Event

Exploring the links between households’ financial resilience and wider economic performance settlement

This event hosted by UK think tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Prospect magazine explores the argument that a strong economy and a thriving society are deeply interconnected.

For too long, UK decision-makers have prioritised economic growth for the country over the economic security of its people. The relationship between the two has been viewed largely as sequential and one-directional, with the former seen as a necessary precondition for the latter. 

It is clear this approach has failed on its own terms, and our argument is straightforward: a strong economy and a thriving society are deeply interconnected. While meaningful social change requires economic reform, a resilient economy also depends on a fair and stable social foundation.

This event will explore the following key questions: 

• Economic growth vs. economic security 
• One-directional thinking 
• Failure of the current approach 
• Mutual dependence of economy & society 
• The need for economic reform 
• The importance of social stability

Leading Panellists

Felicia Wong – Principal, Roosevelt Institute, US

Andrew Haldane – CEO, RSA, UK

Jane Green – Professor of Political Science and British Politics, Oxford University, UK

Paul Kissack – CEO, JRF, UK

The debate will be led by Alan Rusbridger – editor of Prospect