Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

Together we stand, divided we fall? Is multilateral policy making equipped for the global economic challenges we face?

The Resolution Foundation and the Money, Macro and Finance Society are co-hosting a new series of events to dive into the big economic challenges we face as we recover from the pandemic and come to terms with the new world we now face. Internationally renowned economists and policymakers will discuss those challenges – from the state of multilateral policy making to the new challenges for fiscal and monetary policy makers.
The series will kick off with an event assessing the state of multilateral economic policy making in the wake of Brexit, the pandemic and the Ukraine conflict. Have lessons been learned from the global co-ordination around the financial crisis and the roll out of Covid-19 vaccines, or has the rise of populism fragmented the world order?
We will hear from Adam Posen, President of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former MPC member at the Bank of England. He will be joined by Katharine Neiss, Chief European Economist at PGIM Fixed Income, and former Head of International Surveillance at the Bank of England.
Watch the event back: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/together-we-stand-divided-we-fall/ 

Advantage Britain? Understanding the country’s economic strengths

Policy makers often focus on addressing a country’s economic weaknesses. But understanding Britain’s current, or likely future, economic strengths is equally important if our recent relative economic decline is to be put into reverse. Failing to recognise those strengths, or even actively disparaging them, undermines our prosperity but also risks us ignoring the specific challenges those advantages bring for particular people or places.
In which industries do Britain’s economic comparative advantages? How important are they to our prosperity? Should we expect them to change over time? What do these strengths mean for the chances of the UK turning around our recent history of sluggish growth? And how should Britain’s economic strategy respond to the opportunities and challenges they 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 Resolution Foundation on the UK’s comparative advantages, we will hear from leading experts on this issue.
Read the report here: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/enduring-strengths/ 
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/advantage-britain/ 

Waiting for spring: Assessing the Chancellor’s Spring Statement

Britain entered 2022 with a recovery resilient to Omicron and tax revenues coming in billions higher than expected. But good news on the public finances has been matched by troubling news for family finances as inflation soared and living standards have been squeezed. The conflict in Ukraine has further clouded the UK’s economic outlook, as the Chancellor prepares his Spring Statement.
What are the prospects for the UK’s post-pandemic recovery amidst the conflict in Ukraine? How deep will Britain’s cost of living squeeze be, and has the Chancellor done enough to protect households from it? And have calls for more spending on defence or fewer tax rises been heard in No11?
Immediately following the Spring Statement on Wednesday 23rd March, the Resolution Foundation are hosting a morning event to assess the latest official economic forecasts, and the Chancellor’s response. After a presentation of key highlights from the Foundation’s overnight analysis, we will hear from leading experts, including Richard Hughes, Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, on what the new forecasts and policy action means for families and the wider economy in the year ahead.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/inflation-nation/ 

Bidenomics: Lessons for the UK

Speech by Jared Bernstein, Member of the Council for Economic Advisors under President Biden, with response by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves
Joe Biden came into office with an ambitious economic plan for building back American prosperity after the pandemic – with policy objectives ranging from the renewal of infrastructure and greater childcare support, to more progressive taxation and stronger labour standards. As America prepares for the mid-term elections, Democrats will be campaigning on the achievements of ‘Bidenomics’, while their Republican opponents will claim that its main impact has been to stoke inflation.
The UK needs to reset its own economic strategy for the 2020s, but what can we learn from the US about the successes and risks of trying to adopt a radical, progressive economic agenda? What are the biggest achievements the President can lay claim to, and does the President’s agenda add up to a significant shift in the American economic model?
To debate and answer these questions, the Resolution Foundation – in collaboration with the London School of Economics – is hosting a transatlantic hybrid event featuring a speech from Washington D.C by Jared Bernstein, a Member of President Biden’s Council for Economic Advisors. He will be joined by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP and leading economist John Van Reenen who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic, to discuss what the UK can learn from ‘Bidenomics’.
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/bidenomics/ 

Catch 2022: What does the end of a global pandemic and the start of a European conflict mean for Britain’s economic outlook?

The end of the Covid economic crisis is finally in sight. But it has swiftly been replaced by a terrifying conflict in Europe that threatens lives in Ukraine and livelihoods far beyond its borders. The UK’s immediate post-Covid economy thankfully doesn’t include the lengthy dole queues that normally follow a recession. But it instead faces new challenges – including older workers exiting the labour market and the highest inflation for at least three decades – amid huge uncertainty.
How strong will the UK’s economic recovery be, and when will it approach a new ‘normal’? What impact will the war in Ukraine have on the UK, European and Global economic outlook? And what does all this mean for the public, and household finances?
In the week running up the OBR’s Spring Statement on Wednesday 23rd March, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research on the UK economic outlook for 2022, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges this will pose for families and policy makers alike.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/catch-2022/ 
Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/catch-2022/ 

Fees-ible reforms? Assessing the Government’s new plan for higher education

The UK’s universities are highly regarded abroad, but are controversial at home. While increasing participation has boosted people’s skills and their social mobility prospects, ‘edusceptics’ worry that too many people are attending university, and about the funding of the growth through fees and loans. Meanwhile the number of young people going to higher education continues to rise.
The independent review post-18 education and funding, led by Sir Philip Augar has grappled with these controversies, and the Government has now set out its response.
Who are the biggest winners from these proposed changes – students, universities or the Treasury? How will post 18 education and training change as a result of them?   What can we hope for from the Lifelong Learning Entitlement? And will these reforms leave the country in a better or worse place to deliver the education- and skills-based productivity gains we need to cope with  big economic changes and to raise living standards, in the 2020s?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar chaired by David Willetts – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions with leading experts, the Chair of the Post-18 Education and Funding Review Dr. Philip Augar, and Panel Member Professor Alison Wolf. 
Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/fees-ible-reforms/ 

Crunch time: The Living Standards Outlook for 2022

The good news is that Britain is finally stepping out of the pandemic. The bad news is that it is stepping straight into a renewed living standards squeeze which, according to the latest Bank of England forecasts, could be the tightest one in generations. Prices, bills and taxes are all going up, and wages aren’t keeping pace. The big question facing families is when the squeeze will start to ease.
How tight might the current cost of living crunch be, and what groups are likely to be most affected? To what extent will Britain’s tight labour market – with high vacancies and low unemployment – offset some of this pain? And is there anything more the Government can to do to soften Britain’s cost of living crunch?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research on the living standards outlook for 2022 and beyond, we will hear from leading experts, on the challenges this will pose for families and policy makers alike.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-living-standards-outlook-2022/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/crunch-time-2/ 

Consuming carbon: What does the net zero transition mean for households?

So far, the UK’s Net Zero strategy has caused minimal visible upheaval to people’s day-to-day lives. During the 2020s, however, emissions will need to be cut in ways that require real change for households – from minimising flights and meat consumption, to switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps. These bring opportunities to improve our lives, but also threats to our living standards.
Are consumers ready for decarbonisation to get real? What changes will the decade ahead bring for their consumption of transport, heating, and food? What are the barriers facing households – especially those on low incomes – in this transition? And how can the benefits of decarbonisation, such as cleaner air and cheaper driving costs be spread fairly?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, a joint project 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 new research on what households will need to do to transition to a low carbon society, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges this will pose.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/shrinking-footprints/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/consuming-carbon/