Covid-19· Living standards· Incomes Coping with the crunch COVID-19’s impact on household incomes, savings and debt Monday 16 November 2020 The spring lockdown caused the biggest short-term income shock since the mid-1970s, with better off households seeing their savings rise while lower income families took on more debt. But this pandemic has now had eight months to run, with more difficult months ahead as the Government tightens restrictions across the country. Policy makers need a … Continued READ MORE
Fiscal policy· Economic growth Paying for Covid Repairing the public finances without derailing the economy Thursday 12 November 2020 COVID-19 has already been extremely expensive, with borrowing forecast to exceed £400 billion this year and a substantial deficit set to continue well after the crisis has passed. But that borrowing has been crucial in supporting the economy through the deepest recession for 300 years and government spending has a crucial role to play in … Continued READ MORE
Workertech Using technology to improve Britain’s post-covid labour market for low earners Tuesday 10 November 2020 Technology is changing the world of work – from app-based firms to the roll-out of remote workplaces during the Covid-19 pandemic. The benefits of these new technologies can often pass low-earners by, or add to greater insecurity in their working lives. But new technologies also have the potential to improve workers’ pay, skills and career … Continued READ MORE
Wales· Covid-19· Living standards· Cities and regions From locking down to ‘levelling up’ Wales The past, present and future of Welsh living standards Thursday 5 November 2020 Wales is often absent from Westminster-based discussions around ‘levelling up’, despite household incomes in Wales lagging as far behind the UK average as those in the north of England. But the Welsh government’s policy levers are far stronger than those of English regions, and that status and voice within the UK has become more prominent … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Labour market Covid-insecure How safe are our workplaces during the pandemic? Tuesday 3 November 2020 Some types of workplace have long been recognised as hazardous, but the Covid-19 pandemic means new health and safety risks at work are now widespread. While people are once again being urged to stay away from their workplace if possible, that is not an option for millions of workers in shops and warehouses, schools and … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Labour market Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Where has six months of this crisis left workers, and what’s coming next Wednesday 28 October 2020 As unemployment rates start to rise six months into this crisis, there are countless human stories of how workers have been affected. Some workers have had to adjust to lower pay or fewer hours, while others are worried about life after furlough, or have switched jobs or lost their livelihoods altogether. In order to understand … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards· Intergenerational Centre Lives, livelihoods and lifestyles The impact of the covid crisis across generations Thursday 8 October 2020 The COVID-19 crisis has cost tens of thousands of lives, millions of people’s livelihoods and upended everyone’s daily life. While younger generations have the lowest health risk from the virus, the Resolution Foundation’s Intergenerational Audit – the first comprehensive assessment of how the crisis has affected different generations across society – will provide fresh analysis … Continued READ MORE
How numbers can run, ruin and save the world Book launch for 'How to make the world add up' by Tim Harford Monday 28 September 2020 Pandemic life can feel dominated by statistics – whether its covid rates going up, GDP coming down, or algorithms ruining kids’ exam results. Making sense of this data can be a force for good, but it can also mislead, confuse or leave people cold. Tim Harford is one of the world’s leading – and most … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Low pay· Living Wage Raising pay vs protecting jobs? Where next for the National Living Wage Thursday 24 September 2020 Live interactive webinar. This pandemic has shone a spotlight on the vital work done by Britain’s low-paid workers who, from supermarket staff to care workers, were the most likely to continue working even while the rest of the economy was shut down or working from home. Many people would agree that a higher minimum wage … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Cities and regions City limits? Living with, and recovering from, Covid-19 Monday 21 September 2020 Live interactive webinar. City economies have been upended by Covid-19, as it changes what we do and where we do it. City regions across the country are having to rethink their strategies for success in the face of these new challenges. Greater Manchester is at the forefront of this debate, having only last year published … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Is Britain working? The jobs market in a time of crisis Tuesday 15 September 2020 Live interactive webinar. From the early surge in Universal Credit claims to the sharp drop in employees in HMRC payroll data and redundancies among big name brands on the High Street, there is mounting evidence that Britain is in the midst of a jobs crisis. And with the Job Retention Scheme due to end this … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Intergenerational Centre All in this together again? The impact of the covid policy response across generations Thursday 10 September 2020 Live interactive webinar. The overall scale of the Government’s policy response to the crisis is well known, from tens of billions spent on the Job Retention Scheme to significant increases in benefit levels. But it’s impact across generations is less well understood. How effective has Government policy been at supporting the incomes of different cohorts? … Continued READ MORE
Changing times Where next after four decades of time use evolution, and four months of time use revolution? Tuesday 28 July 2020 Live interactive webinar. Register to receive access link The way individuals and households split their time between work, chores and leisure has changed dramatically over the past four decades. Debates about how it should change further, including calls for a shorter working week, had already taken off – even before this slow time use evolution was thrown … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards Covid-compressed incomes? The past, present and future of crisis-hit living standards Tuesday 21 July 2020 Live interactive webinar. Register to receive access link The coronavirus public health crisis has prompted the biggest economic downturn in a century, the sharpest rise in benefit claims since records began, and a £190 billion policy response. These are big numbers and stark records, but what do they all amount to for the economic measure … Continued READ MORE
Where next? Trade wars, class wars and globalisation Thursday 9 July 2020 Live interactive webinar to launch new book ‘Trade Wars are Class Wars’ by Matthew C. Klein. While the first decade of the 21st century was marked by the seemingly unstoppable march of rising trade flows and globalisation, the last decade – and the last few years in particular – have been marked by trade disputes … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards· Budgets & fiscal events· Economy and public finances The real deal A recovery plan for Britain’s economy Tuesday 7 July 2020 Following a quickfire presentation of a major new RF report on how to support the recovery, we will be hearing the views of Shadow Business Secretary Ed Miliband and former Conservative Cabinet Minister Amber Rudd on the critical question of the recovery. READ MORE
Covid-19· Labour market The full monty Facing up to the scale of the COVID-19 jobs crisis Monday 29 June 2020 The Foundation will present highlights from a major new report into the nature of our jobs crisis and recommendations for how policy makers should respond, before we hear from leading experts on how to tackle high unemployment. READ MORE
Living standards· Household debt· Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets Weathering the storm How wealth shapes the ability of families to face this economic crisis Monday 22 June 2020 Individual wealth has grown significantly in recent decades, increasing from three- to nearly seven-times GDP since the 1980s. However, neither policy nor politics have kept pace with the scale of this change. The Resolution Foundation has joined the Standard Life Foundation to embark on the three-year project which audits wealth in the UK, helping us … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards· Economy and public finances· Economic growth Building a nation to belong to Preparing for a new post-pandemic economy Thursday 11 June 2020 Live interactive webinar to launch new book ‘The economics of belonging’ by Martin Sandbu. Register to receive access link. In just over a decade, the UK has been hit by two major global recessions with, for too many, little recovery in between. This has exposed long building political, economic and cultural divides – divides that … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Low pay· Pay From loud claps to hard cash A new settlement for Britain’s low-paid workers Wednesday 3 June 2020 Low-paid workers have borne the brunt of Britain’s economic crisis. Almost one in three have been furloughed or lost their jobs completely, while many of those continuing to work have risked their lives in doing so. We clap many of our low-paid workers every Thursday. But gratitude alone won’t pay the bills or ensure they … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Welfare The safety net in action? Universal Credit’s role in the crisis and the recovery Wednesday 27 May 2020 Universal Credit (UC) has been rolled-out very slowly since 2015. But that all changed when coronavirus struck. Since mid-March over two million new claims have been made, a surge far in excess of anything experienced during the financial crisis. UC is the UK’s primary safety-net benefit, but this is the first time it has been … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Inequality & poverty· Wealth & assets The hidden rise (and fall?) of the Top 1% Live online panel discussion Thursday 21 May 2020 For decades the incomes of the Top 1 per cent pulled away from the rest of society, before crashing back down in the 2008 financial crisis. But what has happened since then? Unfortunately, data on the incomes of the very rich often does a bad job of assessing how much they really receive, with capital … Continued READ MORE
Furloughing vs food stamps Comparing the UK and US responses to the corona crisis Tuesday 12 May 2020 When it comes to the labour market, the UK has long been said to have more in common with its cousin across the Atlantic than its neighbours across the Channel. But by adopting a Job Retention Scheme, in which the state is paying the wages of over six million private sector employees, the UK has … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Intergenerational Centre The corona class of 2020 How to support young people leaving education amid the crisis Monday 11 May 2020 Economic downturns can affect anyone’s job prospects, but history shows that young people are the worst hit. This is especially true for those who have the misfortune to leave education during a crisis – their pay levels and career prospects can remain scarred many years after the storm has passed. What are the challenges facing … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Economy and public finances· Macroeconomic policy An economic battleplan Assessing the design and delivery of Britain’s COVID-19 response Thursday 30 April 2020 Faced with an unprecedented economic crisis, the Government and the Bank of England have announced an unprecedented package of support measures – from business loans and more generous benefits, to paying the wages of a huge proportion of the private sector workforce. This bold action is costly but necessary – and more will be required … Continued READ MORE
