In at the deep end

The living standards crisis facing the new Prime Minister

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This paper sets out projections for household living standards through to 2026-27. With the UK facing the largest two-year real income fall in at least a century, these forecasts make it clear that a big policy response will be needed from the new government.

A chilling crisis

Policy options to deal with soaring energy prices

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This briefing note, released just ahead of the announcement of the winter 2022 energy price cap level, looks at the implications of an unprecedented jump in energy costs on low-to-middle income households, stresses the need for urgent and novel policy thinking to lessen this blow, and outlines how this could take shape.

Cutting back to keep warm

Why low-income households will have to cut back on spending by three times as much as high-income households this winter

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This winter, low-income households will have to reduce their spending by three times as much as high-income households in order to afford their energy bills – a situation that is particularly concerning now that we know energy bills in January-March 2023 are set to be an annualised £4,266, rather than the £2,800 expected earlier this … Continued

Slower for longer

The Bank of England tightens monetary policy again and warns that the outlook is bleak

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The Bank of England today unveiled the biggest rise in interest rates since 1995 along with plans to bring down the stock of Quantitative Easing (QE) by £80 billion over the next year. But the real news in today’s announcements was the extent to which the central bank expects the cost of living crisis to … Continued

In the dread of winter

Prospects for inflation in the coming months ahead of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Report

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In the face of the highest inflation rate for 40 years, many are predicting that the Bank of England will announce the largest interest rate rise in 27 years this week. This spotlight focuses on the challenges and uncertainties facing both the Bank of England and UK families from rising inflation this winter. Contrary to … Continued

Living pensions

An assessment of whether workers’ pension saving meets a ‘living pension’ benchmark

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Auto-enrolment has been successful in increasing pension saving participation among workers, especially those on lower incomes. However, given the improvements in take-up, the next pressing concern is whether workers are saving enough to deliver an adequate standard of living in retirement. A ‘Living pension’, parallel to the ‘Living wage’ could help us find the answer. … Continued

Monetary policy
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Economy and public finances
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Tax
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Macroeconomic policy
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Political parties and elections

Talking tax

What’s been said and what’s gone unsaid in the Conservative leadership election?

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Elections are rarely entirely about a single issue, but there are exceptions. Brexit in the 2019 general election stands out, and today tax cuts totally dominate the 2022 Conservative leadership election. Judging by last night’s TV debate, the contest is staying that way, with little discussion of the huge questions facing the country, from the … Continued

Arrears fears

The distribution of UK household wealth and the impact on families

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The defining economic challenge for UK families at the moment is the cost of living crisis, rising inflation threatens living standards in the UK as real incomes fall. Owning wealth helps protect against the adverse effects, particularly for those who can rely on savings. Therefore, the current crisis has thrown wealth inequality into the spotlight. … Continued

As good as it gets?

The forces driving economic stagnation and what they mean for the decade ahead

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With inflation at levels not seen since the early 1980s, it is clear that the UK is in the midst of a huge hit to real incomes. But the seeds for the devastating impact of the cost of living crisis were sown by a slump in growth that is unprecedented in the post-war period and … Continued

Stagnation nation

Navigating a route to a fairer and more prosperous Britain

The interim report of The Economy 2030 Inquiry The UK has great strengths, but is over a decade into a period of stagnation. The toxic combination of slow growth and high inequality was posing challenges for low-to-middle income Britain’s living standards even before the post-pandemic cost of living crisis struck. The task of the 2020s … Continued

Power plays

The shifting balance of employer and worker power in the UK labour market

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This briefing note, part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry, looks at shifts in the balance of worker and employer power in recent decades. It assesses the implications of these shifts for both the level and distribution of wages and highlights worker power as an important part of the UK’s economic strategy in the decade ahead.

Bridging the gap

What would it take to narrow the UK’s productivity disparities?

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An economic strategy that helps the UK respond to change and tackle stagnant living standards and productivity will need to address the stubborn spatial disparities in economic performance across the UK. Addressing these disparities requires understanding their extent, causes and consequences. This report uses data on regional productivity and area level characteristics to deepen our … Continued

Income outcomes

Assessing income gaps between places across the UK

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This briefing note uses a relatively under-exploited source of data to analyse how average incomes at the local authority level have changed since 1997. It provides a more complete view of income gaps across the country than has been possible to date, a vital input to the Economy 2030 Inquiry as it seeks to answer the question: how can a new economic strategy address the spatial disparities that have beset the UK for so long?

The Big Brexit

An assessment of the scale of change to come from Brexit

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Leaving the EU represents the largest change in the UK’s relationship with the rest of the world in nearly half a century. It is a profound change in economic governance, that will reorient production away from trade with the EU and towards the domestic market, impacting people, places and firms across the UK. Understanding the … Continued

Net zero jobs

The impact of the transition to net zero on the UK labour market

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The Government’s commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will mean investment, and change, across the economy: from the decarbonisation of buildings and surface transport, to shifts in diet, aviation and industry. These changes will affect the UK public, both as consumers and as workers. This briefing note explores the impact that … Continued

Economy 2030
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Demographics

Big welcomes and long goodbyes

The impact of demographic change in the 2020s

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It is well known that UK population ageing is set to accelerate in the 2020s. As a result, the discussion around demographic change tends to fixate on the fiscal implications from increased public spending pressures. But demographic change has wider implications for economies – it influences the size and shape of the labour market, demand … Continued

Not working

Exploring changing trends in youth worklessness in the UK, from the 1990s to the Covid-19 pandemic

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This report is part of the Health Foundation’s Young people’s future health inquiry, in which we focus on the labour market experience of young people, including its implications for health. This report provides a long-term view of what’s been happening to youth worklessness since the 1990s, looking beneath the headline figures.

Right Where You Left Me?

Analysis of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on local economies in the UK

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Now that the Covid-19 pandemic is largely behind us, this report, part of the Economy 2030 Inquiry, considers what might be the long-term impacts of Covid-19 on spatial inequalities across the UK in key economic outcomes.  In contrast to the initial fears that Covid could permanently damage our cities (by removing office workers, with the … Continued

All over the place

Perspectives on local economic prosperity

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The place where one is born, educated and works can have a profound bearing on one’s living standards. But how do people who live in different types of places experience their local area and want it to change? In April 2022, we ran four focus groups in Yorkshire and the Humber to explore this question. … Continued

Bouncebackability

The UK corporate sector's recovery from Covid-19

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UK firms have, like every other part of the economy, faced a huge economic hit from the Covid-19 pandemic. So, a key question is: what is the current state of British firms as we emerge from the pandemic? This matters because the nature and strength of the recovery depends on the health of the UK … Continued

Back on target

Analysis of the Government’s additional cost of living support

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The Chancellor yesterday announced a big and well-targeted package of energy bill support. Of the £15 billion of new measures, almost double that announced earlier in the year, twice as much will go to households in the bottom half of the income distribution as the top half. This fills the gaping hole left by the … Continued

Growing clean

Identifying and investing in sustainable growth opportunities across the UK

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This report, the 19th report for The Economy 2030 Inquiry, provides a hard-headed assessment of the opportunities presented to UK plc by the move to net zero, and considers how best these can be unlocked. It does this by considering carefully the UK’s pre-existing relative strengths in technologies, goods and services that are relevant for … Continued

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