Episodes
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/
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
British households aren’t saving enough. Pensions auto-enrolment has got far more of us saving for retirement, but too many of us are not on track for a comfortable old age. More immediately, too few of us have access to rainy-day pots to help us through an unexpected shock. Traditional approaches to encourage people to build up this kind of savings, focused on tax incentives, haven’t worked. And there are tensions not only between saving more for retirement or to boost financial resilience today, but also with consumption that has been squeezed badly during the cost of living crisis.
How do we manage the trade-offs between saving and consumption? Can we save more for our pensions, without leaving people with even less rainy day savings? And what lessons can we learn from approaches that have worked and led to Brits saving more?
The Resolution Foundation – in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust – hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation that outlines the Foundation’s recommendations for building a cohesive savings system, we heard from leading experts on the issue of savings and financial resilience in the UK.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/precautionary-tales/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/saving-for-today-and-tomorrow/
Friday Feb 09, 2024
Friday Feb 09, 2024
In recent decades age has replaced class as one of the key determinants of a voter’s values and voting behaviour. But these trends never sit still, especially as issues – from Europe to the environment, and the economy – rise and fall in terms of their electoral salience. We know that the next election will be very different to the last election. But the issue terrain on which the election will be fought, and what that means for different types of voters, is still up for grabs.
What issues are most salient for different age cohorts, and how might it have changed since the last election? To what extent do other voter characteristics like income, education status and housing tenure play a role, both in how people vote, and whether they vote at all? And what might be the generational battle lines in the coming General Election?
The Resolution Foundation hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on intergenerational voting intentions, we heard from leading experts on how these issues might play out during the election year.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/poll-position/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/new-age-or-age-old-appeal/
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
Tuesday Jan 09, 2024
The worst of the cost of living crisis appears to be behind us, with inflation more than halving since its peak. But 2024 may not be plain sailing economically, and it certainly won’t be politically with an election in store. While wages are at last growing faster than prices, economic growth has flatlined while taxes, and housing costs, are rising. Meanwhile, the outlook for the public finances is unstable, as politicians try to tempt voters with tax and spending commitments in the run up to the election. With the economy set to be the key election battleground for the first time since 2015, how households feel about their financial prospects, and that of the country as a whole, will matter hugely.
How is the cost-of-living crisis likely to evolve in 2024? What economic challenges and opportunities – for households, businesses and the country – can we expect in the year ahead? What role will the economy play in the coming general election – and what aspects of it will different parties want to focus on?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and online event to debate and answer these questions. We will hear from a leading panel of experts on what will shape British politics and economics in the year ahead, before an interactive audience Q&A.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/from-merry-christmas-to-a-messy-new-year/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/turning-a-corner/
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Monday Dec 18, 2023
Inflation is down, but Britain’s cost-of-living crisis is still very much with us. The legacy of previous price rises for energy and food are now combining with a new pressure: housing. Private rents are rising at their fastest rate in over a decade, while the impact of higher interest rates is still feeding through into mortgages. But there is a glimmer of hope in pay packets, which are growing again in real terms after another painful squeeze.
How are the twin trends of rising housing costs and rebounding pay being felt? How much variation do these averages hide – and is it the same people seeing their rents surge and pay rise? Are renters or those with a mortgage being harder hit? And what does this all mean for the next stage of the cost-of-living crisis?
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 our latest cost-of-living survey, we will hear from leading experts on how Britain’s latest living standards crunch is evolving.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/pressure-on-pay-prices-and-properties/
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/rising-rents-and-rebounding-wages/