Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

Making Greater Manchester great again: What is GM’s plausible path to greater prosperity?

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 take for Greater Manchester to become a much richer city – and who would benefit from such a transformation – is a central theme of the Economy 2030 Inquiry, a major project by the Resolution Foundation and LSE into what a new economic strategy for the UK might look like. Britain as a whole, not just the city itself, need a more successful Greater Manchester. But that will require significant change – on everything from housing and transport to how land is used and the jobs people do.
What would a more productive Greater Manchester look like? Is there a plausible strategy for the city to reach that point – and how does it differ from what is currently in train? What difference will recent public transport improvements make? Should housing continue to be prioritised in city centre land use decisions? And how should we expect success to impact different kinds of residents?
To debate these questions and launch the conclusions of this major Economy 2030 project on Greater Manchester, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar. Following a presentation of the report’s highlights, alongside the findings from a deliberative workshop with local residents, we will hear from leading experts on how to deliver greater prosperity for Greater Manchester.
The event will be open for people to physically attend, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido. This project is being run in collaboration with Centre for Cities.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/a-tale-of-two-cities-part-2/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/making-greater-manchester-great-again/ 

Building momentum in Birmingham and beyond: What is Birmingham urban area’s plausible path to greater prosperity?

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 the national average. Both Britain as a whole, and the region itself, need a more successful Birmingham, and successful cities and towns across the wider region. But that will require significant change – on everything from transport and jobs, to how many people live there and where they live.
What would a more productive West Midlands look like? Is there a plausible strategy for the region – and Birmingham in particular – to reach that point, and how does it differ from the current policy approach? What difference could the planned expansion of public transport make? Should housing continue to be prioritised in city centre land use decisions? And how should we expect success – and change – to impact different kinds of residents?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights from a new report, alongside the findings from a deliberative workshop with local residents, we will hear from leading experts on how to deliver greater – and shared – prosperity for the West Midlands.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/a-tale-of-two-cities-part-1/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/building-momentum-in-birmingham-and-beyond/ 

Enlightened economics: Lessons from Adam Smith on the economic challenges facing modern Britain

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 – is struggling with economic stagnation. Many people are questioning the central tenants of capitalism that Smith championed – from free trade and globalisation to regulation and the role of the state – and whether they can deliver the living standards growth that people need. What lessons can we learn from Adam Smith on the economic challenges facing Britain today?
To mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of Adam Smith, the Resolution Foundation is co-hosting an event with the Society of Professional Economists to discuss what his work can teach us about the economic challenges of Britain today. We will be joined by one of the leading experts on Adam Smith, Minister and author Jesse Norman MP.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/enlightened-economics/ 

War or peace? How the public views Britain’s generational strains – and the policy responses to them

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 widely supported.
Do different age groups acknowledge the specific issues that young generations face? How do family ties with younger generations influence older adults’ beliefs, support for targeted policies and voting behaviour? And what does all this mean for political parties’ strategies, given their increasingly age-concentrated voter bases?
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 a new collaborative project between the Resolution Foundation and Nuffield College, Oxford, we will hear from leading experts on the key issues of intergenerational equity across Britain.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/family-matters/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/war-or-peace/ 

A living standards election? What the year ahead could mean for family - and political - fortunes

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 significant uncertainty about how far unemployment might rise and whether inflation will remain stubbornly high.
How has the cost of living crisis evolved over the past 18 months? How have different households been affected? What is the outlook for household finances in the run up to the next election, and which issues are likely to move centre stage? And how will this affect British politics in that pre-election year?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and online event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from our latest Living Standards Outlook, we will hear from leading experts on what the prolonged living standards squeeze means for households and policymakers.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/living-standards-outlook-summer-2023/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/a-living-standards-election/ 

The Innovation Job: Can new labour market institutions drive good work?

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 – such as a lack of training – the answers to address them may be different. While the UK has not seen innovation in labour market institutions for decades, other countries with similar labour markets – from New Zealand to the US – have begun exploring new routes to improving the quality of work.
Are there challenges with areas of lower-paid or lower-quality work that cannot be addressed by national regulations? To what extent do unions and potential new labour market institutions covering specific sectors offer routes to better work? What can we learn from other similar countries – from Ireland to New Zealand – that have done more experimentation? And what route should the UK take to delivering a good work agenda?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights from a new report on how to improve low-paid workers’ conditions, we will hear from leading experts on how unions and labour market institutions can deliver a strategy for good work.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/putting-good-work-on-the-table/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-innovation-job/ 

From boom to gloom? The winners and losers from rising rates and falling wealth

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 pension valuations to crater.
What are the wider economic effects of rising rates and falling asset prices? To what extent might the pinch being felt by middle-aged mortgagors be offset by gains for young perspective first-time buyers and older generations reliant on savings? And with the long-term outlook for interest rates uncertain, should policymakers take action to mitigate the social consequences of Britain’s changing wealth landscape?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of our ongoing wealth across Britain project, in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights, we will hear from leading experts on the possible winners and losers from rising rates and falling wealth.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/peaked-interest/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/from-boom-to-gloom/ 

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

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 to understand what a return to growth will, and will not deliver. Some doubt that a return to growth is possible, while others question if it is even desirable – arguing that productivity growth doesn’t raise the wages of ordinary workers. Beyond growth, the roles of policies to redistribute (including through the benefits system) or predistribute (with a more equal sharing of rewards from the labour market) are hotly debated.
Does productivity growth boost ordinary workers’ pay packets? Would a return to rising wages help reduce inequality or drive it higher? Should policy makers focus on raising employment rates and the minimum wage, or on changes to the benefit system, to boost the living standards of those on low incomes? And fundamentally is there a plausible route to Britain seeing living standards rise and inequality fall?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key report highlights from a new report, we will hear from leading experts on how to ensure that economic growth delivers improved living standards for all.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/sharing-the-benefits/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/shared-prosperity/