Household debt· Inequality & poverty· Wealth & assets Arrears fears The distribution of UK household wealth and the impact on families 20 July 2022 by Molly Broome and Jack Leslie The defining economic challenge for UK families at the moment is the cost of living crisis, rising inflation threatens living standards in the UK as real incomes fall. Owning wealth helps protect against the adverse effects, particularly for those who can rely on savings. Therefore, the current crisis has thrown wealth inequality into the spotlight. … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Macroeconomic policy As good as it gets? The forces driving economic stagnation and what they mean for the decade ahead 18 July 2022 by James Smith With inflation at levels not seen since the early 1980s, it is clear that the UK is in the midst of a huge hit to real incomes. But the seeds for the devastating impact of the cost of living crisis were sown by a slump in growth that is unprecedented in the post-war period and … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Stagnation nation Navigating a route to a fairer and more prosperous Britain 13 July 2022 The interim report of The Economy 2030 Inquiry The UK has great strengths, but is over a decade into a period of stagnation. The toxic combination of slow growth and high inequality was posing challenges for low-to-middle income Britain’s living standards even before the post-pandemic cost of living crisis struck. The task of the 2020s … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Power plays The shifting balance of employer and worker power in the UK labour market 7 July 2022 by Ufuk Altunbuken and Pawel Bukowski and Stephen Machin and Hannah Slaughter This briefing note, part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry, looks at shifts in the balance of worker and employer power in recent decades. It assesses the implications of these shifts for both the level and distribution of wages and highlights worker power as an important part of the UK’s economic strategy in the decade ahead. READ MORE
Living standards· Inequality & poverty The Living Standards Audit 2022 4 July 2022 by Adam Corlett and Felicia Odamtten and Lalitha Try This report, the 14th in an annual series, takes a long view of what has happened to household incomes in Britain over recent decades, what has driven periods of growth and stagnation, and the lessons that need to be learned if Britain is to return to stronger income growth in the decade ahead. The report … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Bridging the gap What would it take to narrow the UK’s productivity disparities? 30 June 2022 by Paul Brandily and Mimosa Distefano and Hélène Donnat and Immanuel Feld and Henry G. Overman and Krishan Shah An economic strategy that helps the UK respond to change and tackle stagnant living standards and productivity will need to address the stubborn spatial disparities in economic performance across the UK. Addressing these disparities requires understanding their extent, causes and consequences. This report uses data on regional productivity and area level characteristics to deepen our … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Income outcomes Assessing income gaps between places across the UK 27 June 2022 by Lindsay Judge and Charlie McCurdy This briefing note uses a relatively under-exploited source of data to analyse how average incomes at the local authority level have changed since 1997. It provides a more complete view of income gaps across the country than has been possible to date, a vital input to the Economy 2030 Inquiry as it seeks to answer the question: how can a new economic strategy address the spatial disparities that have beset the UK for so long? READ MORE
Economy 2030· Firms· Productivity & industrial strategy· Brexit & trade· Cities and regions The Big Brexit An assessment of the scale of change to come from Brexit 22 June 2022 by Swati Dhingra and Emily Fry and Sophie Hale and Ningyuan Jia Leaving the EU represents the largest change in the UK’s relationship with the rest of the world in nearly half a century. It is a profound change in economic governance, that will reorient production away from trade with the EU and towards the domestic market, impacting people, places and firms across the UK. Understanding the … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Net zero jobs The impact of the transition to net zero on the UK labour market 20 June 2022 by Molly Broome and Kathleen Henehan and Charlie McCurdy and Anna Valero and Guglielmo Ventura The Government’s commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will mean investment, and change, across the economy: from the decarbonisation of buildings and surface transport, to shifts in diet, aviation and industry. These changes will affect the UK public, both as consumers and as workers. This briefing note explores the impact that … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Demographics Big welcomes and long goodbyes The impact of demographic change in the 2020s 16 June 2022 by Molly Broome It is well known that UK population ageing is set to accelerate in the 2020s. As a result, the discussion around demographic change tends to fixate on the fiscal implications from increased public spending pressures. But demographic change has wider implications for economies – it influences the size and shape of the labour market, demand … Continued READ MORE
Labour market· Wellbeing and mental health· Intergenerational Centre Not working Exploring changing trends in youth worklessness in the UK, from the 1990s to the Covid-19 pandemic 13 June 2022 by Louise Murphy This report is part of the Health Foundation’s Young people’s future health inquiry, in which we focus on the labour market experience of young people, including its implications for health. This report provides a long-term view of what’s been happening to youth worklessness since the 1990s, looking beneath the headline figures. READ MORE
Covid-19· Economy 2030· Cities and regions Right Where You Left Me? Analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on local economies in the UK 11 June 2022 by Mike Brewer and Jack Leslie and Lalitha Try Now that the Covid-19 pandemic is largely behind us, this report, part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry, considers what might be the long-term impacts of Covid-19 on spatial inequalities across the UK in key economic outcomes. In contrast to the initial fears that Covid could permanently damage our cities (by removing office workers, with the … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Cities and regions All over the place Perspectives on local economic prosperity 7 June 2022 by Lindsay Judge and Daniel Tomlinson The place where one is born, educated and works can have a profound bearing on one’s living standards. But how do people who live in different types of places experience their local area and want it to change? In April 2022, we ran four focus groups in Yorkshire and the Humber to explore this question. … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Firms Bouncebackability The UK corporate sector's recovery from Covid-19 1 June 2022 by Jack Leslie UK firms have, like every other part of the economy, faced a huge economic hit from the Covid-19 pandemic. So, a key question is: what is the current state of British firms as we emerge from the pandemic? This matters because the nature and strength of the recovery depends on the health of the UK … Continued READ MORE
Universal Credit· Budgets & fiscal events· Living standards· Public spending· Economy and public finances· Welfare Back on target Analysis of the Government’s additional cost of living support 27 May 2022 by Torsten Bell and Mike Brewer and Karl Handscomb and Jonathan Marshall and Lalitha Try The Chancellor yesterday announced a big and well-targeted package of energy bill support. Of the £15 billion of new measures, almost double that announced earlier in the year, twice as much will go to households in the bottom half of the income distribution as the top half. This fills the gaping hole left by the … Continued READ MORE
Pressure points Where, and how, to focus Government support for households facing surging energy bills 25 May 2022 by Torsten Bell and Karl Handscomb and Jonathan Marshall An assessment of where, and how, to focus Government support for households facing surging energy bills this winter. READ MORE
Labour market enforcement· Economy 2030 Low Pay Britain 2022 Low pay and insecurity in the UK labour market 25 May 2022 by Nye Cominetti and Rui Costa and Felicia Odamtten This edition of Low Pay Britain is our twelfth annual report taking stock of the state of low pay. Recent editions have focused on the short-term impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on low paid workers. Those have largely receded, and so here we take a longer view, and look at how low paid work has … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Growing clean Identifying and investing in sustainable growth opportunities across the UK 23 May 2022 by Ralf Martin and Juliana Oliveira-Cunha and Arjun Shah and Anna Valero This report, the 19th report for The Economy 2030 Inquiry, provides a hard-headed assessment of the opportunities presented to UK plc by the move to net zero, and considers how best these can be unlocked. It does this by considering carefully the UK’s pre-existing relative strengths in technologies, goods and services that are relevant for … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Prices & consumption· Economy and public finances· Macroeconomic policy Cap off Understanding the April 2022 inflation release 18 May 2022 by Jack Leslie Inflation reached a 40-year high in April off the back of a sharp rise in energy bills and the highest food price inflation in a decade. These recent drivers of inflation mean that lower-income families are facing the most severe cost pressures, with their inflation rate already hitting double digits. Families are already responding to … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Listen up Individual experiences of work, consumption and society 11 May 2022 by Karl Handscomb and Lindsay Judge and Hannah Slaughter What economic strategy should the UK pursue over the next decade, in order both to address long-standing problems in the country (stagnating living standards and high inequality) and to navigate ongoing change (Brexit, net zero transition and a post-pandemic world)? The Economy 2030 Inquiry is a two-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the Centre … Continued READ MORE
Monetary policy· Fiscal policy· Macroeconomic policy Crunch time Bank of England raises rates again and signals cost of living crisis is set to deliver a £1,200 hit to incomes 5 May 2022 by Adam Corlett and Jonathan Marshall and James Smith Today the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee raised rates at a fourth successive meeting – a first in the 25 years since it was granted independence – to 1 per cent, a level not seen since the financial crisis. The direct impact of this change in rates on households will be small in the … Continued READ MORE
Net zero· Housing Housing Outlook Q2 2022 30 April 2022 by Lindsay Judge and Jonathan Marshall In this Housing Outlook we investigate what the warming world means for England’s housing stock and for the families living in these homes. READ MORE
Economy 2030 Enduring strengths Analysing the UK’s current and potential economic strengths, and what they mean for its economic strategy, at the start of the decisive decade 28 April 2022 by Josh De Lyon and Ralf Martin and Juliana Oliveira-Cunha and Arjun Shah and Krishan Shah and Greg Thwaites and Anna Valero Key to building a new economic strategy which can revitalise the UK economy after a decade of stagnation is understanding our current strengths, how these strengths evolve, and the trade-offs they present. The report uses global data on trade in goods and services and patenting to uncover where the UK’s relative strengths lie; we study … Continued READ MORE
Labour Market Outlook· Labour market· Pay Labour Market Outlook Q1 2022 How should we interpret strong nominal earnings growth? 9 April 2022 by Nye Cominetti and Karl Handscomb and Hannah Slaughter and Greg Thwaites In the first months of 2022, the labour market continued to tighten, with no sign of weakening in the aftermath of the JRS. Unemployment has fallen further, and stood at an almost-record low of 3.9 per cent in the three months to January 2022 – and although the Bank of England is concerned about unemployment … Continued READ MORE
Net zero Low energy The British Energy Security Strategy brings increased ambition on decarbonising electricity but fails to offer immediate respite from high energy costs 8 April 2022 by Jonathan Marshall The Government’s British Energy Security Strategy was charged with reducing national exposure to imported hydrocarbons and bringing down energy bills for already-stretched households. Announcements on the supply side were a mixed bag, with high ambition on nuclear and offshore wind but minimal progress on lower cost onshore wind and solar. Overall, these efforts – culminating … Continued READ MORE
