Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

Changing jobs? How economic change affects the world of work

The labour market has changed substantially over the past 60 years – from fewer factories and more health services, to working with new machines or being replaced by them. In the decade ahead it will change again thanks to Brexit, Covid-19 and the net zero transition. But the relationship between how the labour market as a whole changes and what it means for individuals are more complex than is normally assumed, with job moves often driven by different considerations, such as boosting pay or fitting with wider life choices.
How has recent economic change affected the structure of the UK labour market? Has change become more common as is often claimed? When do workers benefit from job change, and when do they lose out? And how prepared are workers for the big labour market changes coming this 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 Resolution Foundation and LSE research on how recent economic change has affected the UK labour market, we will hear from leading experts on how to ensure workers benefit from future labour market shifts.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/changing-jobs/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/changing-jobs/ 

Crunch time: The causes and consequences of Britain’s cost of living squeeze

A faster than expected economic recovery has evolved into an entirely unexpected cost of living squeeze. Energy bills surges, and hot competition for second hand cars or even Christmas presents, means that household bills are rising more swiftly than workers’ pay packets. Policy matters too, with some families seeing benefit cuts this Autumn, while others face taxes rises in April. In a week when we get crucial data on inflation, and a decision on interest rates, the causes and consequences of Britain’s ongoing cost of living squeeze will be on everyone’s minds.
What is driving inflation in the UK, and what are prospects for the months ahead? How has, and will, policy ease or exacerbate the squeeze? What difference will an interest rate rise make? And, crucially, how are families coping with the impact of rapidly rising prices, and what can be done to help them through the tough months ahead?
The Resolution Foundation and Citizens Advice are co-hosting an interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following short presentations on the cause and effect of the financial pressures families are currently facing, we will hear from leading experts on how Britain’s cost of living crunch might evolve and what, if anything, policy can do to ease these pressures.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-new-wave/ 

The Great British wealth windfall: Is now the time to reform property taxation?

House prices across the UK have rocketed over recent decades, and have continued to surge even when the rest of the economy collapsed during the Covid crisis. This has delivered a huge wealth windfall, that far from being shared equally has gone to existing asset owners. This windfall has also largely slipped past the tax system, which focuses instead on taxing transactions and residents through Stamp Duty and Council Tax.
What is the scale and distribution of the UK’s property wealth windfall? Should we shift the focus of property taxation towards capital gains rather than transactions? If so, how? Is there any public appetite for reforming our highly flawed approach to wealth taxes, and how can support for change be built on?
The Resolution Foundation, in partnership with Standard Life Foundation, is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation research on this topic, we will hear from leading experts on the nature of the wealth windfall, how the tax system might respond, and whether there’s any public support for such change.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/home-county/ 

Hope to buy? Assessing trends in home ownership

Purchasing a house has traditionally been seen as one of the key milestones in adulthood, providing not just a home but financial security for many. But with youth home ownership having declined substantially over the past three decades, this milestone is increasingly one many may not reach.
How have trends in youth home ownership changed over recent years? To what extent do factors such as location, occupation, ethnicity and income affect young people’s chances of buying a house? What are the main barriers to home ownership for young people? And what can policymakers do to enable young people to overcome these challenges and get onto the housing ladder?
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 new Resolution Foundation research, supported by Lloyds Banking Group, on changing trends in youth home ownership, we will hear from leading experts on how to help young people onto the housing ladder.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/hope-to-buy/ 

Back to the future: What comes next for the UK’s post-pandemic labour market?

At the onset of the pandemic, there were widespread concerns about catastrophic levels of unemployment in the face of lockdowns. But extending the furlough scheme has kept a lid on unemployment, while the reopening of the economy this summer has sparked a ‘jobs-rush’. As the UK labour market enters a new phase, it is important to be clear about which pandemic induced shifts for our world of work will be temporary and which mark long-term structural change.
What is the state of the post-furlough labour market? What changes can be seen in how and where we work? Who is working? Which of these changes are likely to become permanent features of our post-pandemic economy? And how should policymakers view these long-term changes to the labour market?
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 research on the lasting impact of the pandemic on the labour market, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for the economy over the coming decade.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/begin-again/ 

Open for business? Assessing the performance of British firms

British firms have had a tumultuous decade – from the financial crisis to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2020s brings new challenges as they grapple with post-Brexit trade and regulatory changes, the net zero transition, and improving the UK’s woeful productivity record. But what is the state of British business as it heads into this decisive decade?
How dynamic is British capitalism? Which firms’ poor performance lies behind the UK’s persistently low productivity? What are the key differences between our firms and their competitors abroad? And what role should policy play in helping ensure firms can deliver the high wage, high productivity economy that everyone wants to see?
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 a new joint Resolution Foundation/ LSE health check of British firms’ economic performance, we will hear from leading experts, including MPC member Jonathan Haskel, on this crucial issue for the UK economy.
Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/business-time/ 

Gaining from growth: When the economy grows, do wages?

While GDP is rarely discussed in the pub, the feedthrough from economic growth to higher wages is central to boosting family living standards. And while both pay and wider economic growth have been in short supply in the UK over the past decade, there is growing unease at the sense that these two crucial measures of economic progress have been decoupled, threatening the idea that we all gain from growth.
What is the relationship between GDP and pay? How does it vary in the US and UK, and how has that relationship changed over recent decades? Are we seeing periods of ‘wage-less economic growth’ or even ‘wage-led recoveries’ and what does this mean for our economy? And how can we re-establish a model of strong, sustainable and equitably shared economic growth amid a decade of profound economic change in the 2020s?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry in collaboration with the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following the presentation of ground-breaking new research on the relationship between GDP and pay by leading economist John Van Reenen, Director of the Programme for Innovation and Diffusion (POID) at the LSE, we will hear from Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves on how she believes strong economic growth can feed through into higher wages, before taking part in an audience Q&A.

Budgeting for Britain: What the Budget and Spending Review tell us about the Government’s economic strategy

Rishi Sunak has had to make a flurry of major fiscal announcements during his 18-months as Chancellor amidst the Covid-19 crisis. At last, with the worse of the crisis behind us, he will hope to be able to set-out an economic plan for post-pandemic Britain in his Budget and Spending Review next Wednesday. However, with inflation and Covid cases rising again, the tough decisions he’ll need to make are far from over and uncertainty about the future path of the economy remains high.
What is the economic outlook for Britain? How has it shaped the Chancellor’s policy choices and his response to the cost of living crunch? What does the Budget and Spending Review reveal about the kind of Chancellor Rishi Sunak wants to be – or the kind of Government Boris Johnson wants to lead? How has he traded-off competing priorities, from delivering public services, to levelling up the country and investing in our net zero transition? And does the package of measures add up to a proper economic plan for post-pandemic Britain?
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 the Resolution Foundation’s overnight analysis of the Budget, we’ll hear from the Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Richard Hughes and leading economist Linda Yueh on their reflections on the Budget and Spending Review.
Read the overnight analysis: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-boris-budget/