Creaking at the seams

Can we bring Britain’s trains, drains and mains into the 21st Century?

Wednesday 1 November 2023

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 … Continued

The wealth of a nation

What the changing size and shape of household wealth means for Scotland

Monday 30 October 2023

This event was in Edinburgh. Record low interest rates over the past 30 years led to a wealth boom, with Scottish households seeing wealth rise by £700 billion since the financial crisis alone. But surging interest rates in 2022 have brought this era to an abrupt end, causing pension valuations to crater, mortgage costs to … Continued

People-powered growth

Equipping young people with the skills Britain needs to prosper

Tuesday 24 October 2023

Britain 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 … Continued

Riding the economic rollercoaster

Is Britain’s macroeconomic policy framework fit for purpose?

Thursday 19 October 2023

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 … Continued

Monetary policy
·
Macroeconomic policy

Worlds apart

Why is UK inflation so much higher than in the US, and what does that tell us about the economic outlook?

Thursday 5 October 2023

Resolution Foundation event with The Brookings Institution 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 … Continued

Political parties and elections

Party Conferences 2023

Resolution Foundation fringe events at Conservative and Labour Party Conferences

Sunday 1 October 2023

CONSERVATIVE: Getting Britain Working Sunday 1st October, 3:30-4:30pm Britain is emerging from two major international economic shocks, that have rocked the labour market. Getting employment back up to record levels and inactivity down to historic lows will play a key role in boosting economic growth in the decade ahead. In this event, we’ll discuss how … Continued

Creating a Good Jobs economy

Lecture by Professor Dani Rodrik

Wednesday 27 September 2023

Advanced 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 … Continued

More change please

Why Britain needs a more dynamic economy

Monday 25 September 2023

Change 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 … Continued

Risk reduction

Can earnings insurance underpin a more dynamic jobs market and a more productive economy?

Thursday 21 September 2023

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 … Continued

Making Greater Manchester great again

What is GM’s plausible path to greater prosperity?

Tuesday 19 September 2023

This event was held in Manchester. 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 … Continued

Building momentum in Birmingham and beyond

What is Birmingham urban area’s plausible path to greater prosperity?

Thursday 14 September 2023

This event was in Birmingham. 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 … Continued

Demographics
·
Intergenerational Centre

War or peace?

How the public views Britain’s generational strains – and the policy responses to them

Wednesday 13 September 2023

There 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 … Continued

Enlightened economics

Lessons from Adam Smith on the economic challenges facing modern Britain

Wednesday 13 September 2023

Adam 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 – … Continued

Living standards
·
Inequality & poverty
·
Political parties and elections

A living standards election?

What the year ahead could mean for family - and political - fortunes

Wednesday 6 September 2023

The 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 … Continued

The Innovation Job

Can new labour market institutions drive good work?

Monday 4 September 2023

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 – … Continued

From boom to gloom?

The winners and losers from rising rates and falling wealth

Monday 17 July 2023

Britain 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 … Continued

Shared prosperity

What would it take to see a return to rising living standards for all?

Tuesday 4 July 2023

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 … Continued

Monetary policy in the face of large shocks

Valedictory speech by MPC Member Silvana Tenreyro

Thursday 29 June 2023

Professor 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 … Continued

From quantity to quality

How to have better, not just higher, taxes

Wednesday 28 June 2023

Britain’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 … Continued

An investment nation

Can Britain shift from living off its past to investing in its future?

Thursday 22 June 2023

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 … Continued

Living in a material world

How resources shape our past, present and future

Monday 19 June 2023

Materials 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 … Continued

The UK’s trade trajectory

In search of a post-Brexit trade strategy

Thursday 15 June 2023

Brexit was a seismic break for the UK, not least in bringing to a close a decades long trade strategy focused on integration with European markets. Since then the Government has successfully rushed to sign as many trade agreements as possible, but these largely roll over arrangements inherited from EU membership, with little prospect of … Continued

Running out of road?

How to avoid (net) zero car taxation

Thursday 1 June 2023

The UK is decarbonising its stock of cars quicker than most people expected – last year there were over a million Electric Vehicles (EVs) on our roads. This is great news for both people and the planet, as EVs are cheaper and cleaner to drive. But this transition presents challenges too – not least to … Continued

Shaping the next revolution

How can we ensure that technological change boosts our national prosperity?

Wednesday 24 May 2023

Technological innovations – from new agricultural machinery to industrialisation and the invention of the computer – have powered economic progress over the past 1,000 years. But technological leaps do not automatically lead to living standards improvements, and can instead cause economic disruption and pose threats to workers. As we stand on the precipice of a … Continued

Turnaround cities

How post-industrial cities around the world have transformed their economies

Monday 15 May 2023

In a services-based economy like Britain, its cities should be leading its economic growth. But in fact England’s major cities outside London are actually less productive than the national average, and many have struggled to adjust to our post-industrial landscape. This is a common challenge for many cities in western economies. But while some cities … Continued

Loading
No more events found