Resolution Foundation Events Podcast

Living life to the full: How can we make our longer lives healthier, happier and more productive?

Book launch for The Longevity Imperative by Professor Andrew J Scott
Britain, along with many other countries, is getting older and living longer. This demographic shift has huge health, economic and societal impacts, but too often the debate is limited to the fiscal costs of an ageing society, and pressures on the NHS. Instead we need to take a broader view of the changes this will bring, and the changes we can shape so that people live not just longer lives, but happier and healthier ones too.
What has happened to life expectancy, what is likely to happen and what constitutes the longevity imperative? What are the economic consequences of this in terms of the public finances, productivity and the labour market? What can we do to age better? And how might this change how we live our longer lives?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to mark the new launch of Andrew Scott’s new book The Longevity Imperative, and to debate and answer these questions.
View the event slides here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/living-life-to-the-full/ 

Game changer? Assessing the Budget’s economic, and electoral, impact

The upcoming Spring Budget may be the last big fiscal event before the General Election, one of few chances for the government to set the terms of the economic debate. And with the government trailing heavily in the polls, and the economy entering a mild recession at the end of last year, the pressure is on to make it a game-changing Budget economically and electorally. But the Chancellor will also have to confront real trade-offs if he’s deliver a Budget that works for both the next six months, and the five years after that.
How big are the Chancellor’s tax cuts? Do they change the big picture of the government’s wider tax raising plans? What is the outlook for public services after the election? Where does the government plan to take the social security system, as it copes with rising numbers of us being sick or disabled? And will any of this make any difference to who forms the next government, and what they’re able to do?
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 Spring Budget 2024, we’ll hear from leading experts on what the Budget means for the election, and the economy.
Read the overnight analysis: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/back-for-more/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/game-changer/ 

Ending stagnation: The role of cities like Nottingham in boosting economic prosperity across Britain

A toxic combination of 15 years of low growth, and four decades of high inequality, has left Britain poorer and falling behind its peers. Productivity growth is weak and public investment is low, while wages today are no higher than they were before the financial crisis. Britain needs a new economic strategy to lift itself out of stagnation.
Nottingham is in many ways a microcosm of this national challenge. It has become a hub for creative industries in the East Midlands, serving as the headquarters for major firms like Games Workshop, as well as global giants like Boots and e.on. The city’s many strengths – including the world-class university and services firms – must be harnessed to meet the economic challenges of the coming years. But it also has high levels of deprivation, and won’t be truly thriving unless it finds ways to ensure that all its inhabitants benefit from growth and investment.
What should a new national economic strategy for Britain include? How will economic change affect the jobs we do, the places we live and the businesses we work for? And what are the prospects for cities like Nottingham, regions like the East Midlands, and nations like Britain to be able to rise to these challenges?
The Resolution Foundation is hosting this event with the Institute for Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham to debate Britain’s future economic strategy, building on the analysis of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – a three-year collaboration between the Resolution Foundation and the LSE, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We will be joined by leading experts from policy and business in the region to discuss how different areas of the UK – particularly Nottingham and the wider East Midlands region – can secure widely shared prosperity.
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/ending-stagnation-nottingham/ 

Healthy starts: How mental ill-health shapes the education and economic prospects of young people

The rising prevalence of mental health problems among young people over recent decades is becoming increasingly concerning. While evidently distressing for the young people and their families, periods of poor mental health can also have significant detrimental impacts on their education and job prospects. Increasing support provided in schools and universities has gone some way to address this – but gaps remain, particularly in colleges and workplaces, while young people who want to return to education once their health has improved can often struggle.
How has the prevalence of mental health problems in young people changed in recent years? Which cohorts in particular are most likely to experience declines in mental health? How can periods of poor mental health affect young people’s education and labour market outcomes? And what support should policymakers put in place to help young people into good-quality jobs?
The Resolution Foundation – as part of the Young people’s future health inquiry, in partnership with The Health Foundation– is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from the final report for this project, which draws on the experiences of young people shared in our focus groups, we will hear from leading experts.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/weve-only-just-begun/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/healthy-starts/ 

Tax cuts today, spending cuts tomorrow? How the Budget might shape the General Election and beyond

An election is coming, and therefore so are tax cuts in the Budget on 6th March. But the size of those tax cuts are dependent on the amount of fiscal room for manoeuvre the Chancellor has. And their shape will reflect where his political and economic priorities lie. Plus tax cuts come in a context of tax rises already announced, and spending cuts pencilled in for after the election.
Has the economic outlook changed over recent months? How much fiscal wriggle room might the Chancellor get from the Office for Budget for Responsibility? Should the priority be announcing tax cuts, or scrapping planned spending cuts? And will Budget ’24 make the slightest bit of difference to the election to come?
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 Foundation’s Budget preview, we will hear from leading experts on what’s likely to be in it and where that leaves the election, and the outlook for whoever has to govern after it.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-election-budget/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/tax-cuts-today-spending-cuts-tomorrow/ 

Trading standards: How exposure to global trade shapes our living standards

Britain is an open economy, and has become more open over recent decades – despite the impact of Brexit and ‘slowbalisation’. But the quantity and type of goods and services we trade isn’t the only thing that has shifted. So has what we consume and where we work. All of these shifts affect our exposure to trade, from its day to day flows to occasional sudden shocks. Yet we pay next to no attention to these issues, which are critical to our living standards.
How has globalisation changed the country’s exposure to the gains, and risks, from trade? Who is most affected, and how much does it matter for their living standards? How does trade affect us as consumers, and as workers? And what might the impact of future trade shocks be?
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 research on how changing trade patterns have affected our living standards, we will hear from leading experts on what this means for workers, firms and policy makers.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/decent-exposure/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/trading-standards/ 

Saving for today. And tomorrow. How to boost households financial resilience now, and living standards in retirement

British households aren’t saving enough. Pensions auto-enrolment has got far more of us saving for retirement, but too many of us are not on track for a comfortable old age. More immediately, too few of us have access to rainy-day pots to help us through an unexpected shock. Traditional approaches to encourage people to build up this kind of savings, focused on tax incentives, haven’t worked. And there are tensions not only between saving more for retirement or to boost financial resilience today, but also with consumption that has been squeezed badly during the cost of living crisis.
How do we manage the trade-offs between saving and consumption? Can we save more for our pensions, without leaving people with even less rainy day savings? And what lessons can we learn from approaches that have worked and led to Brits saving more?
The Resolution Foundation – in partnership with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust – hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation that outlines the Foundation’s recommendations for building a cohesive savings system, we heard from leading experts on the issue of savings and financial resilience in the UK.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/precautionary-tales/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/saving-for-today-and-tomorrow/ 

New age or age-old appeal: How different generations view the parties and issues that will determine the General Election

In recent decades age has replaced class as one of the key determinants of a voter’s values and voting behaviour. But these trends never sit still, especially as issues – from Europe to the environment, and the economy – rise and fall in terms of their electoral salience. We know that the next election will be very different to the last election. But the issue terrain on which the election will be fought, and what that means for different types of voters, is still up for grabs.
What issues are most salient for different age cohorts, and how might it have changed since the last election? To what extent do other voter characteristics like income, education status and housing tenure play a role, both in how people vote, and whether they vote at all? And what might be the generational battle lines in the coming General Election?
The Resolution Foundation hosted an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new research on intergenerational voting intentions, we heard from leading experts on how these issues might play out during the election year.
Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/poll-position/ 
View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/new-age-or-age-old-appeal/