Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

Making your voice heard? How different generations participate in politics

The political context in which people grow up can play a hugely influential role in how that age cohort participate in democracy. From the dominance of different political parties and prevalence of strikes and protests, to the distribution of information and ideas through social media, the society people are raised in affects the ways in which they interact with politicians and political ideas. Maintaining an informed and engaged electorate in the decades to come requires grappling with these historical shifts and their implications for democratic governance.
Does the historical context of when a generation comes of age affect their political engagement? Are older generations, for example, who came of age in a period when elections were fundamental to the existence of democratic government, more likely to engage with political parties? What about younger generations coming of age in the historical moments that followed? And what can this tell us about how democratic governance and political participation could change in the future?
As part of the Connecting Generations series of Thought Leader Talks, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event with Professor Maria Grasso to discuss how age, period and cohort analysis can help us examine generational differences in political activities. Following a presentation by Maria, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for the future of politics and democracy.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/making-your-voice-heard/

Thinking about tomorrow: Overcoming the UK’s low and volatile public investment problem

The UK has been under-investing for decades. British business isn’t keen on investing, and the public sector if anything does even worse. Public investment is not only low by international standards, it’s very volatile. Politicians like to announce investment rises, but Chancellor’s also like to cut it when they need to make the fiscal arithmetic add up. Scrapping a bridge tomorrow is always easier than firing a nurse or raising taxes today. But sustained low investment has left us poorer and affected our lives in everything from the healthcare we receive to the homes we live in. Turning this situation around requires radical change to how do such investment, but investing to grow also comes with risks that need to be managed.
Why do British governments invest so little? How can we snap out of the cycle of public investment boom and bust? And what would it take to invest better, as well as more?
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 new research on the challenges of boosting public investment in the UK and our proposed policy solutions, we will hear from leading experts on the feasibility of putting these policies into practice.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/cutting-the-cuts/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/thinking-about-tomorrow/ 

The future of the UK economy: Navigating a route to a fairer and more prosperous South Yorkshire, and beyond

The United Kingdom is facing a decisive decade of huge economic change, from restructuring after Brexit and the pandemic, to urgently transitioning towards a net zero future, and adapting to technological shifts amid an ageing population. But it is doing that against a backdrop of low growth and high inequality, a toxic combination that leaves low- and middle-income households dangerously exposed to today’s cost of living crisis. South Yorkshire’s many strengths – including world-class universities in Sheffield and service sector firms across the region – must be harnessed to manage the economic changes of the 2020s well. But to really thrive, the region will need to find ways to ensure that everyone benefits from growth and investment.
What role can economic strategies – national and local – play in responding to the challenges of the 2020s, to secure higher growth and lower inequality? How will the changes to come affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Sheffield, regions like Yorkshire, and nations like Britain to be able to rise to these challenges?
As part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry – in collaboration with the LSE and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – the Resolution Foundation is hosting this event in partnership with the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Sheffield to debate and answer these questions. Based on the research findings from the Inquiry so far, we will be joined by leading experts to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly Sheffield and the wider South Yorkshire region – have responded to past periods of economic change, and how to make the coming decade of change a success.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-future-of-the-uk-economy-south-yorkshire/ 

Into calmer waters? Assessing Budget 2023

The UK has gone through four Chancellors, three Prime Ministers and entered a cost-of-living crisis in 500 days since the last Budget way back in October 2021. On 15 March, Jeremy Hunt will unveil his first Budget, hoping to signpost the UK economy’s way towards a new, calmer, phase of lower inflation and higher growth. To that end, concrete steps to encourage people to remain in the workforce and firms to invest will be up in lights. Recent months have brought good news for the public finances, but the public face the prospect of rising energy bills and inflation that will continue to outstrip wage growth for some time to come.
How has recent good news, from falling European gas prices to lower than expected borrowing, fed through into permanent improvements to the economic and fiscal outlook? Where does Budget 2023 leave the cost-of-living crisis families are facing, including rising energy bills and widespread industrial strife across the public sector? Will the policies announced help to boost employment or investment – and therefore growth? And what does Budget 2023 tell us about the economic battleground that the next General Election will be fought over?
The morning after the Spring Budget, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to discuss these issues and more. Following a presentation from Foundation staff of their overnight analysis of the Budget, we will hear from the chairs of both the Treasury Select Committee and the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/were-going-on-a-growth-hunt/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/into-calmer-waters/ 

A cost-of-living crisis: Inflation during an unprecedented terms of trade shock

Speech by MPC member Swati Dhingra
Britain has been buffeted by many different economic shocks in recent decades, but the most recent is a huge terms of trade deterioration following a spike in energy prices and disruption to global supply chains in the wake of the pandemic. This has given the UK the highest inflation in 40 years and prompted a cost-of-living crisis for British households.
How should policy makers think about the damaging impact of inflation on families and firms, responding without deepening any resulting economic downturn? And what are the trade-offs that monetary policy makers face in addressing the exceptional cost-of-living crisis that Britain is living through now?
To debate and answer these questions, the Resolution Foundation is hosting the first public discussion from Bank of England MPC member Dr. Swati Dhingra, as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry with the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Following a short presentation, Swati will take part in an audience Q&A, chaired by RF Chief Executive Torsten Bell.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/a-cost-of-living-crisis/ 

Back to basics Budget? What Jeremy Hunt’s March Budget has in store

2022 marked a tough year, with soaring inflation sparking a cost-of-living crisis and repeated government announcements to tackle it. And that was before the Autumn economic policy chaos. The economics and politics are now calmer. Inflation – and most importantly gas prices – is falling, and the Chancellor hopes to deliver a more ‘normal’ Budget against this backdrop on 15th March. But it may not feel like the good times have arrived for households, with energy bills set to rise in April and the country living with the impact of 15 years of relative economic decline.
How ‘normal’ will Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget be after the very abnormal Autumn? Has the economic and fiscal outlook changed significantly as gas prices have fallen back? What else will the Chancellor do to protect households from the continuing cost-of-living crisis? And can the Chancellor address some of the big challenges facing the UK, from recent rises in labour market inactivity to the longer lasting growth slowdown?
In the week ahead of the Spring Budget, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to discuss these issues. Following a presentation on the economic outlook, we will hear from leading experts on what the Budget may have in store.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/new-budget-same-problems/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/back-to-basics-budget/ 

The results of rising rates: Expectations, lags and the transmission of monetary policy

Central bankers around the world have been busy raising interest rates from their historical lows in the face of mounting inflation, with the Bank of England raising the base rate at their last ten MPC meetings. But the big question for policy makers is not just what the impact of those rate rises has been, but what it will be. That lies behind the difficult judgement about whether enough has been done to bring inflation back down to target, which has big implications for living standards and the wider economy.
How big and how swift will the impact of interest rate rises be? Has the long duration of near zero bank rates, along with the recent shocks, changed the received wisdom that rates take 18-24 months to have their full effect?  And, if a slower transmission means a longer period of above target inflation, does this affect inflation expectations?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting a major speech from Bank of England MPC member Dr. Catherine L Mann to debate and answer these questions. Following her speech, Catherine will take part in an audience Q&A, chaired by RF Chief Executive Torsten Bell.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-results-of-rising-rates/ 

Getting Britain working: How to boost workforce participation in the 2020s

Fast rising participation in the workforce was an important driver of growth in the 2010s, helping to offset the impacts of a productivity and wage stagnation. But that progress has gone into reverse in the wake of the pandemic, with older workers in particular exiting the workforce, prompting the government to launch a major review. This trend brings challenges for the economy and public finances, though for individuals and families the story is far more nuanced. There are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ reasons to stop working.
Who is exiting the workforce, and why are they doing so now? Is this a temporary post-pandemic blip or a sign of things to come as Britain’s population ages rapidly in the 2020s? How much should government focus on bringing people back into the labour market who dropped out during the pandemic? Or should it focus its efforts instead on groups – such as mothers, and people with disabilities – who have always been under-represented in the workforce?
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 major new Resolution Foundation research on economic inactivity, we will hear from leading experts about how Britain can boost the size of its workforce in the 2020s.
Read the report here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/post-pandemic-participation/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/getting-britain-working/