Resolution Foundation Event Recordings

Whose wealth boom? Assessing the UK’s changing wealth gaps

Britain has experienced a wealth surge in recent decades even as household incomes have stagnated. Wealth really matters in both good times and tough times – from young families buying their first home, to drawing on savings in the face of rising energy bills. But not everyone has shared in Britain’s wealth boom, and understanding the wealth gaps that exist across the country are important as people’s financial resilience is tested over the coming months.
How has wealth inequality changed over recent decades? What has that meant for different groups and parts of the UK? What role does negative wealth – debt – play? And what do these findings mean for households’ living standards and policy makers’ decisions?
To mark the launch of its annual Wealth Audit, in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the report’s key highlights, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us about the state of wealth inequality and debt in modern Britain, and discuss what these trends mean for living standards.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/arrears-fears/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/whose-wealth-boom/ 

Monetary policy in troubled times and beyond: Valedictory speech by MPC Member Michael Saunders

Having taken more of a backseat in the economic policy response to the pandemic, monetary policy is back centre stage as central banks around the world grapple with the highest inflation many countries have seen in generations. Monetary policy makers are having to make crucial judgements over the pace and scale of interest rates rises against an economic backdrop that is highly uncertain in both the short- and medium-term.
How quickly should interest rates be rising with inflation heading to double-digit levels? What is the outlook for inflation, interest rates, wages and growth in Britain? And how might the role of monetary policy evolve as it responds to the challenges of the coming decade?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an event to mark Michael Saunders’ final speech on the Monetary Policy Committee. In his speech, Michael will consider his time on the interest rate setting body, what to make of recent split votes, and the possibility that demographic change will weigh on the growth of potential supply in the coming years.
View the event and presentation slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/monetary-policy-in-troubled-times-and-beyond/ 

Stagnation Nation? Rachel Reeves in conversation with Stephanie Flanders

Session 5 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
How should the UK confront its legacy of low growth and high inequality? Will the UK have the bandwidth to renew its economic strategy given the major change coming in the 2020s: Brexit, net zero and the legacy of Covid? And what could Labour's economic strategy for Britain in the 2020s look like?
Join Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves to discuss these questions and more with Senior Executive Editor of Bloomberg, Stephanie Flanders.
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/ 
Watch back the full event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/ 

Stagnation Nation? Towards a renewed economic strategy for the 2020s

Session 4 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
The challenges facing the UK require a renewed economy strategy. We identify five requirements – clear objectives, an understanding of context, realism about trade-offs, scale and staying power – for any strategy to face up to the scale of changes.
Speakers:
Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, Former Director-General of the CBI
Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times
Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress
Professor Henry Overman, Research Director at the CEP
Daniel Tomlinson, Senior Economist at the Resolution Foundation
Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/ 
Watch the full event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/ 

Stagnation Nation? David Willetts in conversation with Chris Giles

Session 3 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
How should the UK confront its legacy of low growth and high inequality? Will the UK have the bandwidth to renew its economic strategy given the major change coming in the 2020s: Brexit, net zero and the legacy of Covid? And what could the Conservatives' economic strategy for Britain in the 2020s look like?
Join Conservative Former Minister for Universities and Science Lord David Willetts to discuss these questions and more with Economics Editor of the Financial Times, Chris Giles.
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/ 
Watch back the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/ 

Stagnation Nation? The decisive decade

Session 2 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
This decade has already seen the UK leave the EU and come through the biggest economic contraction in a century as a result of a global pandemic. The UK is now confronting the highest inflation in 40 years, and over the coming years will need to accelerate the transition to net zero. What will it take to manage these changes well?
Speakers:
Dr Linda Yueh, Economist, writer and broadcaster
Lord Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the LSE
Sophie Hale, Principal Economist at the Resolution Foundation
Dr Anna Valero, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Performance
Lord David Willetts, President of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/ 
Watch back the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/ 

Stagnation Nation? The risk of stagnation

Session 1 at The Economy 2030 Inquiry conference.
Britain is a privileged and prosperous country, with many strengths. But it is currently in a period of relative economic decline, with low productivity, stagnant wages, and high inequality. Turning around this stagnation is the central challenge of the decade ahead.
Speakers:
Baroness Minouche Shafik, Director of the LSE
Lord Adair Turner, Economist and business leader
Mairi Spowage, Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute
Gregory Thwaites, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation
Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)
Read the full report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/stagnation-nation/ 
Watch back the full event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/stagnation-nation/ 

Power, pay and profits: What do shifts in firm and worker power mean for wages?

Firms create value – at least the successful ones do. But who benefits, the firm’s owners or workers, and by how much, is often up for grabs. That’s why power in our labour market matters. It doesn’t just affect the level of wages, but the inequality of those wages too. The power of workers – via unions or a tight labour market – or of employers – via being a town’s only hospital – matters. And yet it hardly features in most British policy discussions, despite changing considerably over time, and returning to centre stage in policy debates elsewhere.
To what extent has worker power declined as trade union membership has shrunk, or have other sources of leverage taken their place? Has employer power shrunk or grown in recent decades? How much difference does firm or worker power make to wages? And what should policy makers do about this balance of power over the coming decade?
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 joint RF / LSE research on changes in worker and employer power over time, we will hear from leading experts on what these findings tell us about the level and distribution of wages across Britain.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/power-plays/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/power-pay-and-profits/