Shows
Resolution Foundation Events PodcastStormy clouds or brighter horizons? The UK’s uncertain outlook for living standardsThe 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 ec...2025-06-301h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastLittle Britain? What might happen if globalisation goes into reverseBook launch for Exile Economics: What happens if globalisation fails by Ben Chu2025-05-2759 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastBritain’s new safety net: Where are the Government’s welfare reforms heading?Where are the Government’s welfare reforms heading?
2025-05-201h 18Resolution Foundation Events PodcastHow to spend £100 billion wiselyWhich areas of public investment should be prioritised at the Spending Review?
2025-05-0159 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastThe challenges for Britain’s migrant workforce: Understanding precarious work among foreign-born workers, and implications for wider labour market policy.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?
2025-04-141h 09Resolution Foundation Events PodcastTurning up the heat How to quicken Britain’s heat pumps roll-out and hit our net zero targetsOur 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 th...2025-04-141h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastMaking public services better for low-to-middle income familiesDespite 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 livin...2025-04-141h 16Resolution Foundation Events PodcastA league of their own: What can the UK learn from the US’ post-pandemic productivity acceleration?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?
2025-04-141h 06Resolution Foundation Events PodcastThe metrics that really matter How can we better measure economic and societal change?Book launch for The Measure of Progress by Diane Coyle.2025-04-0752 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastMinimum wage, maximum pressure - Assessing short-term impacts and long-term plans for the UK’s wage floorThe 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.
2025-04-071h 06Resolution Foundation Events PodcastSpring cleaning the public finances: Assessing the Chancellor’s Spring Statement and the UK economic outlookHow 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?
2025-04-071h 10Resolution Foundation Events PodcastThe headroom bind: What does the Chancellor need to do to hit her fiscal rules?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 requir...2025-03-171h 17Resolution Foundation Events PodcastDelivering the undeliverable: Reforming incapacity and disability benefits to make the system workBritain 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.
2025-03-061h 26Resolution Foundation Events PodcastUnpredictable earnings: The volatility of pay packets and its impact on living standardsMost 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.
2025-03-061h 16Resolution Foundation Events PodcastTackling the scourge of modern Britain: The policies and investment needed to reduce child povertyThe 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, an...2025-02-261h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastNo place like home? The cost and conditions of housing for ethnic minority householdsIn 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...2025-02-171h 06Resolution Foundation Events PodcastThe jittersbug: How worrying data and market unrest could affect Britain’s economic outlookHow 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 s...2025-01-301h 12Resolution Foundation Events PodcastAre universities worth it? The returns from higher education for graduates and the economyDoubts 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 l...2025-01-211h 01Resolution Foundation Events PodcastA squeezed middle of the decade? The political economy outlook for 20252025 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...2025-01-091h 16Resolution Foundation Events PodcastWork is where the heart is? How lower-income families experience the labour marketRising 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...2024-12-161h 14Resolution Foundation Events PodcastA new long-term plan for growthHow 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 i...2024-12-101h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastTrade in the age of Trumponomics: Navigating Britain’s trade in a post-Brexit, intra-Trump worldBritish 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 shoc...2024-12-041h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastAn Uneven Inheritance: Examining wealth inequalities within and between generationsBritish 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...2024-11-291h 10Resolution Foundation Events PodcastMany helping hands: How intergenerational transfers support lifetime living standardsTransfers 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...2024-11-251h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastUnsung Britain: Understanding the stresses and strains of low-to-middle income familiesThere 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...2024-11-141h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastNo pain, no gain? Assessing what the Budget means for the UK economyThe 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.
2024-11-051h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastGetting the green light:How can we fairly share the costs of decarbonising transport?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 achie...2024-10-211h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastTough medicine: Assessing the Chancellor’s options in her first BudgetPainful 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 migh...2024-10-151h 20Resolution Foundation Events PodcastLiving standards in later life: Are auto-enrolled workers saving enough for their retirement?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...2024-10-151h 16Resolution Foundation Events PodcastRebooting Brexit: Opportunities and challenges from resetting UK-EU trade relationsBritain 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 sect...2024-10-101h 20Resolution Foundation Events PodcastStructurally Unsound: Social inequalities in the mid-2020sThe 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 th...2024-10-091h 15Resolution Foundation Events PodcastA build-up economic strategy: How much growth could the Government’s reforms deliver?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 productivi...2024-09-231h 20Resolution Foundation Events PodcastBuilding Blocks: Can the Government hit its housing targets?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 propert...2024-09-121h 17Resolution Foundation Events PodcastTaxed into a cornerThe 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.
2024-09-121h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastMaking the ‘New Deal’ a good deal for low-paid workersThe 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 holi...2024-09-101h 15Resolution Foundation Events PodcastA brighter shade of grey? The current outlook for living standardsThe 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...2024-09-051h 14Resolution Foundation Events PodcastNet zeroing in on investment: Can the Government deliver a fair transition?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...2024-07-221h 14Resolution Foundation Events PodcastThe times are a-changin’: Assessing the political and economic outlook for the new Labour GovernmentLabour 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 Bu...2024-07-151h 18Resolution Foundation Events PodcastIs Britain working? The labour market context to the general electionSince 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 w...2024-06-271h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastThe cost of poor health: What does rising health-related benefit spending mean for the UK and its next government?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 a...2024-06-211h 14Resolution Foundation Events PodcastThe state of welfare: How has Britain’s safety net changed since 2010 and what comes next?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 lev...2024-06-181h 15Resolution Foundation Events PodcastEnding stagnation: How to boost prosperity across ScotlandA 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 al...2024-06-131h 02Resolution Foundation Events PodcastState crafting: Changes and challenges for managing the public financesTax 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 an...2024-06-061h 20Resolution Foundation Events PodcastInflation scarring: How has the cost-of-living crisis changed Britain?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? Ho...2024-05-241h 17Resolution Foundation Events PodcastSetting a new path to greater, shared prosperity: How cities in the North East can help to end economic stagnationA 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 it...2024-05-241h 21Resolution Foundation Events PodcastBuilding a better Britain: How cities like Bradford can help to end economic stagnationA 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 th...2024-05-171h 12Resolution Foundation Events PodcastPolicy making beyond Westminster: Keynote speech by Mark Drakeford MS1999 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...2024-05-0252 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastPolicy making beyond Westminster - Panel 2: Spending and strategy1999 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...2024-05-0255 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastPolicy making beyond Westminster - Panel 1: Devolved tax and benefits1999 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...2024-05-0256 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastPolicy making beyond Westminster: Keynote speech by John Swinney MSP1999 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...2024-05-0250 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastPrecarious profits? Why firms use insecure contracts, and what would change their mindsOver 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...2024-04-261h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastPowering Britain: Can we decarbonise electricity without disadvantaging poorer families?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 –...2024-04-231h 18Resolution Foundation Events PodcastIn credit? Assessing where Universal Credit’s long rollout has left the benefit system, and BritainUniversal 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 sy...2024-04-161h 18Resolution Foundation Events PodcastBuilding pressure? Rising rents, and what to expect in the futureThe 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 ea...2024-04-151h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastSetting a high bar: Celebrating 25 years of the minimum wage, and plotting its next pathThe 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 ai...2024-03-281h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastBoosting prosperity across Britain: How cities like Bristol can help to end economic stagnationA 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 gr...2024-03-221h 12Resolution Foundation Events PodcastLiving life to the full: How can we make our longer lives healthier, happier and more productive?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 li...2024-03-221h 02Resolution Foundation Events PodcastGame changer? Assessing the Budget’s economic, and electoral, impactThe 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 ar...2024-03-081h 16Resolution Foundation Events PodcastEnding stagnation: The role of cities like Nottingham in boosting economic prosperity across BritainA 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...2024-03-061h 05Resolution Foundation Events PodcastHealthy starts: How mental ill-health shapes the education and economic prospects of young peopleThe 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 ye...2024-02-271h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastTax cuts today, spending cuts tomorrow? How the Budget might shape the General Election and beyondAn 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 a...2024-02-221h 18Resolution Foundation Events PodcastTrading standards: How exposure to global trade shapes our living standardsBritain 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...2024-02-201h 19Resolution Foundation Events PodcastSaving for today. And tomorrow. How to boost households financial resilience now, and living standards in retirementBritish 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 cris...2024-02-131h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastNew age or age-old appeal: How different generations view the parties and issues that will determine the General ElectionIn 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...2024-02-091h 15Resolution Foundation Events PodcastTurning a corner? The political and economic outlook for a critical election yearThe 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 fi...2024-01-091h 18Resolution Foundation Events PodcastRising rents and rebounding wages: Where is Britain’s cost-of-living crisis heading?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 av...2023-12-181h 07Resolution Foundation Events PodcastEnding Stagnation: Steering economic changeThe 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 Co...2023-12-0546 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastEnding Stagnation: Keir Starmer MP in conversation with Zanny Minton BeddoesLeader 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...2023-12-0555 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastEnding Stagnation: Getting inequality downFor 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...2023-12-0545 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastEnding Stagnation: Getting growth upThe 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...2023-12-0545 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastEnding Stagnation: Jeremy Hunt MP in conversation with Zanny Minton BeddoesChancellor 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...2023-12-0542 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastEnding Stagnation: The case for ending stagnationPresentation 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...2023-12-0530 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastWorkerTech Conference: The Future of Good Work for the UKThis 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/
2023-11-2955 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastWorkerTech Conference: Ways to support worker power and worker choiceThis 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/wo...2023-11-2951 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastWorkerTech Conference: Improving access to training and skillsThis 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/
2023-11-2929 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastWorkerTech Conference: Tech and the future of workThis 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/
2023-11-2948 minResolution Foundation Events PodcastAutumn (Statement) WatchThe 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 plea...2023-11-231h 20Resolution Foundation Events PodcastInventing a better Britain: How does R&D fit into a new UK economic strategy?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 al...2023-11-161h 22Resolution Foundation Events PodcastPerma-crisis people: The divergent economic prospects between generationsAdvanced 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...2023-11-141h 08Resolution Foundation Events PodcastIn place of centralisation: Devolution for London, Manchester and BirminghamDevolution 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...2023-11-091h 14Resolution Foundation Events PodcastPreparing the pitch: What to expect in the upcoming Autumn StatementThe 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...2023-11-061h 16Resolution Foundation Events PodcastCreaking at the seams: Can we bring Britain’s trains, drains and mains into the 21st Century?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 wh...2023-11-021h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastPeople-powered growth: Equipping young people with the skills Britain needs to prosperBritain 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 th...2023-10-291h 14Resolution Foundation Events PodcastRiding the economic rollercoaster: Is Britain’s macroeconomic policy framework fit for purpose?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 ha...2023-10-201h 13Resolution Foundation Events PodcastWorlds apart: Why is UK inflation so much higher than in the US?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 fall...2023-10-091h 19Resolution Foundation Events PodcastCreating a Good Jobs economy: Lecture by Professor Dani RodrikAdvanced 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 lac...2023-09-281h 29Resolution Foundation Events PodcastMore change please: Why Britain needs a more dynamic economyChange 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...2023-09-261h 24Resolution Foundation Events PodcastRisk reduction: Can earnings insurance underpin a more dynamic jobs market and a more productive economy?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...2023-09-251h 16Resolution Foundation Events PodcastMaking Greater Manchester great again: What is GM’s plausible path to greater prosperity?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 ju...2023-09-251h 19Resolution Foundation Events PodcastBuilding momentum in Birmingham and beyond: What is Birmingham urban area’s plausible path to greater prosperity?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.
Wh...2023-09-151h 11Resolution Foundation Events PodcastEnlightened economics: Lessons from Adam Smith on the economic challenges facing modern BritainAdam 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 fr...2023-09-141h 02Resolution Foundation Events PodcastWar or peace? How the public views Britain’s generational strains – and the policy responses to themThere 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’ s...2023-09-141h 18Resolution Foundation Events PodcastA living standards election? What the year ahead could mean for family - and political - fortunesThe 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...2023-09-071h 19Resolution Foundation Events PodcastThe Innovation Job: Can new labour market institutions drive good work?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 w...2023-09-051h 19Resolution Foundation Events PodcastFrom boom to gloom? The winners and losers from rising rates and falling wealthBritain 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? An...2023-07-181h 19Resolution Foundation Events PodcastShared prosperity: What would it take to see a return to rising living standards for all?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...2023-07-041h 15Resolution Foundation Events PodcastMonetary policy in the face of large shocks: Valedictory speech by MPC Member Silvana TenreyroProfessor 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...2023-06-301h 15Resolution Foundation Events PodcastFrom quantity to quality: How to have better, not just higher, taxesBritain’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...2023-06-291h 18Resolution Foundation Events PodcastAn investment nation: Can Britain shift from living off its past to investing in its future?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, bu...2023-06-261h 20Resolution Foundation Events PodcastLiving in a material world: How resources shape our past, present and futureMaterials 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 w...2023-06-201h 02