Resolution Foundation Event Recordings

Inventing a better Britain: How does R&D fit into a new UK economic strategy?

Low productivity is the foundational cause of Britain’s recent economic malaise, and raising it is a top priority for policy makers. Public and private investment in research and development is a key route to boosting productivity and future economic growth. But businesses often complain that policy makers are failing to create an environment that encourages private investment.
After the ONS revision how much are we now spending on R&D? How does our recent performance compare with other advanced economies? What barriers do we need to overcome to boost R&D spending? And how can it align it with a new economic strategy for the UK focused on boosting growth?
The Resolution Foundation and the Foundation for Science and Technology are co-hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions, as part of the Nuffield Foundation-funded Economy 2030 Inquiry. We will hear from leading experts on how R&D currently fits in the UK’s economic plans, and where it might fit into a future economic strategy.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/inventing-a-better-britain/ 

Perma-crisis people: The divergent economic prospects between generations

Advanced economies across the globe have experienced a series of unprecedented economic shocks since the start of the century. But they have not affected all generations equally. The disproportionate impact on the financial wellbeing of younger people has sparked concerns about generational fairness on both sides of the Atlantic. Fifteen years on from the global financial crisis, its impact is still being felt by the young, and the not-so-young-anymore, across Europe and America.
How have the living standards of millennials, boomers and Gen Xers fared on either side of the Atlantic? Have British generations been permanently scarred, or are they bouncing back? How have different cohorts coped with soaring housing costs, inflated asset prices, and wages that have barely budged in 15 years? And how can today’s working population expect to be supported in retirement, as the state struggles to reconfigure itself around an ageing population?
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 its annual Intergenerational Audit, covering pay, jobs, incomes, housing, welfare and wealth, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/an-intergenerational-audit-for-the-uk-2023/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/perma-crisis-people/ 

In place of centralisation: Devolution for London, Manchester and Birmingham

Devolution is essential to both tackle economic inequality across England and drive national economic growth. Significant change has already occurred, with metro mayors and combined authorities taking control over significant areas from transport to housing in areas covering large swathes of the country. But we have not seen fiscal devolution, as responsibility for how money is spent has not been coupled with significant powers over how, and how much, money is raised.
What should the next phase of devolution be? How should it connect to wider question of the UK’s economic strategy? Is there real appetite for genuine fiscal devolution? And are we ready for the major political and economic trade-offs that would bring?
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 Inquiry-commissioned research by Centre for Cities, we will hear from leading experts on the what the future of devolution should look like.
Read the policy provocation: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/in-place-of-centralisation/ 
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/in-place-of-centralisation/ 

Preparing the pitch: What to expect in the upcoming Autumn Statement

The Chancellor has two just two more fiscal events in which to prepare the economic pitch for the upcoming General Election. The backdrop is a challenging and uncertain economic environment, alongside huge pressure on both public services and finances. With the Prime Minister making a virtue of the need to take tough decisions, the Chancellor will trying to both prepare his party for the coming election and the country, struggling with sluggish growth, for the decades ahead.
What is the outlook for the UK economy as inflation falls but interest rates remain high? Will the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest economic forecasts ease or tighten the pressure on the public finances? What decisions will the Chancellor take on tax and benefits, public and private investment and wider economic reform – and are those decisions the right ones? And what will the Autumn Statement tell us about the government’s economic pitch in the General Election?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from its pre-Autumn Statement report, we will hear from leading experts on what the Autumn Statement means for British economics and politics.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/preparing-the-pitch/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/preparing-the-pitch/ 

Creaking at the seams: Can we bring Britain’s trains, drains and mains into the 21st Century?

Britain faces a simply huge infrastructure challenge. As well as decarbonising our homes, we need to modernise our water, energy and transport networks, replacing basic infrastructure that often dates back to the Victorian era. Achieving this is likely to require major investment, regulatory reform and new institutions to drive forward change, as well as a strong will to stay the course. And Britain’s recent record is somewhat chequered…
How big is our Britain’s infrastructure challenge? How can public institutions support private sector investment? How important are new regulations, regulators and wider institutions in rebuilding Britain? And what barriers are we going to need to overcome?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, in partnership with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Inquiry-commissioned research by Mary Starks on how to regulate for the rebuilding of Britain’s infrastructure, we will hear from leading experts on this huge political and economic challenge.
Read the policy paper here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/watts-the-plan/ 
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/creaking-at-the-seams/ 

People-powered growth: Equipping young people with the skills Britain needs to prosper

Britain urgently needs to boost its economic growth. But while there are many routes to doing so, most ultimately come down to people boosting national prosperity – and to do this they need the right skills for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. But Britain’s record on skills is chequered – its often world leading universities are politically unfashionable, routes into good work for non-graduates are limited, and too many employers have foregone their role in skilling our workforce.
How can we ensure growing sectors of the economy have enough tertiary-educated workers? How can we improve outcomes for those who don’t go to university? Can we ever make apprenticeships work at scale? And how can we ensure that Britain’s skills policy is driving better pay, progression and GDP growth?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, in partnership with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the roles of graduate and non-graduate routes in equipping young people with the skills needed to boost individual and national prosperity, we will hear from leading experts on how Britain can align its skills policy with its economic strategy.
Read the reports: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/people-powered-growth/ 

Riding the economic rollercoaster: Is Britain’s macroeconomic policy framework fit for purpose?

Britain’s macroeconomic policy that the Treasury and Bank of England have got used to is crisis management – from a financial crash to a global pandemic and a huge inflation spike. Both have adopted new approaches to supporting the economy, going far beyond textbook cuts to interest rates. Today the legacy is higher levels of debt, amid huge uncertainties about the future path of interest rates. But Britain’s macroeconomic policy framework – from the Chancellor’s fiscal rules to the Bank’s inflation target – remain largely unchanged this century.
Do today’s higher interest rates mean monetary policy makers have more scope to support the economy in a downturn? Or if a world of ultra-low interest rates returns, what does it mean for monetary policy effectiveness and inflation targeting? Can the Treasury repeat the likes of furlough or caps on energy prices when the next crisis hits? And would it take to meet both main parties’ commitment to see debt falling as a share of GDP – to fix the fiscal roof when the economic sun eventually gets round to shining once again?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, in partnership with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on the big fiscal and monetary policy challenges facing Britain in the decade ahead, we will hear from leading experts on how to confront them.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/built-to-last/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/riding-the-economic-rollercoaster/ 

Worlds apart: Why is UK inflation so much higher than in the US?

The last few years have not been easy times for any advanced economies. The UK, US, and Eurozone have all buffeted by major economic shocks, most recently by the most significant inflation surge in four decades. But while there are many common themes – huge inflation pressures, rising interest rates, tight labour markets and weak GDP growth – the drivers and evolution of these trends vary from country to country. The UK currently has higher inflation than seen across the Atlantic, and some expect it to see interest rates remain higher for longer too.
Why has inflation risen and fallen at different scales and speeds in different countries – and on different sides of the Atlantic? What does that tell us about who is most, and least, likely to experience a ‘soft landing’ from recent interest rate hikes? And what might this mean for elections expected in the US and UK next autumn?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – in partnership with leading US think-thank The Brookings Institution – to debate and answer these questions. We will hear from former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Board Donald Kohn on inflation in the US, and from other economists on the differences and similarities between the recent economic shocks felt in the UK, the US and other advanced economies, and what this might mean for their economic outlooks.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/worlds-apart/