a new book Politicians and economic experts: the limits of technocracy by Anna Killick to debate and answer these questions. Joining Anna will be two of the leading economic thinkers in UK politics – David Gauke and Yvette Cooper, both of whom have served as Chief Treasury Secretaries and Work and Pensions Secretaries – to discuss how politicians can do economics better.
Watch the event back: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-experts-strike-back/
Working hours, not just hourly pay rates, are a key determinant of living standards. Historically, men have tended to work more paid hours than women, with working hours for both sexes increasing substantially between the ages of 18 and 25. But over recent decades these trends appear to be weakening, with increasing numbers of young people – and particularly men – choosing to work fewer hours. Working fewer hours can be seen as a result of a positive consequences of rising pay. But equally, combining low hours with low pay can have very negative consequences for people’s living standards and wider inequality.
How many young people are underemployed today compared to recent decades? To what extent are changes in underemployment due to people’s changing preferences around work? How concerned should policymakers be about this trend? And what are the potential long-term impacts of lower working hours on people and the wider labour market?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to debate and discuss these questions. Following a presentation of the Foundation’s analysis, using quantitative analysis and focus groups, funded by the Health Foundation, we will hear from leading experts on the implications of working low hours for young people’s futures.
The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/constrained-choices/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/clocking-in-and-out/
The United Kingdom is facing a decisive decade of huge economic change, from restructuring after Brexit and the pandemic, to urgently transitioning towards a net zero future, and adapting to technological shifts amid an ageing population. But it is doing that against a backdrop of low growth and high inequality, a toxic combination that leaves low- and middle-income households dangerously exposed to today’s cost of living crisis.
What role can economic strategies – national and local – play in responding to the challenges of the 2020s, to secure higher growth and lower inequality? How will the changes to come affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects of the country rising to these challenges?
The West Midlands’ many strengths must be harnessed to manage the economic changes of the 2020s well. But to really thrive, the city-region will need to find ways to ensure that everyone benefits from growth and investment aimed at reducing its productivity gap with places like London and Manchester.
As part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry – in collaboration with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – the Resolution Foundation are hosting this event to debate and answer these questions. Based on the research findings from the Inquiry so far, we will be joined by leading experts to discuss how different areas of the UK have responded to past periods of economic change, and how to make the coming decade of change a success.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-future-of-the-uk-economy-west-midlands/
The whole of the United Kingdom is facing a decisive decade of huge economic change, from tackling the energy bills crisis, to restructuring after Brexit and the pandemic, and urgently transitioning towards a net zero future. These shifts present big new opportunities for people and places throughout Wales, such as being a hub for renewable energy and manufacturing. But failing to respond to the disruption these changes also carries huge risks – to our living standards, our communities, and to our planet. Wales’ many strengths must be harnessed to manage this change well and maximise the benefits for all.
How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the firms we work for? How can we build a new economic strategy that responds to the challenges of the 2020s, as well as our legacy problems of weak productivity, high inequality and stagnating living standards? And how can that strategy deliver a just transition at both local, national and UK-wide levels?
As part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry – in collaboration with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – the Resolution Foundation are hosting this event to debate and answer these questions. Based on the research findings from the Inquiry so far, we will discuss how the UK, and Wales in particular, has responded to past periods of economic change. We will be joined by leading experts, including Vaughan Gething, Welsh Minister for the Economy, to discuss how to make the coming decade of change a success.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-future-of-the-uk-economy-wales/
The new Prime Minister and Chancellor have set one central objective for the Autumn Statement – restore economic credibility. They have set the test for doing so as putting the public finances back on a sustainable path by ensuring that debt is falling as a share of the economy. The size of the fiscal reset needed to achieve that is uncertain – with estimates ranging from £40-60 billion – but what is certain is that tough choices on tax and spend are coming. The Autumn Statement will reset the UK’s fiscal policy and set the course for Rishi Sunak’s entire premiership.
What approach has the Chancellor taken to navigating the hit to the public finances from rising interest rates globally and the UK specific aftermath of the mini-Budget? How has he balanced tax rises and spending cuts? Where will this leave household living standards and the quality of public services? And has the Government helped or hindered Britain’s ongoing quest for stronger economic growth?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to unpack the Autumn Statement, and to debate and answer these questions. After a presentation of key highlights from the Foundation’s overnight analysis of the Autumn Statement, we will hear from leading experts – including the Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Richard Hughes – on what the economic and political ramifications of this landmark fiscal event are.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/help-today-squeeze-tomorrow/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/a-fiscal-reset/
Britain is one of many countries today in the midst of an economic storm – battered by high inflation, rising interest rates and falling GDP, and set against a wider backdrop of low growth and high inequality. But this is merely the latest of many economic storms the country has had to weather in recent decades, and Britain is hardly alone in having to confront major economic challenges. From the break-up of economic trading blocs, to eras of profound political instability and disruptive price shocks, many other nations have had to adjust to profound economic change, for better and for worse.
As Britain navigates the economic challenges of the decade – from changing macroeconomic norms, to our post-Brexit place in the world and the net zero transition – it’s important to learn from the successes and mistakes of previous periods of economic change, both at home and abroad.
To do this, The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – is publishing a series of essays by renowned economists from around the world.
The first four essays – an assessment of how the UK economy has adjusted to other periods of disruptive change over the last century, the lessons and legacies of the 1980s, warnings from Italy’s economic stagnation, and the successes and failures of ‘crazy ideas’ in Estonia’s radical transformation – will be published on Thursday 17th November, with more to come in the months ahead.
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to launch the two essays focussed on lessons from recent UK economic history. Speakers include three of Britain’s leading economists: Nick Crafts and John Muellbauer (who have authored two of the essays) and Diane Coyle. The essays on Italy and Estonia are being launched at a separate event at the Bristol Festival of Economics.
Read the essays: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/themes/navigating-economic-change/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/how-to-navigate-economic-storms/
Resolution Foundation event during Week of VocTech
Ufi Ventures, the Resolution Foundation and guests explore the future of investment in impact, with a focus on skills technology.
The session will explore:
- What is the opportunity for early-stage investing in new solutions to tackle ‘future of work’ skills and employment challenges?
- What is the market outlook for impact businesses compared to others in the changing market conditions?
- What do impact investors in skills technology look for?
- What does success look like for venture investing in this space?
- What’s the benefit to a founder of finding an impact investor? What advantages do impact driven companies have?
- How effective are the emerging models being used in impact investing?
Watch back the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/impact-investing-in-technology-to-address-skills-and-employment-challenges/
Rising energy bills are with us and rising mortgage bills are on the way. While wages are falling far behind inflation, debates rage about whether benefits or the state pension should do the same. Older workers have not returned to the labour market post-Covid, while younger workers may suffer most from the unemployment rise the Bank of England now deems necessary. Britain is in the midst of a cost of living crisis that has many different components, with the result that its scale and nature varies across age groups depending on their jobs, assets and financial resilience.
What economic state were different generations in before the cost of living crisis? How will different age groups experience the current crisis and its various components? To what extent has the Government’s response to the crisis redistributed the costs and benefits fairly across generations? And what policies could help to ensure that both old and young people enjoy a brighter economic future?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from its annual Intergenerational Audit, carried out in collaboration with the ESRC-funded ‘Connecting Generations’, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us about the economic state of different age groups and the challenges – and opportunities – facing policymakers in sharing the burden of the cost of living crisis fairly.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/an-intergenerational-audit-for-the-uk-2022/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/mortgaged-millennials-to-bitterly-cold-boomers/
Anti-discrimination laws have been with us since the 1960s, but despite this discrimination against workers based on protected characteristics such as race, gender and disability remains prevalent in many workplaces today. This can affect who gets which job, and means the world of work feels very different for different people. And while there are routes to enforcing these laws – through state enforcement bodies and the courts – workers facing discrimination often find they are far from easy to pursue.
How prevalent is discrimination in the workplace, both as a whole and against specific characteristics? To what extent does this align with people’s experiences of discrimination at work? How successful are individuals at taking action when they face discrimination? And what can be done to improve the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions, as part of an ongoing project on labour market enforcement with Unbound Philanthropy. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the report, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us about the prevalence of workplace discrimination and how to improve anti-discrimination enforcement to better protect workers.
The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/policing-prejudice/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/unfair-treatment/
Britain is in the midst of a political and economic crisis, with four Chancellors and three Prime Ministers in four months. And with the latest political turmoil triggered by attempts to completely rewrite economic policy, the new Prime Minister is under intense pressure to demonstrate his economic credibility, calm the markets and reduce the pressure for faster interest rate hikes. Further tax rises and renewed public spending cuts are all under consideration in the Treasury, with the new Prime Minister choosing to delay and expand the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan into an Autumn Statement on 17th November.
What is the outlook for the UK economy? How large is the fiscal challenge facing the new Prime Minister? What options are available to them and the Chancellor to ensure debt is falling in the medium term? And is a rerun of austerity on the cards?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new Resolution Foundation analysis on the economic outlook ahead of the Autumn Statement 2022, we will hear from a panel of experts on what approach the new Government should take in setting out a new economic strategy.
The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/mind-the-credibility-gap/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/under-new-management/
People’s characteristics can shape many aspects of their lives, including their economic lives – from where they shop and live, the assets they hold – and the jobs they do. These impacts filter through to the shape of a country’s economy – with knock-on effects for government spending, interest rates, wealth and longer-term growth. Attempts to achieve widely shared goals for faster growth, or political objectives for particular levels of taxation, need to rest on an understanding of the interactions between demography and economics.
To what extent does someone’s gender, age, race, education and upbringing affect what they buy, where they live and what job they do? How do these effects feed into a country’s level of growth and productivity? What impact does this have on the public finances? And how can policy makers use an understanding of Britain’s demographics to design better policies, from health and pensions, to migration and the environment?
The Resolution Foundation is co-hosting an event with the Society of Professional Economists to debate and answer these questions. Following presentations from Amlan Roy, who recently published a book on this topic, and Dr Norma Cohen, the panellists will discuss how understanding demography can improve economic policy making and bring about higher growth.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/demographic-destiny/
A joint event with Resolution Foundation and Greater Manchester Combined Authority
The United Kingdom is facing a decisive decade of huge economic change, from tackling the energy bills crisis, to restructuring after Brexit and the pandemic, and urgently transitioning towards a net zero future. But it is doing that against a backdrop of low growth and high inequality, a toxic combination that leaves low- and middle-income households dangerously exposed to today’s cost of living crisis.
What role can economic strategies – national and local – play in responding to the challenges of the 2020s, to secure higher growth and lower inequality? How will the changes to come affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects of the country rising to these challenges?
The 2020s will see big new opportunities for people and places throughout the UK and North of England, if emerging and more well-established strengths in world-class scientific, creative, industrial and manufacturing assets are built upon. But these changes come with major disruption, and therefore also carry risks, with lessons to learn from how different areas of the UK have responded to past periods of economic change.
Greater Manchester’s many strengths must be harnessed to manage the economic changes of the 2020s well. But to really thrive, the city-region will need to find ways to ensure that everyone benefits from growth and investment aimed at reducing its productivity gap with places like London and Edinburgh.
The Resolution Foundation, in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) are co-hosting an event to debate these questions and find some answers. This event is part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – and the Greater Manchester Independent Prosperity Review.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation-greater-manchester/
The last few days have seen a radical reshaping of the Government’s economic policy and a radical reaction from financial markets. Out have gone both Treasury orthodoxy and the legacy of the Johnson premiership, and in are lower taxes, higher borrowing – and higher borrowing costs as spooked markets respond.
Will this new strategy boost growth in the short- and medium-term? What does market turmoil mean for the Bank of England and Treasury – which has a deadline of 23rd November to explain how the public finances will be set on an sustainable footing? Are more tax cuts to come, or are spending cuts more likely?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to debate and discuss these questions. Following a presentation of the Foundation’s analysis, we will hear from leading experts on what might happen next amid a new era for economic policy making.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/what-next/
The 20th century was one of unparalleled economic growth – from rising living standards and an explosion of material wealth, to massive falls in poverty and deprivation. But it was also one of huge economic disruption, caused by, and the cause of, brutal global conflicts, as well as one of competing economic philosophies and outlooks, whose popularity have waxed and waned over time.
Understanding what underpinned these huge economic shifts – and their impact on individuals, communities, and societies – is important to understanding our history and the turbulent present we are living through. Few people are better equipped to explain these shifts than world-leading economist and polymath Brad DeLong.
Brad will join Resolution Foundation Chief Executive Torsten Bell to discuss these issues, which are the subject of his new critically-acclaimed book Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the 20th Century. Brad will also take part in an audience Q&A as part of an interactive webinar, which will be broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/slouching-towards-utopia/
The whole of the United Kingdom is facing a decisive decade of huge economic change, from tackling the energy bills crisis, to restructuring after Brexit and the pandemic, and urgently transitioning towards a net zero future. These shifts present big new opportunities for people and places throughout Northern Ireland, such as being a hub for manufacturing and creative industries. But failing to respond to the disruption these changes also carries huge risks – to our living standards, our communities, and to our planet. Northern Ireland’s many strengths must be harnessed to manage this change well and maximise the benefits for all.
How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the firms we work for? How can we build a new economic strategy that responds to the challenges of the 2020s, as well as our legacy problems of weak productivity, high inequality and stagnating living standards? And how can that strategy deliver a just transition at both local, national and UK-wide levels?
As part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry – in collaboration with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – the Resolution Foundation are co-hosting this event with the Nevin Economic Research Institute to debate and answer these questions. Based on the research findings from the Inquiry so far, we will discuss how the UK, and Northern Ireland in particular, has responded to past periods of economic change. We will be joined by leading experts to discuss how to make the coming decade of change a success.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-future-of-the-uk-economy-northern-ireland/
Britain is in the midst of a painful cost-of-living squeeze, with double digit inflation prompting the biggest fall in real wages since the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977. And the crisis will get far worse in the coming months as inflation continues to rise, energy bills soar, and rising interest rates are felt in higher mortgage payments. However, the sheer scale, duration and distribution of this income squeeze are far from certain, and will depend in part on how policy makers respond. This will be the number one task facing the new Prime Minister.
How tight will the income squeeze get this winter, and who will be most affected? How should the new Prime Minister approach tackling this crisis? What mix of tax and benefit policies, or market interventions, might be needed? And what might the Government’s approach mean for the policy makers at the Bank of England?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to debate and discuss these questions. Following a presentation of key highlights from our latest Living Standards Outlook, we will hear from leading experts on how the new Prime Minister might approach tackling the country’s deepening cost-of-living crisis.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/in-at-the-deep-end/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/a-bleak-midwinter/
Britain has experienced a wealth surge in recent decades even as household incomes have stagnated. Wealth really matters in both good times and tough times – from young families buying their first home, to drawing on savings in the face of rising energy bills. But not everyone has shared in Britain’s wealth boom, and understanding the wealth gaps that exist across the country are important as people’s financial resilience is tested over the coming months.
How has wealth inequality changed over recent decades? What has that meant for different groups and parts of the UK? What role does negative wealth – debt – play? And what do these findings mean for households’ living standards and policy makers’ decisions?
To mark the launch of its annual Wealth Audit, in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the report’s key highlights, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us about the state of wealth inequality and debt in modern Britain, and discuss what these trends mean for living standards.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/arrears-fears/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/whose-wealth-boom/
Having taken more of a backseat in the economic policy response to the pandemic, monetary policy is back centre stage as central banks around the world grapple with the highest inflation many countries have seen in generations. Monetary policy makers are having to make crucial judgements over the pace and scale of interest rates rises against an economic backdrop that is highly uncertain in both the short- and medium-term.
How quickly should interest rates be rising with inflation heading to double-digit levels? What is the outlook for inflation, interest rates, wages and growth in Britain? And how might the role of monetary policy evolve as it responds to the challenges of the coming decade?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to mark Michael Saunders’ final speech on the Monetary Policy Committee. In his speech, Michael will consider his time on the interest rate setting body, what to make of recent split votes, and the possibility that demographic change will weigh on the growth of potential supply in the coming years.
View the event and presentation slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/monetary-policy-in-troubled-times-and-beyond/
Session 5 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
How should the UK confront its legacy of low growth and high inequality? Will the UK have the bandwidth to renew its economic strategy given the major change coming in the 2020s: Brexit, net zero and the legacy of Covid? And what could Labour's economic strategy for Britain in the 2020s look like?
Join Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves to discuss these questions and more with Senior Executive Editor of Bloomberg, Stephanie Flanders.
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/
Watch back the full event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/
Session 4 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
The challenges facing the UK require a renewed economy strategy. We identify five requirements – clear objectives, an understanding of context, realism about trade-offs, scale and staying power – for any strategy to face up to the scale of changes.
Speakers:
- Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, Former Director-General of the CBI
- Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times
- Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress
- Professor Henry Overman, Research Director at the CEP
- Daniel Tomlinson, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation
- Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/
Watch the full event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/
Session 3 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
How should the UK confront its legacy of low growth and high inequality? Will the UK have the bandwidth to renew its economic strategy given the major change coming in the 2020s: Brexit, net zero and the legacy of Covid? And what could the Conservatives' economic strategy for Britain in the 2020s look like?
Join Conservative Former Minister for Universities and Science Lord David Willetts to discuss these questions and more with Economics Editor of the Financial Times, Chris Giles.
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/
Watch back the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/
Session 2 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
This decade has already seen the UK leave the EU and come through the biggest economic contraction in a century as a result of a global pandemic. The UK is now confronting the highest inflation in 40 years, and over the coming years will need to accelerate the transition to net zero. What will it take to manage these changes well?
Speakers:
- Dr Linda Yueh, Economist, writer and broadcaster
- Lord Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the LSE
- Sophie Hale, Principal Economist at the Resolution Foundation
- Dr Anna Valero, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Performance
- Lord David Willetts, President of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/
Watch back the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/
Session 1 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
Britain is a privileged and prosperous country, with many strengths. But it is currently in a period of relative economic decline, with low productivity, stagnant wages, and high inequality. Turning around this stagnation is the central challenge of the decade ahead.
Speakers:
- Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director of the LSE
- Lord Adair Turner, Economist and business leader
- Mairi Spowage, Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute
- Gregory Thwaites, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation
- Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/
Watch back the full event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/
Firms create value – at least the successful ones do. But who benefits, the firm’s owners or workers, and by how much, is often up for grabs. That’s why power in our labour market matters. It doesn’t just affect the level of wages, but the inequality of those wages too. The power of workers – via unions or a tight labour market – or of employers – via being a town’s only hospital – matters. And yet it hardly features in most British policy discussions, despite changing considerably over time, and returning to centre stage in policy debates elsewhere.
To what extent has worker power declined as trade union membership has shrunk, or have other sources of leverage taken their place? Has employer power shrunk or grown in recent decades? How much difference does firm or worker power make to wages? And what should policy makers do about this balance of power over the coming decade?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new joint RF / LSE research on changes in worker and employer power over time, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us about the level and distribution of wages across Britain.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/power-plays/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/power-pay-and-profits/
Britain is in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis that is squeezing the incomes of households across the country. That crisis is particularly challenging because it comes against a backdrop of low-income growth and high inequality. Turning these worrying trends around is a key task for the 2020s, with history providing an important guide to how it might be done.
Does economic growth feed through into household incomes? How important are wages, employment, taxes, benefits and housing costs in explaining changes? Why has inequality remained high for decades despite falling unemployment and a rising minimum wage? And how can the lessons of history inform a strategy for higher incomes and lower inequality in the future?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from our annual Living Standards Audit, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us about the state of living standards and inequality in modern Britain, and how to foster stronger growth in the future.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-living-standards-audit-2022/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-long-view-of-living-standards/
People’s incomes are fundamental to their living standards, and productivity is fundamental to those incomes. But Britain is beset by big productivity gaps – between North and South, and between metro and non-metro areas. Understanding what has driven these gaps and how they’ve changed over time is critical for an economic strategy that successfully tackles them.
How big are productivity gaps across Britain, and how they changed over time? Are all productivity gaps a problem, or should we focus on some more than others? What do the causes of those gaps tell us about what it would take to close them? And are we on course to do so?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research joint with the LSE on productivity gaps between places, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us about the UK’s spatial inequalities and how to close these gaps.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/bridging-the-gap/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/mind-the-gap-part-ii/
People’s incomes are fundamental to their living standards, and closing regional income gaps is central to levelling up the UK. But there are many moving parts to household incomes, they play very different roles across the country, and there are big gaps in what official statistics tell us about this crucial question. An economic strategy which grapples with these nuances stands a markedly better chance of addressing the real causes of Britain’s spatial inequalities.
How have income gaps between and within places changed over the last two decades? To what extent are different sources of income – such as investment and self-employment income – fuelling these changes? And how can these findings be used at both local and national levels in order to close these gaps?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new joint RF / LSE research on income gaps between places, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us about the UK’s spatial inequalities and how to close these gaps.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/income-outcomes/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/mind-the-gap-part-i/
The British economy has altered substantially since the Brexit referendum result, as firms and workers have seen changes to investment and wages respectively. But the longer lasting impacts of Brexit on our economy are ahead, not behind us as our economy goes through the process of adjusting to life outside the single market. Some sectors will shrink, but others will grow. Some places will be affected more than others. So understanding how Brexit is, and will, affect people, places and firms is crucial to the UK navigating the challenges and opportunities of the 2020s.
What were the initial impacts of the Brexit referendum result on the British economy? How has the impact changed since the UK’s Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU came into effect? What further shifts can we expect over the coming decade – and up to 2050 – as Brexit continues to alter the economic structure of the UK? And what does this mean for the UK’s aim of becoming a high-growth, high-productivity economy?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the impact of Brexit on people, places and firms over the coming decade, co-written by the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, we will hear from leading experts on how to manage this change well.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/the-big-brexit/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/brexit-britain/
The net zero transition has changed debates about the future of the labour market, with new jobs – like wind energy engineering – growing year-on-year and worries about rapid declines in carbon-intensive industries like steel production. But the main effect of the net zero transition will be to change our jobs, as firms adapt to using low-emission technologies and processes, rather than creating or destroying them. The scale, impact and geography of this transition are hugely uncertain, and the task of making it a reality has barely begun.
How might the net zero transition impact the jobs people do and the way they do them? How could this economic change affect different regions of the UK? And are our education and training systems ready for such change?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the labour market impact of the transition to net zero, we will hear from leading experts on how to support workers and businesses to take advantage of the opportunities this transition presents.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/net-zero-jobs/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-net-zero-job/
High levels of young people not in employment, education or training was a major social and economic concern in the 1990s. Decades of concerted policy action to reduce numbers across Britain has seen the scale of the problem shrink, but it has not gone away. Under the positive headlines, some forms of worklessness are on the rise. Understanding that complex picture is crucial if we’re to make further progress in the decade ahead.
What has driven falls the reduction in youth worklessness? Where are increases taking places under the radar? Which groups have been left behind? How different is the story for men and women, and different ethnicities? And what impact has the pandemic had?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of its Young People in an Insecure World project, supported by the Health Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on youth worklessness, we will hear from leading experts on the interactions between work, education, training and mental health for young people.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/not-working/
Watch the event back: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-new-neets/
After a decade of stagnation and many decades of persistent regional economic divides, the task of securing a brighter economic future for a wider range of places is now up in lights. It’s an ambition that resonates with the public too, and if policy makers across local, city-wide and national government are to take effective action, its vital they understand what people want – and don’t – when it comes to growth in their home towns and cities.
Do people think their local area has fared well or poorly over recent years? Which routes do they see for their place, and the people in it, to succeed? How do people’s experiences differ between major city centres, nearby commuter areas and less well-connected towns? What are the factors pushing people away from whey they live, and what are the pull factors keeping them there?
The Resolution Foundation and Open Innovations are hosting an in-person, hybrid event in Leeds – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions.
Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on people’s experience of the economy in their local area, we will hear from leading experts – including the Metro Mayor for West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin – on what this means for local and regional economic strategies, as well as the Government’s levelling up agenda in Westminster.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/all-over-the-place/
Watch the event back: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/all-change-please/
The nature of British economic policy, and the Treasury’s role in directing it, have ebbed and flowed over the past 25 years. Monetary policy was ceded to the Bank of England in 1997, but the Treasury then extended its grip over domestic policy. The last decade has seen it respond to two once-in-a-lifetime economic crises, oversee a period of austerity, and play a key role in the Brexit debate. The Treasury – and the Chancellors who have led it – have not had a quiet quarter of a century.
How has British economic policy evolved in recent decades? What evolution have we seen to the role of the Treasury, and has this led to better or worse policy outcomes? To what extent is this about institutions or the personality of the Chancellor? And what can we learn from the Treasury’s recent record, as Britain looks to drastically improve its economic record over the coming decade?
To debate and answer these questions, the Resolution Foundation and Society for Professional Economists are hosting a joint event to mark the launch of a new book by Howard Davies, The Chancellors: Steering the British Economy in Crisis Times, who has had leading roles at key economic institutions ranging from the Bank to the Treasury, the CBI and the LSE. The work draws on interviews with most recent Chancellors and Howard will be joined at the event by former Chancellor George Osborne.
Watch the event back: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/chatting-to-chancellors/
Over the past two decades, Britain’s low pay landscape has been transformed by the introduction and ramping up of the national minimum wage. This has been an unqualified policy success, so much so that the government is on course to eliminate hourly low pay this decade. With that landmark moment in sight, policy makers will need to decide if they are claiming this is job done or refocusing their ambitions on improving the world of work for lower earners. Despite significant progress, challenges for low-paid workers, from volatile hours to whether they’re even covered by the minimum wage, still loom large
How big an impact has the minimum wage had? Why have the ill-effects many predicted failed to materialise? What is happening to low-paid work beyond hourly wage rates – from job insecurity to progression out of low pay? Where does the rise of the gig economy fit in this picture? And given all of this, where should policy makers wanting to improve outcomes for low earners focus their efforts during the 2020s?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from Low Pay Britain 2022, our annual in-depth examination of labour market trends for low-paid workers, we will hear from leading experts – including world-renowned minimum wage expert Professor Arin Dube – on the future of low pay in the coming decade.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/low-pay-britain-2022/
View the event presentation: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/raising-the-bar/
The UK’s net zero transition represents a major challenge for the UK, but also a major opportunity if we get it right. Many argue it could see the UK utilising its existing economic strengths to lead the way in cutting edge clean technology – creating jobs and new export opportunities. But with other countries holding these same ambitions, securing this success is far from guaranteed.
How realistic is it that the UK will be at the forefront of emerging clean technologies? What are the UK’s existing strengths and how can they built over the coming decade? Will there be a role for services as well as goods in our net zero transition? Which areas of the country are best placed to benefit? And how best can we unlock the investment and innovation required to seize the opportunities for growth-enhancing green economic change?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Economy 2030 Inquiry research from the LSE on the UK’s clean growth potential, we will hear from leading experts on how we can unlock this potential as part of a successful net zero transition.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/growing-clean/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/green-growth-miracle-or-mirage/
The way young people enter the job market from education can have a marked effect on their future prospects. Economic crises are a particularly tough time to start a career, and while the Job Retention Scheme prevented mass unemployment during the pandemic, young people still face huge challenges in terms of rising insecurity and finding a career path amid a very uncertain economic outlook.
What barriers do young people face in securing good work, and how do these affect different groups? What works in terms of supporting young people, especially non-graduates, into better jobs and what are the challenges? How can technology play a role in scaling new solutions and where is more investment in innovation required? This is an area that the Workertech Partnership – of which the Resolution Foundation is a co-founder – is keen to support and invest in.
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. We’ll hear from some social entrepreneurs we’ve supported on how tech and social investment can move the dial on supporting young people to transition into good jobs, as well as experts on the wider world of work.
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/from-platforms-to-promotions/
We all experience the economy in a myriad of different ways – from the jobs we do, to the things we buy and the communities we live in. The good, the bad and the ugly of those experiences are important considerations, not just for individual economic policy decisions, but in setting the objectives of our economic strategy. What people get paid matters, but so does what they value. How people feel about change, as well as the status quo, is also crucial as a decade of significant change – driven by a cost of living crisis, the aftermath of Covid and Brexit, and the net zero transition – gets underway.
How do workers feel about their jobs? What holds them back from making big changes to their working lives, such as moving jobs or industries? How does that vary between high and low earners? To what extent do people want their consumption choices to drive change – from buying sustainable products, to supporting employers who pay their workers a decent wage? And how should people’s experiences of the wider economy be integrated into thinking about the UK’s economic strategy?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on individuals’ experiences as workers, consumers and social citizens, we will hear from leading experts on what that should mean for how the UK navigates economic change and attempts to renew its economic strategy.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/listen-up/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/whose-economy/
The Resolution Foundation and the Money, Macro and Finance Society are co-hosting a new series of events to dive into the big economic challenges we face as we recover from the pandemic and come to terms with the new world we now face. Internationally renowned economists and policymakers will discuss those challenges – from the state of multilateral policy making to the new challenges for fiscal and monetary policy makers.
The second event in the series will focus on the challenges facing monetary policy makers as they seek to tame high inflation without causing a recession. We will hear from Michael Saunders, external member of the Monetary Policy Committee and Petra Geraats, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge. The event will be chaired by Rachana Shanbhogue, Finance and Economics Editor for The Economist.
Watch the event back here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/taking-the-right-path/
The Resolution Foundation and the Money, Macro and Finance Society are co-hosting a new series of events to dive into the big economic challenges we face as we recover from the pandemic and come to terms with the new world we now face. Internationally renowned economists and policymakers will discuss those challenges – from the state of multilateral policy making to the new challenges for fiscal and monetary policy makers.
The series will kick off with an event assessing the state of multilateral economic policy making in the wake of Brexit, the pandemic and the Ukraine conflict. Have lessons been learned from the global co-ordination around the financial crisis and the roll out of Covid-19 vaccines, or has the rise of populism fragmented the world order?
We will hear from Adam Posen, President of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former MPC member at the Bank of England. He will be joined by Katharine Neiss, Chief European Economist at PGIM Fixed Income, and former Head of International Surveillance at the Bank of England.
Watch the event back: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/together-we-stand-divided-we-fall/
Policy makers often focus on addressing a country’s economic weaknesses. But understanding Britain’s current, or likely future, economic strengths is equally important if our recent relative economic decline is to be put into reverse. Failing to recognise those strengths, or even actively disparaging them, undermines our prosperity but also risks us ignoring the specific challenges those advantages bring for particular people or places.
In which industries do Britain’s economic comparative advantages? How important are they to our prosperity? Should we expect them to change over time? What do these strengths mean for the chances of the UK turning around our recent history of sluggish growth? And how should Britain’s economic strategy respond to the opportunities and challenges they bring?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation on the UK’s comparative advantages, we will hear from leading experts on this issue.
Read the report here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/enduring-strengths/
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/advantage-britain/
Britain entered 2022 with a recovery resilient to Omicron and tax revenues coming in billions higher than expected. But good news on the public finances has been matched by troubling news for family finances as inflation soared and living standards have been squeezed. The conflict in Ukraine has further clouded the UK’s economic outlook, as the Chancellor prepares his Spring Statement.
What are the prospects for the UK’s post-pandemic recovery amidst the conflict in Ukraine? How deep will Britain’s cost of living squeeze be, and has the Chancellor done enough to protect households from it? And have calls for more spending on defence or fewer tax rises been heard in No11?
Immediately following the Spring Statement on Wednesday 23rd March, the Resolution Foundation are hosting a morning event to assess the latest official economic forecasts, and the Chancellor’s response. After a presentation of key highlights from the Foundation’s overnight analysis, we will hear from leading experts, including Richard Hughes, Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, on what the new forecasts and policy action means for families and the wider economy in the year ahead.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/inflation-nation/
Speech by Jared Bernstein, Member of the Council for Economic Advisors under President Biden, with response by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves
Joe Biden came into office with an ambitious economic plan for building back American prosperity after the pandemic – with policy objectives ranging from the renewal of infrastructure and greater childcare support, to more progressive taxation and stronger labour standards. As America prepares for the mid-term elections, Democrats will be campaigning on the achievements of ‘Bidenomics’, while their Republican opponents will claim that its main impact has been to stoke inflation.
The UK needs to reset its own economic strategy for the 2020s, but what can we learn from the US about the successes and risks of trying to adopt a radical, progressive economic agenda? What are the biggest achievements the President can lay claim to, and does the President’s agenda add up to a significant shift in the American economic model?
To debate and answer these questions, the Resolution Foundation – in collaboration with the London School of Economics – is hosting a transatlantic hybrid event featuring a speech from Washington D.C by Jared Bernstein, a Member of President Biden’s Council for Economic Advisors. He will be joined by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP and leading economist John Van Reenen who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic, to discuss what the UK can learn from ‘Bidenomics’.
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/bidenomics/
The end of the Covid economic crisis is finally in sight. But it has swiftly been replaced by a terrifying conflict in Europe that threatens lives in Ukraine and livelihoods far beyond its borders. The UK’s immediate post-Covid economy thankfully doesn’t include the lengthy dole queues that normally follow a recession. But it instead faces new challenges – including older workers exiting the labour market and the highest inflation for at least three decades – amid huge uncertainty.
How strong will the UK’s economic recovery be, and when will it approach a new ‘normal’? What impact will the war in Ukraine have on the UK, European and Global economic outlook? And what does all this mean for the public, and household finances?
In the week running up the OBR’s Spring Statement on Wednesday 23rd March, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research on the UK economic outlook for 2022, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges this will pose for families and policy makers alike.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/catch-2022/
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/catch-2022/
The UK’s universities are highly regarded abroad, but are controversial at home. While increasing participation has boosted people’s skills and their social mobility prospects, ‘edusceptics’ worry that too many people are attending university, and about the funding of the growth through fees and loans. Meanwhile the number of young people going to higher education continues to rise.
The independent review post-18 education and funding, led by Sir Philip Augar has grappled with these controversies, and the Government has now set out its response.
Who are the biggest winners from these proposed changes – students, universities or the Treasury? How will post 18 education and training change as a result of them? What can we hope for from the Lifelong Learning Entitlement? And will these reforms leave the country in a better or worse place to deliver the education- and skills-based productivity gains we need to cope with big economic changes and to raise living standards, in the 2020s?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar chaired by David Willetts – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions with leading experts, the Chair of the Post-18 Education and Funding Review Dr. Philip Augar, and Panel Member Professor Alison Wolf.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/fees-ible-reforms/
The good news is that Britain is finally stepping out of the pandemic. The bad news is that it is stepping straight into a renewed living standards squeeze which, according to the latest Bank of England forecasts, could be the tightest one in generations. Prices, bills and taxes are all going up, and wages aren’t keeping pace. The big question facing families is when the squeeze will start to ease.
How tight might the current cost of living crunch be, and what groups are likely to be most affected? To what extent will Britain’s tight labour market – with high vacancies and low unemployment – offset some of this pain? And is there anything more the Government can to do to soften Britain’s cost of living crunch?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research on the living standards outlook for 2022 and beyond, we will hear from leading experts, on the challenges this will pose for families and policy makers alike.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-living-standards-outlook-2022/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/crunch-time-2/
So far, the UK’s Net Zero strategy has caused minimal visible upheaval to people’s day-to-day lives. During the 2020s, however, emissions will need to be cut in ways that require real change for households – from minimising flights and meat consumption, to switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps. These bring opportunities to improve our lives, but also threats to our living standards.
Are consumers ready for decarbonisation to get real? What changes will the decade ahead bring for their consumption of transport, heating, and food? What are the barriers facing households – especially those on low incomes – in this transition? And how can the benefits of decarbonisation, such as cleaner air and cheaper driving costs be spread fairly?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, a joint project with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research on what households will need to do to transition to a low carbon society, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges this will pose.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/shrinking-footprints/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/consuming-carbon/
Book launch for Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century by Helen Thompson
The 21st century has witnessed huge shocks across the world, with far-reaching consequences for our economies and democracies. But this should not come as a surprise, as unresolved issues – from energy and trade, to growth and migration – have been accumulating for decades. And with the impacts of Brexit and the pandemic starting to become apparent, combined with the challenges of the net zero transition, more disruption is to follow.
How have past periods of dramatic change – such as the energy crises of 1970s or the global financial crisis – shaped our modern world? What can we learn about our economic and political future from the changes brought about by Brexit and the pandemic so far? And how much scope do we have to shape the economic, geopolitical and democratic changes to come?
As part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a book launch for Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century by Professor Helen Thompson. We will discuss how geopolitical and economic events from recent decades have contributed to the state of the world today, and what that means for the UK as it wrestles with economic change in the 2020s.
Watch the event back here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/disruption-nation/
Britain is facing a decisive decade of economic change as technological change combines with Covid, Brexit and the rapid transition towards a net zero economy. These challenges are set against a backdrop of rapid demographic shifts, and a legacy of low productivity and high inequality.
Business will find themselves at the heart of this seismic economic change, and could play a decisive role alongside Government and wider society in helping to navigate the country through this decisive decade.
Are British firms ready for the scale of change to come ? What role and responsibility does business have in solving the problems and seizing the opportunities change can bring? And what lessons can be drawn from a business that was built on a purpose of trying to make the world ‘a bit happier’?
As part of its ongoing Economy 2030 Inquiry with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a keynote lecture by the Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership Sharon White on this topic. Sharon will be by joined by author and former Treasury Minister Jesse Norman MP, alongside Lord Willetts, to discuss the role of business in navigating Britain through the 2020s, before an interactive audience Q&A.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/a-firm-solution/
Migration has been centre stage in economic debates this century. For some higher migration is the root cause of Britain’s low pay, low productivity challenges, while for others it is the answer to labour and skill shortages. The Prime Minister argues lower migration is the route to the UK having a higher wage future. The 2016 vote to leave the EU meant big migration changes were coming, but they have now arrived with a new post-Brexit migration regime and a pandemic combining to turbo-charge change.
How did higher migration change Britain’s labour market in the first two decades of the 21st century? What might recent shifts in migration policy mean for the nature of our economy post-pandemic? How might firms reliant on migrant labour respond to less access to it? And what does this mean for the UK’s economic strategy going forward?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and discuss these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from new Resolution Foundation research for The Economy 2030 Inquiry on how migration drives and shapes economic change, we will hear from a panel of experts on the issue, before an interactive audience Q&A.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/under-new-management/
Find the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/on-the-road/
The UK that exits the pandemic has a bigger state than the one that went into it. The 2020s will bring further pressure for the state to grow or our tax revenues to shrink, including from our ageing society and net zero ambitions. But previous approaches to responding to such pressure – from shrinking the military to further tax rises on workers – may not be available as they once were.
What are the big forces driving change in the size and shape of the state in the decade ahead? How has the country responded to such shifts before? What choices does the Treasury have in managing fiscal headwinds and tailwinds this time? What does this mean for those relying on public services and taxpayers?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation on the pressures facing the public finances during the coming decade of change we will hear from leading experts on this issue, including former Chancellor Alistair Darling.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/under-pressure/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/pressure-points/
Inheritances have always been used to give relatives a financial boost. But they look set to be a growing part of 21st Century Britain as household wealth booms, particularly for older cohorts. This brings with it change for younger people, whose lifetime living standards may increasingly be shaped by the inheritances or gifts they receive rather than income they earn. It also brings change for those giving, who face big decisions about how and when to pass wealth on.
How has the gifting of wealth between generations changed over recent years? Who is the most likely to give and receive inheritances and financial gifts? How does receiving financial support from relatives affect people’s decisions, such as whether to purchase a house or change jobs? And what changes do people planning to financially support relatives make to improve their ability to do so?
The Resolution Foundation, in partnership with the Family Building Society, is hosting an interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on this topic, we will hear from a leading panel of experts on the scale and nature of intergenerational wealth transfers, and how these transfers affect people’s lives and behaviour.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/intergenerational-rapport-fair/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/family-fortunes-2022/
The UK’s exit from the EU has given it the freedom to pursue an independent trade strategy for the first time in four decades. To date, post-Brexit trade debate has focused on lost access to EU markets, roll-over deals preserving the status quo, and a lack of progress with the US. But the start of trade negotiations with India last week marks an attempt to start a fresh chapter in the UK’s trade strategy – a pivot towards distant but fast growing markets of the Indo-Pacific region.
What are the big opportunities from pursing a new Asia-focused trade strategy? Which sectors would be most exposed to increased competition? How much difference could trade liberalisation with India make? And how does the current focus on manufacturing gains square with two of the world’s largest major services exporters liberalising trade?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation on the UK’s trade pivot towards the Indo-Pacific region, we will hear from leading experts on the opportunities and challenges from this new strategy.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/a-presage-to-india/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/pivot-pivot/
The modern welfare state is approaching its 75th anniversary, but continual reforms and wider economic change mean that it bears little resemblance to the system first envisaged by William Beveridge. And it faces new challenges, with Covid, Brexit and net zero – coupled with rapid demographic and technological change – set to reshape our economy in the 2020s.
What changes has the welfare state seen in recent decades? How strong is our basic safety net? What protection exists for those temporarily falling on hard times? How well suited is our social security system for the big economic changes of the 2020s? And how can the UK’s safety net be strengthened?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, a joint project with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research on how the welfare system has changed in recent decades, and may need to change over the coming decade, we will hear from leading experts Minouche Shafik and Nick Timmins on how our shifting social security copes with economic change.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/social-insecurity/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/beyond-beveridge/
With Omicron cases the only thing rising faster than energy bills, 2022 is off to a difficult start. The pandemic and cost of living pressures will continue to dominate political and economic debates through 2022, but what that means for strains on the NHS and family budgets, or volatile GDP and poll ratings, is hugely uncertain.
Will the impact of Omicron get worse before it gets better, and how long might this wave last? How might Covid affect the economy in 2022 – from British jobs to global trade disruption? How will the cost of living squeeze shape our politics? And what are the unknown unknowns that we should look out for in 2022?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and discuss these questions. We will hear from John Burn-Murdoch, Stephanie Flanders and Stephen Bush on what will shape British politics and economics in the year ahead, before an interactive audience Q&A.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/new-year-old-pandemic/
The labour market has changed substantially over the past 60 years – from fewer factories and more health services, to working with new machines or being replaced by them. In the decade ahead it will change again thanks to Brexit, Covid-19 and the net zero transition. But the relationship between how the labour market as a whole changes and what it means for individuals are more complex than is normally assumed, with job moves often driven by different considerations, such as boosting pay or fitting with wider life choices.
How has recent economic change affected the structure of the UK labour market? Has change become more common as is often claimed? When do workers benefit from job change, and when do they lose out? And how prepared are workers for the big labour market changes coming this decade?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation and LSE research on how recent economic change has affected the UK labour market, we will hear from leading experts on how to ensure workers benefit from future labour market shifts.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/changing-jobs/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/changing-jobs/
A faster than expected economic recovery has evolved into an entirely unexpected cost of living squeeze. Energy bills surges, and hot competition for second hand cars or even Christmas presents, means that household bills are rising more swiftly than workers’ pay packets. Policy matters too, with some families seeing benefit cuts this Autumn, while others face taxes rises in April. In a week when we get crucial data on inflation, and a decision on interest rates, the causes and consequences of Britain’s ongoing cost of living squeeze will be on everyone’s minds.
What is driving inflation in the UK, and what are prospects for the months ahead? How has, and will, policy ease or exacerbate the squeeze? What difference will an interest rate rise make? And, crucially, how are families coping with the impact of rapidly rising prices, and what can be done to help them through the tough months ahead?
The Resolution Foundation and Citizens Advice are co-hosting an interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following short presentations on the cause and effect of the financial pressures families are currently facing, we will hear from leading experts on how Britain’s cost of living crunch might evolve and what, if anything, policy can do to ease these pressures.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-new-wave/
House prices across the UK have rocketed over recent decades, and have continued to surge even when the rest of the economy collapsed during the Covid crisis. This has delivered a huge wealth windfall, that far from being shared equally has gone to existing asset owners. This windfall has also largely slipped past the tax system, which focuses instead on taxing transactions and residents through Stamp Duty and Council Tax.
What is the scale and distribution of the UK’s property wealth windfall? Should we shift the focus of property taxation towards capital gains rather than transactions? If so, how? Is there any public appetite for reforming our highly flawed approach to wealth taxes, and how can support for change be built on?
The Resolution Foundation, in partnership with Standard Life Foundation, is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on this topic, we will hear from leading experts on the nature of the wealth windfall, how the tax system might respond, and whether there’s any public support for such change.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/home-county/
Purchasing a house has traditionally been seen as one of the key milestones in adulthood, providing not just a home but financial security for many. But with youth home ownership having declined substantially over the past three decades, this milestone is increasingly one many may not reach.
How have trends in youth home ownership changed over recent years? To what extent do factors such as location, occupation, ethnicity and income affect young people’s chances of buying a house? What are the main barriers to home ownership for young people? And what can policymakers do to enable young people to overcome these challenges and get onto the housing ladder?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research, supported by Lloyds Banking Group, on changing trends in youth home ownership, we will hear from leading experts on how to help young people onto the housing ladder.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/hope-to-buy/
At the onset of the pandemic, there were widespread concerns about catastrophic levels of unemployment in the face of lockdowns. But extending the furlough scheme has kept a lid on unemployment, while the reopening of the economy this summer has sparked a ‘jobs-rush’. As the UK labour market enters a new phase, it is important to be clear about which pandemic induced shifts for our world of work will be temporary and which mark long-term structural change.
What is the state of the post-furlough labour market? What changes can be seen in how and where we work? Who is working? Which of these changes are likely to become permanent features of our post-pandemic economy? And how should policymakers view these long-term changes to the labour market?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on the lasting impact of the pandemic on the labour market, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for the economy over the coming decade.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/begin-again/
British firms have had a tumultuous decade – from the financial crisis to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2020s brings new challenges as they grapple with post-Brexit trade and regulatory changes, the net zero transition, and improving the UK’s woeful productivity record. But what is the state of British business as it heads into this decisive decade?
How dynamic is British capitalism? Which firms’ poor performance lies behind the UK’s persistently low productivity? What are the key differences between our firms and their competitors abroad? And what role should policy play in helping ensure firms can deliver the high wage, high productivity economy that everyone wants to see?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from a new joint Resolution Foundation/ LSE health check of British firms’ economic performance, we will hear from leading experts, including MPC member Jonathan Haskel, on this crucial issue for the UK economy.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/business-time/
While GDP is rarely discussed in the pub, the feedthrough from economic growth to higher wages is central to boosting family living standards. And while both pay and wider economic growth have been in short supply in the UK over the past decade, there is growing unease at the sense that these two crucial measures of economic progress have been decoupled, threatening the idea that we all gain from growth.
What is the relationship between GDP and pay? How does it vary in the US and UK, and how has that relationship changed over recent decades? Are we seeing periods of ‘wage-less economic growth’ or even ‘wage-led recoveries’ and what does this mean for our economy? And how can we re-establish a model of strong, sustainable and equitably shared economic growth amid a decade of profound economic change in the 2020s?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry in collaboration with the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following the presentation of ground-breaking new research on the relationship between GDP and pay by leading economist John Van Reenen, Director of the Programme for Innovation and Diffusion (POID) at the LSE, we will hear from Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves on how she believes strong economic growth can feed through into higher wages, before taking part in an audience Q&A.
Rishi Sunak has had to make a flurry of major fiscal announcements during his 18-months as Chancellor amidst the Covid-19 crisis. At last, with the worse of the crisis behind us, he will hope to be able to set-out an economic plan for post-pandemic Britain in his Budget and Spending Review next Wednesday. However, with inflation and Covid cases rising again, the tough decisions he’ll need to make are far from over and uncertainty about the future path of the economy remains high.
What is the economic outlook for Britain? How has it shaped the Chancellor’s policy choices and his response to the cost of living crunch? What does the Budget and Spending Review reveal about the kind of Chancellor Rishi Sunak wants to be – or the kind of Government Boris Johnson wants to lead? How has he traded-off competing priorities, from delivering public services, to levelling up the country and investing in our net zero transition? And does the package of measures add up to a proper economic plan for post-pandemic Britain?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis of the Budget, we’ll hear from the Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Richard Hughes and leading economist Linda Yueh on their reflections on the Budget and Spending Review.
Read the overnight analysis: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-boris-budget/
The UK’s political and policy debate on trade has become preoccupied with the nuts and bolts of individual trade deals – some real, some imaginary. Meanwhile bigger questions about the future path of the UK economy post-Brexit are ignored. Trade shapes our economic strengths and weaknesses, the jobs we do, and where we do them. More focus is needed on how trade fits into the UK’s wider economic plan – and how that in turn fits into a changing world economy.
What does wanting to be an open economy mean after Britain’s divorce from its biggest trading partner? Amid the immediate, direct effects of Brexit, can we see signs of the longer-lasting changes it might bring? How should a trade strategy align with other aspects of a new economic agenda, from ‘levelling up’ to the Prime Minister’s wish to move away from a low wage, low productivity labour market? And where does Britain fit in a new world order dominated by the EU, the US and China?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on the role of trade in shaping a decade of economic change for Britain in the 2020s, we will hear from two leading experts on how we should approach this challenge.
Read the report here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/trading-places/
Lower migration was always going to be a consequence of the vote to leave the European Union and Covid-19 has accelerated that change. The short term results include empty petrol stations and supermarkets’ warning of a Turkey-less Christmas. But wages are also rising fast for HGV drivers and the Prime Minister now insists that weaning British business off its addiction to cheap foreign labour is the key to creating a new high-skill, high-productivity, high-pay model for the UK economy.
To what extent will lower migration feed through into higher wages or higher prices? Will productivity rise or output fall? Which people, firms and places will be most affected? How big a role does migration play in shaping the UK’s economic model and will lower migration complement or harm the UK’s wider economy strategy for the 2020s?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. We will hear from leading experts on how Britain should approach this shift towards a lower migration labour market, and how it fits in with the wider change to Britain’s economic model. A companion event on the role of post-Brexit trade for the UK economy is being held the following day on Thursday 14th October.
Find the event slides on our website: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/pastures-new/
Over the course of the 2020s, the UK will embark on the crucial next phase of the transition toward a Net Zero economy. This will touch our lives and livelihoods like never before, as we decarbonise how we travel and heat our homes. And with COP 26 starting in Glasgow in little over a months’ time, the UK will need to demonstrate global leadership by facing up to the challenges ahead.
How should Net Zero be put at the heart of Britain’s post-pandemic economic plan? What are the barriers to making progress on decarbonisation? And how can we ensure that the costs and benefits of the Net Zero transition are distributed fairly across people and places throughout the country?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on the choices and trade-offs around Net Zero, we will hear from two leading experts on where the UK should be heading.
Read the report here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/the-carbon-crunch/
The world of work has changed substantially over the past 30 years – from what job we do, to how we do it and what we get paid. These things matter for our job satisfaction – indeed our life satisfaction, via the esteem we get from work, to the stress or success it can bring. For many people, jobs are such a large part of our lives that changes to them can shape our well-being – for good, and for bad.
What have been the big picture shifts in our experience of work over recent decades, and how does this differ by pay, occupation and gender? Is the commonly-held view that the quality of work has deteriorated wide of the mark? How do we feel about economic change when it affects the job we do? And what can policy makers do to improve our experience of work in the future?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on people’s experience of work, we will hear from two leading experts on what they think has driven these past shifts, and where we could be heading in the future.
Read the report here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/work-experiences/
Book launch for ‘Two hundred years of muddling through’ by Duncan Weldon
The UK is facing a decisive decade of change, responding to the triple shocks of Brexit, Covid-19 and the transition to Net Zero. But this is not the first time Britain has faced such a radical upheaval. From industrial revolutions and the rise and fall of the British empire, to world wars, the great depression and the creation of the welfare state, Britain has weathered many economic storms and resets over the past two centuries.
How has Britain managed previous periods of economic change? On each occasion, how much has our economic future been shaped by our economic past? And what can today’s policy makers learn from our history as they navigate the decade of economic change to come?
As part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a book launch for Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through: The Surprising Story of the British Economy by Duncan Weldon. We will be joined by Judy Stephenson, Associate Professor at UCL, to discuss the themes of the book, and the wider questions about Britain’s experience of economic change in the past, present and future.
Watch the event back here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/from-boom-to-bust-and-back-again/
Having suffered the biggest economic contraction in 300 years, the UK economy is back on the road to recovery. But the Covid recovery is just one of many huge economic shifts confronting British businesses over the next decade as the country embarks on a new future outside the EU, faces an urgent transition towards a low-carbon economy, and grapples with rapid technological and population changes.
What will be the state of British firms as they emerge from the pandemic? How can Government strengthen the Covid recovery and deliver on ambitious net zero targets? Where will new found freedoms over regulation, competition policy and subsidies see new policy approaches? And what does the Levelling Up agenda mean for firms and workers?
As part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an ‘In conversation with’ event with Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to debate and discuss these questions.
Watch the event recording here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/a-decisive-decade-for-british-business/
The UK is on the brink of a decade of change. In the 2020s, the country will need to not just recover from Covid-19, but also emerge from the EU, urgently transition towards a Net Zero future, and adapt to transformative technology. Instead of simply being the post-pandemic period, this is the decisive decade in which the UK needs to rebuild its approach to economic success. While these shifts will profoundly affect all of our lives and livelihoods, the UK currently lacks a plan for navigating them.
What will be the nature of the change to come? How can its fall-out be managed, including supporting the losers that change creates? How can the UK reshape its path to economic success in this fundamentally changed context? And where can these changes help us to overcome the UK’s long standing problems of low productivity and high inequality?
In order to explore and answer the challenge of navigating a decade that will redefine Britain, the Resolution Foundation, in collaboration with the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, is launching a ground-breaking new three-year project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, The Economy 2030 Inquiry. This matters for far more than economics. Slow growth, high inequality, and badly-handled economic disruption undermine the wellbeing of individuals and their communities, foment social divisions and breed political problems.
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an interactive webinar to launch the Economy 2030 Inquiry. During the event, several of the Inquiry’s Commissioners – including Baroness Minouche Shafik and leading economist Dani Rodrik – will discuss the economic change that the UK is about to live through, and what we can learn from our own history and the experiences of other countries.
Read the launch report here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/the-uks-decisive-decade/