Economy 2030· Covid-19 The office strikes back Can post-pandemic remote working solve our productivity challenge? Thursday 10 March 2022 Book launch for The Nowhere Office by Julia Hobsbawm. Office work has had a mixed reception in recent decades, aiding team work but accused of driving our stress up and productivity down. The onset of the pandemic has triggered a workplace revolution as remote working surged and employers learnt workers can be trusted to work … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Skills· Tax Fees-ible reforms? Assessing the Government’s new plan for higher education Wednesday 9 March 2022 The UK’s universities are highly regarded abroad, but are controversial at home. While increasing participation has boosted people’s skills and their social mobility prospects, ‘edusceptics’ worry that too many people are attending university, and about the funding of the growth through fees and loans. Meanwhile the number of young people going to higher education continues … Continued READ MORE
Incomes· Living standards· Prices & consumption Crunch time The Living Standards Outlook for 2022 Tuesday 8 March 2022 The good news is that Britain is finally stepping out of the pandemic. The bad news is that it is stepping straight into a renewed living standards squeeze which, according to the latest Bank of England forecasts, could be the tightest one in generations. Prices, bills and taxes are all going up, and wages aren’t … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Consuming carbon What does the net zero transition mean for households? Tuesday 1 March 2022 So far, the UK’s Net Zero strategy has caused minimal visible upheaval to people’s day-to-day lives. During the 2020s, however, emissions will need to be cut in ways that require real change for households – from minimising flights and meat consumption, to switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps. These bring opportunities to improve our … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Disruption nation How economic and political change has shaped our world Wednesday 23 February 2022 Book launch for Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century by Helen Thompson The 21st century has witnessed huge shocks across the world, with far-reaching consequences for our economies and democracies. But this should not come as a surprise, as unresolved issues – from energy and trade, to growth and migration – have been accumulating … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Firms· Economic growth A firm solution? How businesses can rise to the challenges facing Britain in this decisive decade Monday 21 February 2022 Speech by the Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership Sharon White Britain is facing a decisive decade of economic change as technological change combines with Covid, Brexit and the rapid transition towards a net zero economy. These challenges are set against a backdrop of rapid demographic shifts, and a legacy of low productivity and high … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Migration On the road How will post-Brexit migration changes change Britain? Thursday 17 February 2022 Migration has been centre stage in economic debates this century. For some higher migration is the root cause of Britain’s low pay, low productivity challenges, while for others it is the answer to labour and skill shortages. The Prime Minister argues lower migration is the route to the UK having a higher wage future. The … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Public spending· Economy and public finances Pressure points Why the state is getting bigger and what we do about it Thursday 10 February 2022 The UK that exits the pandemic has a bigger state than the one that went into it. The 2020s will bring further pressure for the state to grow or our tax revenues to shrink, including from our ageing society and net zero ambitions. But previous approaches to responding to such pressure – from shrinking the … Continued READ MORE
Pensions & savings· Intergenerational Centre Family fortunes How intergenerational giving is changing us Thursday 3 February 2022 Inheritances have always been used to give relatives a financial boost. But they look set to be a growing part of 21st Century Britain as household wealth booms, particularly for older cohorts. This brings with it change for younger people, whose lifetime living standards may increasingly be shaped by the inheritances or gifts they receive … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Brexit & trade Pivot Pivot! Assessing the UK’s new Indo-Pacific trade focus Wednesday 26 January 2022 The UK’s exit from the EU has given it the freedom to pursue an independent trade strategy for the first time in four decades. To date, post-Brexit trade debate has focused on lost access to EU markets, roll-over deals preserving the status quo, and a lack of progress with the US. But the start of … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Welfare Beyond Beveridge Have social security shifts prepared us for economic change? Wednesday 19 January 2022 The modern welfare state is approaching its 75th anniversary, but continual reforms and wider economic change mean that it bears little resemblance to the system first envisaged by William Beveridge. And it faces new challenges, with Covid, Brexit and net zero – coupled with rapid demographic and technological change – set to reshape our economy … Continued READ MORE
Covid-19· Living standards New year, old pandemic Assessing the politics, economics and epidemiology of 2022 Thursday 13 January 2022 With Omicron cases the only thing rising faster than energy bills, 2022 is off to a difficult start. The pandemic and cost of living pressures will continue to dominate political and economic debates through 2022, but what that means for strains on the NHS and family budgets, or volatile GDP and poll ratings, is hugely … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Labour market Changing jobs? How economic change affects the world of work Thursday 6 January 2022 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 … Continued READ MORE
Living standards· Prices & consumption Crunch time The causes and consequences of Britain’s cost of living squeeze Wednesday 15 December 2021 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 … Continued READ MORE
Wealth & assets· Housing· Tax The Great British wealth windfall Is now the time to reform property taxation? Thursday 9 December 2021 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 … Continued READ MORE
Ventures Exploring WorkerTech in Manchester together Bringing the WorkerTech community in Manchester together to explore how we might shape a fairer future of work for all Tuesday 7 December 2021 Online event. Register to receive access link. We’re excited to bring you an event bringing the Manchester community together to discuss and explore new technologies that help shape a fairer future of work. We’ll be joined by expert speakers who’ll provide us with tangible insights into how we might leverage new technologies to improve the … Continued READ MORE
Housing Hope to buy? Assessing trends in home ownership Thursday 2 December 2021 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 … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Labour market Back to the future What comes next for the UK’s post-pandemic labour market? Tuesday 23 November 2021 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 … Continued READ MORE
Monetary policy· Economy 2030· Firms· Economic growth Open for business? Assessing the performance of British firms Monday 15 November 2021 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 … Continued READ MORE
Firms· Labour market No shame, no gain? Do firms’ reputational concerns affect their compliance with labour market laws? Tuesday 9 November 2021 In-person event and live interactive webinar. Register to receive access link. Businesses are responsible for ensuring they treat their workers fairly – from providing safe workplaces to paying staff the wages they’ve earned. But not all firms meet these standards at all times and, in the age of social media, public outcry at poor behaviour … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030· Pay· Economic growth Gaining from growth When the economy grows, do wages? Wednesday 3 November 2021 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 … Continued READ MORE
Budgets & fiscal events· Living standards· Economy and public finances Budgeting for Britain What the Budget and Spending Review tell us about the Government’s economic strategy Thursday 28 October 2021 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 … Continued READ MORE
Intergenerational Centre Covid cohorts How have different generations fared in the second half of the pandemic? Thursday 21 October 2021 The Covid-19 pandemic has touched everyone’s lives, but has been felt differently across generations. And while the first half of the pandemic was marked by lockdowns to curb rising infections and deaths, the second half has been marked by the vaccine rollout and the reopening of the economy. The second half of the pandemic will … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Trading places What does Brexit mean for the UK’s economic strategy? Thursday 14 October 2021 The UK’s political and policy debate on trade has become preoccupied with the nuts and bolts of individual trade deals – some real, some imaginary. Meanwhile bigger questions about the future path of the UK economy post-Brexit are ignored. Trade shapes our economic strengths and weaknesses, the jobs we do, and where we do them. … Continued READ MORE
Economy 2030 Pastures new Is lower migration the route to a new, higher wage, British economy? Wednesday 13 October 2021 Lower migration was always going to be a consequence of the vote to leave the European Union and Covid-19 has accelerated that change. The short term results include empty petrol stations and supermarkets’ warning of a Turkey-less Christmas. But wages are also rising fast for HGV drivers and the Prime Minister now insists that weaning … Continued READ MORE
