UK launch event for The Wage Standard by Professor Arin Dube No two labour markets are alike. But in recent years the UK and the UK have rhymed. Both have seen decent pay growth for the lowest earners, though by different routes: a rising minimum wage in the UK, and a tight post-pandemic labour market in the US. Both have disappointed in the middle: the US has generated impressive productivity gains but not shared them with typical workers, while, until very recently, the UK hasn’t had any productivity gains to share. And yet they differ sharply on jobs: the US remains an employment laggard among 25-54 year olds, while the UK does far better on prime-age employment, even as unemployment has risen to around 5 per cent. How should we approach the labour market challenges facing the US and UK? What are the roles of policy makers, labour market instructions and business in building labour markets that benefit everyone? And are there lessons that each country can take from each other, both in terms of policy successes and failures and wider trends to watch out for? To answer these questions, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event with leading labour market experts from both sides of the Atlantic. We will be joined by the worlds-leading minimum wage expert Professor Arin Dube to discuss his new book The Wage Standard, along with Professor Stephen Machin of the LSE. The event, organised with the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and Political Science, is part of the ESRC’s Festival of Social Science that is taking place at venues across the country throughout October and November. 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.
