Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

Saving capitalism, rescuing democracy: Book launch for The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf

Recent decades have not been kind to liberal democracy. Growth has slowed, inequality risen. Powerful voices argue that capitalism is better without democracy, while others argue that democracy is better without capitalism. But despite the travails of democratic capitalism this system brings substantial benefits. Turning the tide on populism requires both reflecting on these advantages and facing up to its failings.
What are the benefits of combining democracy and capitalism? Why have other systems become increasingly popular in recent years? Could a divorce between the two solve the problems we face? Or how can the tension-fuelled marriage between the two successfully endure?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to mark the publication of The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf, as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Joining Martin to debate our economic and political future will be leading expert on the global economy, Professor Ngaire Woods.
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/saving-capitalism-rescuing-democracy/ 

Do we care about carers? The experiences of social care workers

We apologise that the start of this event has been cut off on our recording.
Social care is a large and important part of the UK economy, and will be a growing one with an ageing population and rising ill-health. But it is often also a lower paid one, with funding challenges, staff shortages and a history of risks around minimum wage underpayment. Workers wrestle with these challenges, alongside the benefits of a job that for many is a real vocation, with close relationships with clients and flexibility often valued.
What do workers see as the benefits and disadvantages of social care work? Which aspects of care work influence worker recruitment and retention? How successfully are workers’ rights enforced in the social care sector? And where should the priorities be for policymakers and employers looking to improve the quality of social care jobs?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the experiences of social care workers – supported by Unbound Philanthropy and drawing on focus groups with social care workers – we will hear from leading experts on how to confront the challenges facing the social care sector.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/who-cares/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/do-we-care-about-carers/ 

Saving savings? Assessing government incentives to put money aside

Savings matter. They help households cope in the face of economic shocks, take risks and plan for the future. But the UK has had a low savings rate for decades, and as a result households have entered today’s cost of living crisis with low savings levels. Policymakers have long recognised this challenge, and tried to address it with a wide range of incentives to encourage savings – from ISAs to the more recent Help to Save. But while such policies have cross party support, there is little focus on their effectiveness and on who benefits from them. This is all the more important as rising interest rates mean the cost of some incentives is going to rise substantially.
What is the state of peoples’ savings? How many different ways does government try to incentivise households to save? Who benefits from those policies? And how can policy better support people to save for a rainy day?
To mark the launch of new research exploring government incentives for saving in the UK, in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the report’s key highlights, we will hear from leading experts on what policymakers can do to enable people to save more, especially those on the lowest incomes.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/isa-isa-baby/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/saving-savings/ 

Wealth booms and debt burdens: How Britain’s recent economic history and outlook affects different generations

Part of the ESRC funded Connecting Generations Thought Leader series.
The financial crisis is largely considered to have increased inequalities between generations, with rising public debt leading to higher taxes for future generations, while the gains from rising asset prices have been accrued by older generations. Private intergenerational wealth transfers have grown – notably through the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ – but the scale and direction of public sector transfers are less clear cut. How policymakers confront the UK’s economic challenges – from tax rises and spending cuts, to priorities for public services and a new strategy for growth – will have varying implications for different generations.
How has the fallout from the financial crisis affected the financial resilience of different generations in the UK? To what extent are younger generations today worse off than previous generations were at the same age, and how might this change in coming decades? And what can policymakers do to minimise the gaps both between and within generations which have already arisen, and ensure that future policies share the financial burden fairly?
As part of the Connecting Generations series of Thought Leader Talks, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an event with Professor James Sefton to discuss new research on private and public intergenerational transfers since the financial crisis. He will be joined by Professor Jane Falkingham (ESRC Connecting Generations, University of Southampton) and the session will be chaired by the Rt. Hon. Lord David Willetts (President of the Resolution Foundation).
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/wealth-booms-and-debt-burdens/ 

New year, renewed squeeze? The outlook for living standards in 2023 and beyond

Britain’s cost-of-living crisis has been brutal this winter – even with significant government support – as bills rise and real wages fall. Inflation should ease in the year ahead, but government support is also being scaled back and rising interest rates will feed through into higher mortgage costs. The outlook is highly uncertain.
How are families coping with the cost-of-living crisis this winter, and what do they see as the challenges ahead? How are different groups being affected and coping with the squeeze? What comes next in terms of the living standards outlook for this parliament? Is the worst behind or ahead of us? And what difference has, and should, policy make?
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 the Foundation’s Living Standards Outlook 2023 – which includes a new survey of 10,000 people’s recent experiences of the crisis, funded by the Health Foundation – we will hear from leading experts on Britain’s living standards challenges.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-living-standards-outlook-2023/ 
View the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/new-year-renewed-squeeze/ 

Getting warmth up and bills down: How can the UK insulate its housing stock?

The current energy crisis has highlighted the disaster that is Britain’s poorly insulated housing stock – costing millions of households hundreds of pounds this winter alone. And it is about time, with drastically improving the energy efficiency of our homes the biggest net zero challenge of the 2020s. But progress has been far too slow in recent years, on installing energy efficiency measures, or on answering some of the detailed policy questions this challenge brings with it.
What are the biggest barriers to bringing Britain’s Victorian housing stock into the 21st Century? Do households always have a financial incentive to do the right thing on energy efficiency measures? How should policy makers vary their approach across different tenures? And how can policymakers ensure that any incentives for installing insulation are distributed fairly, and drive change at a sufficient scale and pace to fulfil the UK’s net zero obligations?
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 insulating the UK’s housing stock and our proposed policy solutions, we will hear from leading experts – including the Chair of the Government’s Net Zero Review Chris Skidmore MP – on the feasibility of putting these policies into practice.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/hitting-a-brick-wall/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/getting-warmth-up-and-bills-down/ 

The experts strike back? A joint Resolution Foundation and Political Quarterly launch for Politicians and economic experts by Anna Killick

The relationship between politicians and economists has always been complicated, and it has become particularly rocky in Britain over the last decade. Divisions during the Brexit referendum prompted Michael Gove to quip that Britain had ‘had enough of experts’ while a key pillar of Trussonomics was challenging existing economic institutions from the Treasury to the Bank of England and OBR. But technocrats remain a dominant force in economic policy making, and as politicians seek to overturn the UK’s recent record of economic stagnation the relationship between these two disciplines is as important as ever.
Have politicians and economists lost faith in each other, or is the picture more nuanced? What are the pros and cons of delegating more economic policy decision-making to experts? And how can politicians better improve voters’ understanding of the economy, and respond to voters’ economic concerns?
The Resolution Foundation together with Political Quarterly are hosting an event to mark the publication of a new book Politicians and economic experts: the limits of technocracy by Anna Killick to debate and answer these questions. Joining Anna will be two of the leading economic thinkers in UK politics – David Gauke and Yvette Cooper, both of whom have served as Chief Treasury Secretaries and Work and Pensions Secretaries – to discuss how politicians can do economics better.
Watch the event back: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/the-experts-strike-back/ 

Clocking in and out: Is choice or circumstance driving part-time work among low earners?

Working hours, not just hourly pay rates, are a key determinant of living standards. Historically, men have tended to work more paid hours than women, with working hours for both sexes increasing substantially between the ages of 18 and 25. But over recent decades these trends appear to be weakening, with increasing numbers of young people – and particularly men – choosing to work fewer hours. Working fewer hours can be seen as a result of a positive consequences of rising pay. But equally, combining low hours with low pay can have very negative consequences for people’s living standards and wider inequality.
How many young people are underemployed today compared to recent decades? To what extent are changes in underemployment due to people’s changing preferences around work? How concerned should policymakers be about this trend? And what are the potential long-term impacts of lower working hours on people and the wider labour market?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to debate and discuss these questions. Following a presentation of the Foundation’s analysis, using quantitative analysis and focus groups, funded by the Health Foundation, we will hear from leading experts on the implications of working low hours for young people’s futures.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/constrained-choices/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/clocking-in-and-out/