Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
The introduction of the minimum wage back in April 1999 was a controversial policy choice, with businesses warning that it would lead to widespread job losses. But 25 years on, it has proved to be a great policy success that has been built on by several governments. Raising the legal wage floor has significantly reduced low pay and inequality, without any substantial employment effects. With the minimum wage on track to reach its target of two-thirds of median hourly earnings this year, virtually eliminating hourly low pay in Britain, it’s time to reflect on the successes of this approach and aims for the future.
How has the UK labour market changed since the introduction of the minimum wage? Why has it been able to evolve into a far higher wage floor than originally intended? What’s next for the minimum wage – or should the priority for change now move elsewhere? And what lessons can be learnt from the way the minimum wage was introduced and the role the Low Pay Commission has played over the past quarter-century for designing policy in future?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to mark the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the minimum wage. Following a presentation on the impact of the minimum wage on the labour market, we will hear from leading experts on what’s next for the minimum wage and lessons for other policy areas.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/labour-market-outlook-q2-2024/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/setting-a-high-bar/
Friday Mar 22, 2024
Friday Mar 22, 2024
A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis, and England’s biggest cities beyond London all have productivity levels below the national average. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
In many ways, Bristol reflects the challenges facing the country as a whole. It has long been a hub for high-value aerospace manufacturing and also has considerable strengths in services, including education, creative industries and green technology. But it also faces considerable challenges – from poor public transport to high housing costs – that limits growth and reduces living standards. Harnessing the city’s many strengths will be critical to meeting the economic challenges of the coming years, but Bristol won’t truly thrive unless all its citizens benefit from growth and investment.
The Budget on 6th March was the Government’s last chance to shape the economic agenda before the next election – and rise to the challenge of boosting prosperity.
What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? What are the prospects for cities like Bristol in rising to these daunting but reachable challenges? And has the Budget helped or hindered Britain’s economic prospects?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event in collaboration with Bristol Ideas and Business West to debate Britain’s future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly in Bristol and the South West – can secure widely shared prosperity.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/boosting-prosperity-in-britain/
Friday Mar 22, 2024
Friday Mar 22, 2024
Book launch for The Longevity Imperative by Professor Andrew J Scott
Britain, along with many other countries, is getting older and living longer. This demographic shift has huge health, economic and societal impacts, but too often the debate is limited to the fiscal costs of an ageing society, and pressures on the NHS. Instead we need to take a broader view of the changes this will bring, and the changes we can shape so that people live not just longer lives, but happier and healthier ones too.
What has happened to life expectancy, what is likely to happen and what constitutes the longevity imperative? What are the economic consequences of this in terms of the public finances, productivity and the labour market? What can we do to age better? And how might this change how we live our longer lives?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to mark the new launch of Andrew Scott’s new book The Longevity Imperative, and to debate and answer these questions.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/living-life-to-the-full/
Friday Mar 08, 2024
Game changer? Assessing the Budget’s economic, and electoral, impact
Friday Mar 08, 2024
Friday Mar 08, 2024
The upcoming Spring Budget may be the last big fiscal event before the General Election, one of few chances for the government to set the terms of the economic debate. And with the government trailing heavily in the polls, and the economy entering a mild recession at the end of last year, the pressure is on to make it a game-changing Budget economically and electorally. But the Chancellor will also have to confront real trade-offs if he’s deliver a Budget that works for both the next six months, and the five years after that.
How big are the Chancellor’s tax cuts? Do they change the big picture of the government’s wider tax raising plans? What is the outlook for public services after the election? Where does the government plan to take the social security system, as it copes with rising numbers of us being sick or disabled? And will any of this make any difference to who forms the next government, and what they’re able to do?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis of Spring Budget 2024, we’ll hear from leading experts on what the Budget means for the election, and the economy.
Read the overnight analysis: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/back-for-more/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/game-changer/
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
Wednesday Mar 06, 2024
A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
Nottingham is in many ways a microcosm of this national challenge. It has become a hub for creative industries in the East Midlands, serving as the headquarters for major firms like Games Workshop, as well as global giants like Boots and e.on. The city’s many strengths – including the world-class university and services firms – must be harnessed to meet the economic challenges of the coming years. But it also has high levels of deprivation, and won’t be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment.
What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Nottingham, regions like the East Midlands, and nations like Britain to be able to rise to these challenges?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event with the Institute for Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham to debate Britain’s future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly Nottingham and the wider East Midlands region – can secure widely shared prosperity.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation-nottingham/
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
The rising prevalence of mental health problems among young people over recent decades is becoming increasingly concerning. While evidently distressing for the young people and their families, periods of poor mental health can also have significant detrimental impacts on their education and job prospects. Increasing support provided in schools and universities has gone some way to address this – but gaps remain, particularly in colleges and workplaces, while young people who want to return to education once their health has improved can often struggle.
How has the prevalence of mental health problems in young people changed in recent years? Which cohorts in particular are most likely to experience declines in mental health? How can periods of poor mental health affect young people’s education and labour market outcomes? And what support should policymakers put in place to help young people into good-quality jobs?
The Resolution Foundation – as part of the Young people’s future health inquiry, in partnership with The Health Foundation– is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the final report for this project, which draws on the experiences of young people shared in our focus groups, we will hear from leading experts.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/weve-only-just-begun/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/healthy-starts/
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
Thursday Feb 22, 2024
An election is coming, and therefore so are tax cuts in the Budget on 6th March. But the size of those tax cuts are dependent on the amount of fiscal room for manoeuvre the Chancellor has. And their shape will reflect where his political and economic priorities lie. Plus tax cuts come in a context of tax rises already announced, and spending cuts pencilled in for after the election.
Has the economic outlook changed over recent months? How much fiscal wriggle room might the Chancellor get from the Office for Budget for Responsibility? Should the priority be announcing tax cuts, or scrapping planned spending cuts? And will Budget ’24 make the slightest bit of difference to the election to come?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the Foundation’s Budget preview, we will hear from leading experts on what’s likely to be in it and where that leaves the election, and the outlook for whoever has to govern after it.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-election-budget/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/tax-cuts-today-spending-cuts-tomorrow/
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Trading standards: How exposure to global trade shapes our living standards
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Britain is an open economy, and has become more open over recent decades – despite the impact of Brexit and ‘slowbalisation’. But the quantity and type of goods and services we trade isn’t the only thing that has shifted. So has what we consume and where we work. All of these shifts affect our exposure to trade, from its day to day flows to occasional sudden shocks. Yet we pay next to no attention to these issues, which are critical to our living standards.
How has globalisation changed the country’s exposure to the gains, and risks, from trade? Who is most affected, and how much does it matter for their living standards? How does trade affect us as consumers, and as workers? And what might the impact of future trade shocks be?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on how changing trade patterns have affected our living standards, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for workers, firms and policy makers.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/decent-exposure/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/trading-standards/