Brexit & trade A new world order The economic implications of global trade, tariffs, and uncertainty UpcomingWednesday 9 July 2025 On Wednesday 9th July, join us for 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? SIGN UP
New deal or no deal How will the Employment Rights Bill impact workers, businesses and the wider economy? Thursday 3 July 2025 The Government’s Make Work Pay agenda was one of its signature pitches at the start of this Parliament. But while the Employment Rights Bill reached Westminster in rapid time – within 100 days of office – implementation will be a bigger challenge, with important decisions still to be taken about how the reforms will work in practice. These decisions will be made amid big disagreements between unions and employers about how to deliver the reforms, and amid debates about the possible effects on the economy. READ MORE
Living standards· Prices & consumption The price is tight How are the cost of essentials affecting low-to-middle-income families across Britain? Monday 30 June 2025 Disposable incomes have been squeezed in recent decades – especially for poorer households. And in recent years the cost of living crisis has hit the cost of essentials particularly hard – affecting how much families have left over for the more fun things in life. The cost of essentials therefore matters for families, the wider economy, and policy makers who want to ease the pressure on household budgets. READ MORE
Living standards Stormy clouds or brighter horizons? The UK’s uncertain outlook for living standards Thursday 26 June 2025 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 … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Cities and regions The pay postcode lottery What is driving Britain’s place-based wage divides? Monday 23 June 2025 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. READ MORE
Public spending· Economy and public finances Third time lucky Has the Spending review delivered for middle Britain? Thursday 12 June 2025 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 upcoming 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? READ MORE
Brexit & trade· Economic growth Little Britain? What might happen if globalisation goes into reverse Thursday 22 May 2025 Book launch for Exile Economics: What happens if globalisation fails by Ben Chu. To mark the publication of Exile Economics, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive after-work event with Ben to discuss its themes, and why the possibility of globalisation going into reverse matters so much to both policy makers and the wider public. READ MORE
Welfare Britain’s new safety net Where are the Government’s welfare reforms heading? Tuesday 20 May 2025 In late March, the Government announced a huge shake-up of disability and health-related benefits. What are the likely employment and poverty effects from the reforms? What do the proposed changes to PIP mean for current and future claimants? Have other critical reforms been lost in the fog of the initial announcement and Spring Statement? And what should policy makers do now to make the reforms a success? READ MORE
Public spending· Economy and public finances How to spend £100 billion wisely Which areas of public investment should be prioritised at the Spending Review? Tuesday 29 April 2025 The UK’s record on public investment is poor by international standards – spending less than the OECD average for much of the past two decades. To her credit, the Chancellor has boosted capital spending plans by over £100 billion over this Parliament and put in place fiscal rules that reduce the likelihood of cutting investment when fiscal belt-tightening is needed. But that £100 billion won’t go as far as some might think, with much absorbed by reversing cuts planned by the previous Government. And with Britain’s social, economic and defence infrastructure all under strain, tough choices await on 11 June. READ MORE
Labour market· Migration The challenges for Britain’s migrant workforce Understanding precarious work among foreign-born workers, and implications for wider labour market policy. Monday 14 April 2025 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? READ MORE
Net zero· Living standards Turning up the heat How to quicken Britain’s heat pumps roll-out and hit our net zero targets Thursday 10 April 2025 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. READ MORE
Public spending Making public services better for low-to-middle income families Wednesday 9 April 2025 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. READ MORE
Productivity & industrial strategy· Economic growth A league of their own What can the UK learn from the US’ post-pandemic productivity acceleration? Tuesday 8 April 2025 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? READ MORE
Productivity & industrial strategy· Economic growth The metrics that really matter How can we better measure economic and societal change? Thursday 3 April 2025 Book launch for The Measure of Progress by Diane Coyle. Britain has endured a prolonged period of economic stagnation, with real household disposable incomes having barely grown since the financial crisis. But beneath these two harsh facts lie a country that has changed considerably, and indeed seen considerable economic, technological and societal progress. The way we measure our economy, let alone our ability to measure it accurately, means that a lot of the changes that really matter to people – for good, and for ill – is missed in official statistics. READ MORE
Incomes· Low pay· Living Wage Minimum wage, maximum pressure Assessing short-term impacts and long-term plans for the UK’s wage floor Monday 31 March 2025 The minimum wage has been a big success story since its introduction in 1998 – 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. Such warnings haven’t come to pass in the past, 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. READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Economy and public finances Spring cleaning the public finances Assessing the Chancellor’s Spring Statement and the UK economic outlook Thursday 27 March 2025 The Chancellor set out her first ever Budget less than five months ago, but the UK’s economic outlook has changed considerably since then. Bad news on growth, inflation and borrowing point to a deterioration in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast, leaving the chances of Rachel Reeves meeting her own ‘non-negotiable’ fiscal rules on a knife edge. The Spring Statement is starting to feel a lot like a Spring Budget… READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Economy and public finances The headroom bind What does the Chancellor need to do to hit her fiscal rules? Monday 17 March 2025 In her Budget last Autumn, the Chancellor announced the biggest tax rises on record to boost public spending and investment by over £300 billion across the Parliament. 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… READ MORE
Welfare Delivering the undeliverable Reforming incapacity and disability benefits to make the system work Thursday 6 March 2025 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. READ MORE
Working in the think tank sector Webinar for undergraduates or those with similar experience interested in working in the sector Wednesday 5 March 2025 Think tanks are research organisations that develop ideas and suggestions for action on a whole range of subjects affecting society. Using research, analysis and commentary, we aim to inform and influence politicians, policy makers and the public. Given the economic, social and political issues facing the UK, ensuring the world of research and policy-making is populated by a variety of talented individuals with diverse views and backgrounds is more important than ever. To contribute to achieving greater representation, a group of think tanks and similar organisations join together each year to hold a webinar for undergraduates or those with similar experience interested in working in the sector. READ MORE
Incomes· Pay Unpredictable earnings The volatility of pay packets and its impact on living standards Tuesday 4 March 2025 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. READ MORE
Living standards· Inequality & poverty Tackling the scourge of modern Britain The policies and investment needed to reduce child poverty Wednesday 26 February 2025 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. READ MORE
Housing No place like home? The cost and conditions of housing for ethnic minority households Thursday 6 February 2025 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. READ MORE
Economy and public finances The jitters-bug How worrying data and market unrest could affect Britain’s economic outlook Thursday 30 January 2025 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. READ MORE
Skills Are universities worth it? The returns from higher education for graduates and the economy Monday 20 January 2025 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. READ MORE
Economy and public finances A squeezed middle of the decade? The political economy outlook for 2025 Tuesday 7 January 2025 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. READ MORE
