Economy 2030· Firms· Productivity & industrial strategy· Economic growth An investment nation Can Britain shift from living off its past to investing in its future? Thursday 22 June 2023 Britain is in relative decline, as productivity and wages stagnate. This reflects a decade of shocks but also a longer lasting problem – Britain has spent recent decades living off its past rather than investing in its future. In both public and private investment the UK consistently lags behind its international peers, leaving British workers … Continued READ MORE
Net zero· Economy 2030 Living in a material world How resources shape our past, present and future Monday 19 June 2023 Materials matter. They have been critical in shaping the path of human history, from the innovations we create to the relationships between nations. This has always been true from iron in the 19th Century to lithium that powers our smartphones today. But changing international dynamics – driven by shifting geopolitics, the recent energy crisis and … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Brexit & trade The UK’s trade trajectory In search of a post-Brexit trade strategy Thursday 15 June 2023 Brexit was a seismic break for the UK, not least in bringing to a close a decades long trade strategy focused on integration with European markets. Since then the Government has successfully rushed to sign as many trade agreements as possible, but these largely roll over arrangements inherited from EU membership, with little prospect of … Continued READ MORE
Net zero· Economy 2030 Running out of road? How to avoid (net) zero car taxation Thursday 1 June 2023 The UK is decarbonising its stock of cars quicker than most people expected – last year there were over a million Electric Vehicles (EVs) on our roads. This is great news for both people and the planet, as EVs are cheaper and cleaner to drive. But this transition presents challenges too – not least to … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Productivity & industrial strategy· Economic growth Shaping the next revolution How can we ensure that technological change boosts our national prosperity? Wednesday 24 May 2023 Technological innovations – from new agricultural machinery to industrialisation and the invention of the computer – have powered economic progress over the past 1,000 years. But technological leaps do not automatically lead to living standards improvements, and can instead cause economic disruption and pose threats to workers. As we stand on the precipice of a … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Cities and regions Turnaround cities How post-industrial cities around the world have transformed their economies Monday 15 May 2023 In a services-based economy like Britain, its cities should be leading its economic growth. But in fact England’s major cities outside London are actually less productive than the national average, and many have struggled to adjust to our post-industrial landscape. This is a common challenge for many cities in western economies. But while some cities … Continued READ MORE
Prices & consumption· Macroeconomic policy We need to talk about inflation What history has to teach us about surging prices Wednesday 3 May 2023 Book launch event for We Need to Talk About Inflation by Stephen King From investors and academics, to governments and central banks, almost everyone had assumed high and persistent inflation was dead and buried. But with inflation having soared to double-digits, people the world over are confronting a new economic reality of surging prices. Reflecting … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Living standards· Prices & consumption Still coping? How families are faring as the cost-of-living crisis enters its second year Thursday 27 April 2023 The UK’s cost-of-living crunch has entered its second year. While inflation should fall significantly in the coming months, the crisis is far from over. Prices are rising more slowly rather than falling. And the significant government support provided last year is being scaled back, while fast rising interest rates will affect more and more homeowners … Continued READ MORE
Labour market enforcement· Labour market Playing by the rules A new approach to enforcing workers’ rights Tuesday 25 April 2023 Debates about raising, or indeed cutting, legal protections for workers are a staple of British politics – with welcome progress including a rising minimum wage driving down low pay. But too often the reality that these rights, rates and rules mean little if they aren’t enforced is forgotten. The systems used to enforce workers’ rights … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Low pay· Labour market Good work How to renew the UK’s economic strategy and put better jobs at its heart Wednesday 19 April 2023 The minimum wage has more than halved the share of low paid workers across Britain over the past two decades. This is a huge success – but it is far from job done. While low-paid workers today earn more, they are too often trapped on short-hours, facing poor working conditions or lacking the advantages higher … Continued READ MORE
Demographics· Intergenerational Centre Making your voice heard? How different generations participate in politics Thursday 30 March 2023 Part of the ESRC funded Connecting Generations Thought Leader series. The political context in which people grow up can play a hugely influential role in how that age cohort participate in democracy. From the dominance of different political parties and prevalence of strikes and protests, to the distribution of information and ideas through social media, the … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Public spending Thinking about tomorrow Overcoming the UK’s low and volatile public investment problem Thursday 30 March 2023 The UK has been under-investing for decades. British business isn’t keen on investing, and the public sector if anything does even worse. Public investment is not only low by international standards, it’s very volatile. Politicians like to announce investment rises, but Chancellor’s also like to cut it when they need to make the fiscal arithmetic … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Cities and regions The future of the UK economy Navigating a route to a fairer and more prosperous South Yorkshire, and beyond Thursday 23 March 2023 The United Kingdom is facing a decisive decade of huge economic change, from restructuring after Brexit and the pandemic, to urgently transitioning towards a net zero future, and adapting to technological shifts amid an ageing population. But it is doing that against a backdrop of low growth and high inequality, a toxic combination that leaves … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Economy and public finances Into calmer waters? Assessing Budget 2023 Thursday 16 March 2023 The UK has gone through four Chancellors, three Prime Ministers and entered a cost-of-living crisis in 500 days since the last Budget way back in October 2021. On 15 March, Jeremy Hunt will unveil his first Budget, hoping to signpost the UK economy’s way towards a new, calmer, phase of lower inflation and higher growth. … Continued READ MORE
Monetary policy· Economy 2030· Macroeconomic policy A cost-of-living crisis Inflation during an unprecedented terms of trade shock Wednesday 8 March 2023 Speech by MPC member Swati Dhingra Britain has been buffeted by many different economic shocks in recent decades, but the most recent is a huge terms of trade deterioration following a spike in energy prices and disruption to global supply chains in the wake of the pandemic. This has given the UK the highest inflation … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Public spending· Economy and public finances Back to basics Budget? What Jeremy Hunt’s March Budget has in store Monday 6 March 2023 2022 marked a tough year, with soaring inflation sparking a cost-of-living crisis and repeated government announcements to tackle it. And that was before the Autumn economic policy chaos. The economics and politics are now calmer. Inflation – and most importantly gas prices – is falling, and the Chancellor hopes to deliver a more ‘normal’ Budget … Continued READ MORE
Monetary policy· Macroeconomic policy The results of rising rates Expectations, lags and the transmission of monetary policy Thursday 23 February 2023 Speech by MPC member Catherine Mann Central bankers around the world have been busy raising interest rates from their historical lows in the face of mounting inflation, with the Bank of England raising the base rate at their last ten MPC meetings. But the big question for policy makers is not just what the impact … Continued READ MORE
Working in the think tank sector Webinar for undergraduates interested in working in the sector Wednesday 22 February 2023 Download the event slides and FAQs from the event. Think tanks are research organisations that develop ideas and suggestions for action on a whole range of subjects affecting society. Using research, analysis and commentary, we aim to inform and influence politicians, policy makers and the public. Given the economic, social and political issues facing the … Continued READ MORE
Labour market Getting Britain working How to boost workforce participation in the 2020s Tuesday 21 February 2023 Fast rising participation in the workforce was an important driver of growth in the 2010s, helping to offset the impacts of a productivity and wage stagnation. But that progress has gone into reverse in the wake of the pandemic, with older workers in particular exiting the workforce, prompting the government to launch a major review. … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Economic growth Saving capitalism, rescuing democracy Book launch for The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism by Martin Wolf Tuesday 7 February 2023 Recent decades have not been kind to liberal democracy. Growth has slowed, inequality risen. Powerful voices argue that capitalism is better without democracy, while others argue that democracy is better without capitalism. But despite the travails of democratic capitalism this system brings substantial benefits. Turning the tide on populism requires both reflecting on these advantages … Continued READ MORE
Labour market enforcement· Labour market Do we care about carers? The experiences of social care workers Thursday 26 January 2023 Social care is a large and important part of the UK economy, and will be a growing one with an ageing population and rising ill-health. But it is often also a lower paid one, with funding challenges, staff shortages and a history of risks around minimum wage underpayment. Workers wrestle with these challenges, alongside the … Continued READ MORE
Pensions & savings· Wealth & assets Saving savings? Assessing government incentives to put money aside Monday 16 January 2023 Savings matter. They help households cope in the face of economic shocks, take risks and plan for the future. But the UK has had a low savings rate for decades, and as a result households have entered today’s cost of living crisis with low savings levels. Policymakers have long recognised this challenge, and tried to … Continued READ MORE
Demographics· Fiscal policy· Intergenerational Centre Wealth booms and debt burdens How Britain’s recent economic history and outlook affects different generations Wednesday 11 January 2023 Part of the ESRC funded Connecting Generations Thought Leader series. The financial crisis is largely considered to have increased inequalities between generations, with rising public debt leading to higher taxes for future generations, while the gains from rising asset prices have been accrued by older generations. Private intergenerational wealth transfers have grown – notably through … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Incomes· Prices & consumption· Inequality & poverty New year, renewed squeeze? The outlook for living standards in 2023 and beyond Monday 9 January 2023 Britain’s cost-of-living crisis has been brutal this winter – even with significant government support – as bills rise and real wages fall. Inflation should ease in the year ahead, but government support is also being scaled back and rising interest rates will feed through into higher mortgage costs. The outlook is highly uncertain. How are … Continued READ MORE
Net zero· Economy 2030 Getting warmth up and bills down How can the UK insulate its housing stock? Monday 12 December 2022 The current energy crisis has highlighted the disaster that is Britain’s poorly insulated housing stock – costing millions of households hundreds of pounds this winter alone. And it is about time, with drastically improving the energy efficiency of our homes the biggest net zero challenge of the 2020s. But progress has been far too slow … Continued READ MORE
