Pensions & savings A Living Pension What would it take to secure a better retirement income for workers? Monday 25 January 2021 UK pensions have seen radical reforms in recent years to boost pension saving and tackle poverty in retirement. Government has introduced a flat-rate state pension and got more millions more workers saving through auto enrolment. But these policies alone can’t guarantee an adequate income for many pensioners. Could the creation of a ‘Living Pension’ – … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards· Inequality & poverty A standard recovery? The outlook for living standards, poverty and inequality Monday 18 January 2021 2020 was tough for household living standards, even with unprecedented support to increase benefits and pay wages through the Job Retention Scheme. While the start of 2021 looks grim, a swift vaccine roll-out holds out the promise of an economic recovery to come. But this unprecedented crisis may be followed by an abnormal recovery for … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Brexit & trade· Migration A new era What do Brexit and Covid mean for migration and the UK labour market? Thursday 17 December 2020 On 1 January 2021, freedom of movement between the EU and the UK will end, and the UK’s new points-based immigration system will begin. This will mean major change for sectors of the economy – from fruit-picking to social care – heavily reliant on lower-paid migrant labour. And even before Britain ‘takes back control’ of … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Incomes· Macroeconomic policy Coronanomics: Challenges from the distributional impact of the crisis Friday 11 December 2020 While the health implications of the COVID-19 crisis have fallen overwhelmingly on older generations, the economic fallout has fallen heavily on the young and those on lower incomes. Given the highly uneven impact of the crisis, policymakers face huge challenges in preventing the crisis from creating new inequalities and exacerbating existing ones. In this webinar, … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Labour market· Economy and public finances Coronanomics: Challenges facing policy and governance Tuesday 8 December 2020 Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic has been the toughest test for many governments in generations. From suppressing the virus and ensuring healthcare systems can cope, to dealing with the fallout in terms of support for businesses and households, governments are facing huge policy battles, and on multiple fronts. This has placed great pressure on our … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Labour market Coronanomics: Challenges from the unequal impact on the labour market Monday 7 December 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost everyone’s working life, but in very different ways – from remote working, to being furloughed and losing work altogether. The speed and scale of rising unemployment in many countries has been unprecedented. And with the crisis far from over, unemployment is likely to get far worse before it gets … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Fiscal policy· Macroeconomic policy Coronanomics: Challenges facing fiscal policy makers Monday 30 November 2020 With a decade of low interest rates, low growth and low inflation leaving central banks in advanced economies unable to perform their traditional role of supporting the economy during a downturn, fiscal policy must step up and play the leading role this time around. This changes radically how we should think about the role of … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Economy and public finances· Macroeconomic policy Coronanomics The economic challenges of COVID-19 Monday 30 November 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has upended economies across the world. The daunting scale, pace and uncertainty of the crisis has presented huge challenges for economics, and for economic policymakers attempting to steer countries through it while limiting the damage to citizens’ lives and livelihoods. And even if a vaccine is found soon, the legacy of the … Continued READ MORE
Monetary policy· Covid-19· Macroeconomic policy Coronanomics: Challenges facing monetary policy makers Monday 30 November 2020 The financial crisis led central banks around the world to push interest rates to historic lows and print money in order to purchase assets on a vast scale. Does this mean that central Banks’ policy toolkit is now empty, or do they need to find new tools and strategies? What role should central Banks play … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Budgets & fiscal events· Economy and public finances Cash for Covid Assessing the Spending Review and economic outlook Thursday 26 November 2020 With economic uncertainty running high, the Chancellor has cancelled his Budget and scaled down his upcoming Spending Review. But he still faces big decisions about how much of this year’s exceptional spending will continue into next year to support the economy and tackle the virus. Add in fresh forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Incomes· Living standards Coping with the crunch COVID-19’s impact on household incomes, savings and debt Monday 16 November 2020 The spring lockdown caused the biggest short-term income shock since the mid-1970s, with better off households seeing their savings rise while lower income families took on more debt. But this pandemic has now had eight months to run, with more difficult months ahead as the Government tightens restrictions across the country. Policy makers need a … Continued READ MORE
Fiscal policy· Economic growth Paying for Covid Repairing the public finances without derailing the economy Thursday 12 November 2020 COVID-19 has already been extremely expensive, with borrowing forecast to exceed £400 billion this year and a substantial deficit set to continue well after the crisis has passed. But that borrowing has been crucial in supporting the economy through the deepest recession for 300 years and government spending has a crucial role to play in … Continued READ MORE
Workertech Using technology to improve Britain’s post-covid labour market for low earners Tuesday 10 November 2020 Technology is changing the world of work – from app-based firms to the roll-out of remote workplaces during the Covid-19 pandemic. The benefits of these new technologies can often pass low-earners by, or add to greater insecurity in their working lives. But new technologies also have the potential to improve workers’ pay, skills and career … Continued READ MORE
Wales· Covid-19· Living standards· Cities and regions From locking down to ‘levelling up’ Wales The past, present and future of Welsh living standards Thursday 5 November 2020 Wales is often absent from Westminster-based discussions around ‘levelling up’, despite household incomes in Wales lagging as far behind the UK average as those in the north of England. But the Welsh government’s policy levers are far stronger than those of English regions, and that status and voice within the UK has become more prominent … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Labour market Covid-insecure How safe are our workplaces during the pandemic? Tuesday 3 November 2020 Some types of workplace have long been recognised as hazardous, but the Covid-19 pandemic means new health and safety risks at work are now widespread. While people are once again being urged to stay away from their workplace if possible, that is not an option for millions of workers in shops and warehouses, schools and … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Labour market Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Where has six months of this crisis left workers, and what’s coming next Wednesday 28 October 2020 As unemployment rates start to rise six months into this crisis, there are countless human stories of how workers have been affected. Some workers have had to adjust to lower pay or fewer hours, while others are worried about life after furlough, or have switched jobs or lost their livelihoods altogether. In order to understand … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards· Intergenerational Centre Lives, livelihoods and lifestyles The impact of the covid crisis across generations Thursday 8 October 2020 The COVID-19 crisis has cost tens of thousands of lives, millions of people’s livelihoods and upended everyone’s daily life. While younger generations have the lowest health risk from the virus, the Resolution Foundation’s Intergenerational Audit – the first comprehensive assessment of how the crisis has affected different generations across society – will provide fresh analysis … Continued READ MORE
How numbers can run, ruin and save the world Book launch for 'How to make the world add up' by Tim Harford Monday 28 September 2020 Pandemic life can feel dominated by statistics – whether its covid rates going up, GDP coming down, or algorithms ruining kids’ exam results. Making sense of this data can be a force for good, but it can also mislead, confuse or leave people cold. Tim Harford is one of the world’s leading – and most … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Low pay· Living Wage Raising pay vs protecting jobs? Where next for the National Living Wage Thursday 24 September 2020 Live interactive webinar. This pandemic has shone a spotlight on the vital work done by Britain’s low-paid workers who, from supermarket staff to care workers, were the most likely to continue working even while the rest of the economy was shut down or working from home. Many people would agree that a higher minimum wage … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Cities and regions City limits? Living with, and recovering from, Covid-19 Monday 21 September 2020 Live interactive webinar. City economies have been upended by Covid-19, as it changes what we do and where we do it. City regions across the country are having to rethink their strategies for success in the face of these new challenges. Greater Manchester is at the forefront of this debate, having only last year published … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Is Britain working? The jobs market in a time of crisis Tuesday 15 September 2020 Live interactive webinar. From the early surge in Universal Credit claims to the sharp drop in employees in HMRC payroll data and redundancies among big name brands on the High Street, there is mounting evidence that Britain is in the midst of a jobs crisis. And with the Job Retention Scheme due to end this … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Intergenerational Centre All in this together again? The impact of the covid policy response across generations Thursday 10 September 2020 Live interactive webinar. The overall scale of the Government’s policy response to the crisis is well known, from tens of billions spent on the Job Retention Scheme to significant increases in benefit levels. But it’s impact across generations is less well understood. How effective has Government policy been at supporting the incomes of different cohorts? … Continued READ MORE
Changing times Where next after four decades of time use evolution, and four months of time use revolution? Tuesday 28 July 2020 Live interactive webinar. Register to receive access link The way individuals and households split their time between work, chores and leisure has changed dramatically over the past four decades. Debates about how it should change further, including calls for a shorter working week, had already taken off – even before this slow time use evolution was thrown … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards Covid-compressed incomes? The past, present and future of crisis-hit living standards Tuesday 21 July 2020 Live interactive webinar. Register to receive access link The coronavirus public health crisis has prompted the biggest economic downturn in a century, the sharpest rise in benefit claims since records began, and a £190 billion policy response. These are big numbers and stark records, but what do they all amount to for the economic measure … Continued READ MORE
Where next? Trade wars, class wars and globalisation Thursday 9 July 2020 Live interactive webinar to launch new book ‘Trade Wars are Class Wars’ by Matthew C. Klein. While the first decade of the 21st century was marked by the seemingly unstoppable march of rising trade flows and globalisation, the last decade – and the last few years in particular – have been marked by trade disputes … Continued READ MORE
