Work· Housing· Generations Britain has become a less mobile nation – why? 6 June 2019 by Torsten Bell Donald Trump tells us there are no protesters. He says it so often, he probably believes it. Which is worrying, but also fairly normal. There are stories we hear so often that we simply assume they are true. Here’s one. Our communities are changing ever faster as more and more people move around for work, … Continued READ MORE
Work· Housing· Generations Young people are no longer footloose and fancy free – and rent rises are to blame 6 June 2019 by Lindsay Judge Millennials, eh? They never stand still. Always on the move, with their ‘portfolio careers’, side hustles in the gig economy, and no loyalty to the companies they work for. With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder they struggle to find decent work and pay. There’s only one problem with this common trope though. It’s … Continued READ MORE
Work Union membership is rising again – but will it last? 31 May 2019 by Daniel Tomlinson In 2018 the Trades Union Congress (TUC) celebrated its 150th birthday. Yesterday the government delivered a somewhat belated birthday present to the union movement in the form of new statistics showing that membership levels have risen significantly for the first time in almost two decades. Happy birthday TUC! In this short blog post, we provide … Continued READ MORE
Work· Living Wage Britain can afford an even higher minimum wage – but we need to tread carefully 30 May 2019 by Nye Cominetti Britain has long had a low pay problem. For most of the last two decades around one in five workers has been in low-paid work – earning less than two-thirds of the typical hourly pay – at any given time. This is a massive problem given how hard it can be to escape low pay. … Continued READ MORE
Work· Generations Wrong time, wrong place – leaving education in the middle of a downturn 13 May 2019 by David Willetts Modern economies are supposed to deliver improving living standards – incrementally year-on-year, with big gains decade-on-decade. That is why it is so shocking that a 30-year-old today earns no more than a 30-year-old a decade ago, according to previous research by the Resolution Foundation’s Intergenerational Commission. This is an earnings freeze on a scale unprecedented … Continued READ MORE
Work· Generations Coming of age during a downturn can cause scarring – and it takes up to a decade to heal 13 May 2019 by Stephen Clarke Recessions are bad for people’s standard of living. And they’re particularly bad for young people. That’s the painful lesson we learnt after the 1980s recession where, for most of that decade, at least one in seven people under 30 were unemployed. We know a lot about the unemployment scarring of the 1980s – from the … Continued READ MORE
Firms· Work· Growth The word on the high street 18 April 2019 by Daniel Tomlinson The way we shop in the UK has changed dramatically in just the space of a decade. In 2008 less than five per cent of retail spending was online, and that share has almost quadrupled in the years since. The latest statistics published just this morning show that in March this year almost a fifth … Continued READ MORE
Work Real wage growth has finally returned to pre-referendum levels 16 April 2019 by Charlie McCurdy Today’s labour market stats has bought good news in terms of both jobs and pay. Employment remains at a record high and unemployment at a 40 year low. But what really stands out in today’s figures is real wage growth. This has finally returned to pre-referendum levels providing a long awaited boost to real earnings … Continued READ MORE
Housing Social housing: time for change – and for long-term investment 12 April 2019 by Kate Henderson Guest post from Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation This week the Resolution Foundation is throwing a welcome spotlight on the future of housing for social rent, and I’m really pleased to be a part of this important conversation about how the nation provides affordable housing for people who need it most. … Continued READ MORE
Housing To build, or not to build: that is the question 12 April 2019 by Stephen Clarke They say a week is a long time in politics (at the moment a day can feel like a long time). The same isn’t often true about economics. Arguably the most important forces in economics are long-running; demographics, big infrastructure projects, technological change. Things that don’t happen overnight. Therefore this blog – the latest in … Continued READ MORE
Housing Social renting: a working hypothesis 10 April 2019 by Lindsay Judge Social housing has many virtues: it provides families with a secure home at a reasonable rent, and the state with a smaller benefit bill and an asset to leverage. So what’s not to like? Other than the upfront cost, perhaps the most enduring objection we hear to the tenure is that it may have a … Continued READ MORE
Housing We need cash for social housing – but honesty and answers too 8 April 2019 by Torsten Bell and Resolution Foundation Housing has returned to British politics. Falls in home ownership have driven it there, but in so doing opened up a much needed debate about a long neglected issue: renting. Too often in recent decades the background assumption of housing policy has been that social renting is a declining tenure, and private renting a temporary … Continued READ MORE
Savings & debt· Wealth· Generations More ambition, less risk – building on the success of auto-enrolment 4 April 2019 by David Willetts and Laura Gardiner We often find it harder to celebrate policy successes than decry policy failures. So you might have missed a policy success which we are marking this week. We are about to have completed the successful initial rolling-out of automatic enrolment into occupational pension saving. Millions of employees will enjoy higher living standards in retirement as … Continued READ MORE
Tax New year, new era: tax and spend in 21st Century Britain 3 April 2019 by Torsten Bell and Resolution Foundation Eras of Britain’s political economy come and go. They ebb and flow, driven by political and economic cycles. Sometimes shifts are hard to see at the time, particularly when they are obscured by the political fog of war. Or Brexit, as it’s currently known. But noticed or not, the financial year starting this Saturday will mark the … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Childcare· Social security CB40: Happy 40th birthday to child benefit! But will it last another twenty? 2 April 2019 by Adam Corlett Yesterday, the minimum wage celebrated its 20th birthday. Today, child benefit is having a 40th birthday bash. But, as this analysis shows, it’s become a somewhat modest affair, with (record) low generosity, fewer people invited than in earlier years, and particularly complicated arrangements. So today is a good time to step back and take stock … Continued READ MORE
Work Apprenticeships system favours those who already hold skills 1 April 2019 by Kathleen Henehan This morning the Department for Education (DfE) published figures outlining the number and type of apprenticeships that were started during the first month of 2019. January isn’t a big month for apprenticeship starts. However, it does mark the completion of the first half of the academic year and, as such, is a good time to … Continued READ MORE
Work The minimum wage: now the only question is ‘how high?’ 30 March 2019 by Nye Cominetti This Monday, the 1st April, 2 million people working minimum-wage jobs will start the week with a pay rise. The National Living Wage (NLW), the rate that applies to 25+ year olds, will rise by 38p, from £7.83 to £8.21. We project that this will increase the number of people paid at the wage floor … Continued READ MORE
Work Minimum Wage 20th anniversary special Top of the Charts 29 March 2019 by Torsten Bell and Charlie McCurdy Afternoon all, It’s an historic day today. Lots of people were planning a party/wake. Big ones. But things have got derailed. No-one can agree on what to celebrate/mourn – or even when to celebrate/mourn it. There’s a serious danger no-one gets a party at all tonight. But don’t worry – TOTC is here to turn … Continued READ MORE
Generations· Demographics· Political parties and elections My Generation, Baby: The Politics of Age in Brexit Britain 29 March 2019 by Laura Gardiner and Torsten Bell Generational politics is nothing new, but the extent of the profound generational cleavage that has emerged in British electoral politics is novel. The Brexit vote and the 2017 general election put generational politics centre‐stage, eclipsing in some ways the traditionally dominant role of class. Our two main parties now rely on age‐based coalitions of support—on … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty Last year saw living standards stagnate and poverty rise 28 March 2019 by Adam Corlett It may go unnoticed amid the current political turmoil, but today we learnt a lot about the recent state of Britain via the publication of official statistics on incomes, poverty and inequality. We already know how the economy and labour market have performed over recent years, but today’s stats give us much more information about … Continued READ MORE
Work· Cities and regions (Almost) every part of the country is celebrating Britain’s latest jobs surge 19 March 2019 by Charlie McCurdy We’re now a decade on from the Great Recession where the UK’s labour market took a turn for the worse. Back in 2009, we were panicking that unemployment could hit over three million. Today, we’re celebrating the highest employment rate – at 76.1 per cent – since World War II, while unemployment is also at … Continued READ MORE
Work Taking stock of skills and education in Brexit Britain 19 March 2019 by Kathleen Henehan The skills and qualifications held by the British workforce have come under increased scrutiny lately, tied as they are to the Brexit-related migration debate. Some have argued that ‘turning off the tap’ of migrant labour will cause immediate, and substantial, recruitment difficulties for firms. Others maintain that reduced levels of migration could compel educators and … Continued READ MORE
Public finances Phil ‘Bullseye’ Hammond told MPs what they ‘could’ve won’ – if only they didn’t stuff up Brexit 14 March 2019 by Torsten Bell Last night Parliamentarians went all Noel Edmonds as they debated deal or no deal. But earlier in the day it was the late, great Jim Bowen of Bullseye fame that the Chancellor was channelling in his Spring Statement, setting out just what MP’s “could’ve won” – or might still win – if they back a … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Budgets & fiscal events· Inequality & poverty· Public finances Is rising inequality helping to swell the coffers for Fortunate Phil? 12 March 2019 by Torsten Bell Fortunate Phil is not what the Chancellor generally gets called. But as he prepares for tomorrow’s Spring Statement, Philip Hammond – despite facing what looks like headline bad news – has at least some reasons to be grateful for good luck on both the economic and political fronts. The Treasury is gearing up for the … Continued READ MORE
Work· Childcare· Social security How big is the gender parenting gap, and is it improving? 8 March 2019 by Adam Corlett A lot has been written about the gender pay gap, with the typical hourly pay of women in full-time work 9 per cent below that of men – down from 17 per cent two decades ago. But there is another gap lying behind the gender pay gap that gets far less attention, despite being just … Continued READ MORE
