Resolution Foundation Event Recordings

Britain entered 2022 with a recovery resilient to Omicron and tax revenues coming in billions higher than expected. But good news on the public finances has been matched by troubling news for family finances as inflation soared and living standards have been squeezed. The conflict in Ukraine has further clouded the UK’s economic outlook, as the Chancellor prepares his Spring Statement.

What are the prospects for the UK’s post-pandemic recovery amidst the conflict in Ukraine? How deep will Britain’s cost of living squeeze be, and has the Chancellor done enough to protect households from it? And have calls for more spending on defence or fewer tax rises been heard in No11?

Immediately following the Spring Statement on Wednesday 23rd March, the Resolution Foundation are hosting a morning event to assess the latest official economic forecasts, and the Chancellor’s response. After a presentation of key highlights from the Foundation’s overnight analysis, we will hear from leading experts, including Richard Hughes, Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, on what the new forecasts and policy action means for families and the wider economy in the year ahead.

Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/inflation-nation/

Speech by Jared Bernstein, Member of the Council for Economic Advisors under President Biden, with response by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves

Joe Biden came into office with an ambitious economic plan for building back American prosperity after the pandemic – with policy objectives ranging from the renewal of infrastructure and greater childcare support, to more progressive taxation and stronger labour standards. As America prepares for the mid-term elections, Democrats will be campaigning on the achievements of ‘Bidenomics’, while their Republican opponents will claim that its main impact has been to stoke inflation.

The UK needs to reset its own economic strategy for the 2020s, but what can we learn from the US about the successes and risks of trying to adopt a radical, progressive economic agenda? What are the biggest achievements the President can lay claim to, and does the President’s agenda add up to a significant shift in the American economic model?

To debate and answer these questions, the Resolution Foundation – in collaboration with the London School of Economics – is hosting a transatlantic hybrid event featuring a speech from Washington D.C by Jared Bernstein, a Member of President Biden’s Council for Economic Advisors. He will be joined by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP and leading economist John Van Reenen who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic, to discuss what the UK can learn from ‘Bidenomics’.

Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/bidenomics/

The end of the Covid economic crisis is finally in sight. But it has swiftly been replaced by a terrifying conflict in Europe that threatens lives in Ukraine and livelihoods far beyond its borders. The UK’s immediate post-Covid economy thankfully doesn’t include the lengthy dole queues that normally follow a recession. But it instead faces new challenges – including older workers exiting the labour market and the highest inflation for at least three decades – amid huge uncertainty.

How strong will the UK’s economic recovery be, and when will it approach a new ‘normal’? What impact will the war in Ukraine have on the UK, European and Global economic outlook? And what does all this mean for the public, and household finances?

In the week running up the OBR’s Spring Statement on Wednesday 23rd March, the Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research on the UK economic outlook for 2022, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges this will pose for families and policy makers alike.

Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/catch-2022/ 

Watch the event: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/catch-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 to rise.

The independent review post-18 education and funding, led by Sir Philip Augar has grappled with these controversies, and the Government has now set out its response.

Who are the biggest winners from these proposed changes – students, universities or the Treasury? How will post 18 education and training change as a result of them?   What can we hope for from the Lifelong Learning Entitlement? And will these reforms leave the country in a better or worse place to deliver the education- and skills-based productivity gains we need to cope with  big economic changes and to raise living standards, in the 2020s?

The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar chaired by David Willetts – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions with leading experts, the Chair of the Post-18 Education and Funding Review Dr. Philip Augar, and Panel Member Professor Alison Wolf. 

Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/fees-ible-reforms/

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 keeping pace. The big question facing families is when the squeeze will start to ease.

How tight might the current cost of living crunch be, and what groups are likely to be most affected? To what extent will Britain’s tight labour market – with high vacancies and low unemployment – offset some of this pain? And is there anything more the Government can to do to soften Britain’s cost of living crunch?

The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research on the living standards outlook for 2022 and beyond, we will hear from leading experts, on the challenges this will pose for families and policy makers alike.

Read the report: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/the-living-standards-outlook-2022/ 

View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/crunch-time-2/

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 lives, but also threats to our living standards.

Are consumers ready for decarbonisation to get real? What changes will the decade ahead bring for their consumption of transport, heating, and food? What are the barriers facing households – especially those on low incomes – in this transition? And how can the benefits of decarbonisation, such as cleaner air and cheaper driving costs be spread fairly?

The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, a joint project with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of new research on what households will need to do to transition to a low carbon society, we will hear from leading experts on the challenges this will pose.

Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/shrinking-footprints/ 

View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/consuming-carbon/

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 for decades. And with the impacts of Brexit and the pandemic starting to become apparent, combined with the challenges of the net zero transition, more disruption is to follow.

How have past periods of dramatic change – such as the energy crises of 1970s or the global financial crisis – shaped our modern world? What can we learn about our economic and political future from the changes brought about by Brexit and the pandemic so far? And how much scope do we have to shape the economic, geopolitical and democratic changes to come?

As part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a book launch for Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century by Professor Helen Thompson. We will discuss how geopolitical and economic events from recent decades have contributed to the state of the world today, and what that means for the UK as it wrestles with economic change in the 2020s.

Watch the event back here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/disruption-nation/

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 inequality.

Business will find themselves at the heart of this seismic economic change, and could play a decisive role alongside Government and wider society in helping to navigate the country through this decisive decade.

Are British firms ready for the scale of change to come ? What role and responsibility does business have in solving the problems and seizing the opportunities change can bring? And what lessons can be drawn from a business that was built on a purpose of trying to make the world ‘a bit happier’?

As part of its ongoing Economy 2030 Inquiry with the Centre for Economic Performance at the LSE, the Resolution Foundation is hosting a keynote lecture by the Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership Sharon White on this topic. Sharon will be by joined by author and former Treasury Minister Jesse Norman MP, alongside Lord Willetts, to discuss the role of business in navigating Britain through the 2020s, before an interactive audience Q&A.

Watch the event here: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/a-firm-solution/

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 2016 vote to leave the EU meant big migration changes were coming, but they have now arrived with a new post-Brexit migration regime and a pandemic combining to turbo-charge change.

How did higher migration change Britain’s labour market in the first two decades of the 21st century? What might recent shifts in migration policy mean for the nature of our economy post-pandemic? How might firms reliant on migrant labour respond to less access to it? And what does this mean for the UK’s economic strategy going forward?

The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and discuss these questions. Following a presentation of highlights from new Resolution Foundation research for The Economy 2030 Inquiry on how migration drives and shapes economic change, we will hear from a panel of experts on the issue, before an interactive audience Q&A.

Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/under-new-management/ 

Find the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/on-the-road/

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 military to further tax rises on workers – may not be available as they once were.

What are the big forces driving change in the size and shape of the state in the decade ahead? How has the country responded to such shifts before? What choices does the Treasury have in managing fiscal headwinds and tailwinds this time? What does this mean for those relying on public services and taxpayers?

The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar – as part of The Economy 2030 Inquiry, funded by the Nuffield Foundation – to debate and answer these questions. Following a presentation of the key highlights from new Resolution Foundation on the pressures facing the public finances during the coming decade of change we will hear from leading experts on this issue, including former Chancellor Alistair Darling.

Read the report: https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/under-pressure/ 

View the event slides: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/pressure-points/