Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

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/ 

Monetary policy in the face of large shocks: Valedictory speech by MPC Member Silvana Tenreyro

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 to two once-in-a-generation shocks, the pandemic with its aftereffects and the large increase in energy prices stemming from the war in Ukraine, which have increased inflation well above its 2 per cent target.
She will discuss the UK’s inflation targeting framework, and what policymakers can do to ensure its credibility in the face of such large inflationary shocks. The speech will focus on different aspects of policymaking and credibility: including the role of inflation expectations; central bank models and forecasts; and policy communications.
Silvana will also discuss where her views have evolved over her six years on the MPC. She will touch on differentiating between temporary and persistent influences on inflation; on communicating uncertainty around forecasts; and on giving guidance about future policy actions.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/economic-shocks-and-interesting-times/ 

From quantity to quality: How to have better, not just higher, taxes

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 quality of tax policy.
The system is a mess, with frequent fudges rather than reform, resulting in businesses unsure how their profits will be taxed. Some people are paying much higher tax rates than others with similar income levels. Our tax system is deepening, rather than helping resolve, some of the biggest challenges the UK faces – from housing to net zero. This needs to change if Britain’s taxes are to be fit for the decade ahead.
Should we expect higher taxes to last? Can higher taxes be better taxes – and what are the priorities for reform? How much difference could this make to the twin challenges of raising growth and reducing inequality? And do we need to rebalance our priorities between taxing labour, profits, consumption and assets?
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 highlights from major new research, we will hear from leading experts on how to improve our tax system.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/tax-planning/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/from-quantity-to-quality/ 

An investment nation: Can Britain shift from living off its past to investing in its future?

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 with less kit to work with, and fewer British firms competing at the cutting edge. Ensuring firms want to invest, and making sure they are able to do so, is therefore fundamental to our hopes of an economic revival. Both main parties recognise this task, but their focus on changes to corporation tax or promises of a more stable period of government are unlikely to deliver the scale of change required.
Why are so many firms reluctant to invest in their, and Britain’s, future? Are firms held back because returns on investment are low, or because finance is unavailable? What reforms – from corporate governance to pensions, taxation and planning – might move the dial? And if investment does rise, should that be financed from lower consumption at home or borrowing from abroad?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive hybrid event – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from major new research assessing how to reform the UK’s investment ecosystem, we will hear from leading experts on how to encourage British firms to invest more.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/beyond-boosterism/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/an-investment-nation/ 

Living in a material world: How resources shape our past, present and future

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 the net zero transition – have the potential to put access to materials at the forefront of economics, politics and international relations.
In his new book – Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future – Ed Conway examines how six key substances have built our world, have the potential to transform our future, and the risks that reliance on these resources pose.
To mark the launch of the book, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a book launch at its Westminster office, as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The panel will discuss how we can balance our need for these resources with tackling climate change and managing geopolitical volatility.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/living-in-a-material-world/ 

The UK’s trade trajectory: In search of a post-Brexit trade strategy

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 further significant trading ties. It is far from clear what comes next — what a lasting post-Brexit trade strategy for the UK might be that recognises both our economy’s strengths and the wider global trade landscape, where geopolitics is playing an increasing role.
What are the priorities for the UK’s trade strategy now that the heat of Brexit negotiations have cooled, but global trade tensions are heating up? How should that strategy be integrated into a wider economic strategy for Britain? Which balance should be struck between a European or global focus? And can Britain protect manufacturing industries such as automotives, which are highly integrated into European supply chains, while ensuring the opportunities from faster growing service trade are seized?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive hybrid event – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from major new research assessing what the UK’s new trade strategy should focus on, we will hear from leading experts on the trade-offs involved in taking a new direction on trade.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/trading-up/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-uks-trade-trajectory/ 

Shaping the next revolution: How can we ensure that technological change boosts our national prosperity?

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 possible AI revolution, and desperately need a step change in our economic growth prospects, what can we learn from history about how to ensure that the next wave of technological progress feeds through into better living standards and higher wellbeing for citizens?
A ground-breaking new book – Power and Progress: Our Thousand-year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity by leading academics and authors Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson – answers this critical question through an examination of previous chapters of technological change. The authors set out what this experience suggests for today’s policy makers and citizens as they grapple with the implications of a new wave of technological disruption.
To mark the launch of the book, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a book launch at its Westminster office with author Daron Acemoglu, as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Daron will be joined by leading economist Diane Coyle to discuss how technology has shaped our economic history, and may shape our economic future too.
Watch the event back here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/shaping-the-next-revolution/ 

Running out of road? How to avoid (net) zero car taxation

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 the £32 billion of annual tax revenue collected from vehicles.
How can policy makers encourage the switch to EVs in a way that doesn’t land the Treasury with a fiscal hole, or low and middle income families with unfair tax bills? Are there tensions between decarbonising and decongesting our roads? And how can we build political support for vital – but contentious – reforms to road taxation?
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 highlights from major new research on reforming road taxation, we will hear from leading experts on how to make the taxation of vehicles fit for the UK’s net zero transition.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/where-the-rubber-hits-the-road/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/running-out-of-road/