Policy area: Business

Reports

Is trust an undervalued ingredient of a thriving economy?

This report from UK think tank the David Hume Institute looks at the role that trust can play in strengthening the economy. Labour market disputes, concerns about public contracts and declining trust in government and institutions have risen up the news agenda in recent times.  All of these things impact on our economy but the...

Read more

Employer briefing: Financial wellbeing during the cost of living crisis

This report from UK think tank the Work Foundation looks at how the cost of living crisis is shaping the way employers approach financial wellbeing at work. This employer briefing draws on Work Foundation research exploring how the cost of living crisis is shaping the way employer approach financial wellbeing at work. Illustrating current practice...

Read more

Watching me, watching you

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at worker surveillance in the UK after the pandemic. Worker surveillance is as old as work itself, but new technology is making it easier and cheaper than ever. Data suggests that workplace surveillance practices have hugely expanded during the pandemic and are here to stay – though...

Read more

Adapting the manufacturing sector for a brighter future

This report from UK think tank Civitas looks at new approaches to energy resilience among SMEs. In this latest Civitas publication, Dr Jim McConologue and Aaryaman Banerji look into energy resilience among SME manufacturers in the UK. The importance of SMEs within the manufacturing sector and across the UK economy should not be overlooked. There...

Read more

Insurance and the poverty premium

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at what drives the poverty premium in insurance. This report from the Social Market Foundation think-tank presents new evidence and analysis on experiences of the poverty premium in insurance market. Insurance can provide a vital form of resilience in times of financial strain, and,...

Read more

The forgotten medium

This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at helping mid-sized businesses to scale up. Focus is skewed towards both the smallest and largest companies in the UK, who benefit from support not offered to the “Forgotten Medium.” Scaling up MSBs would boost the UK’s growth prospects, in particular in areas of...

Read more

Learning from experience

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at how to make high quality work experience for all a reality. This report from Social Market Foundation think-tank provides a roadmap for rolling out high quality, universal work experience to students in England, in a way that is both equitable and does not...

Read more

Making the change

This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice looks at a plan to reboot British manufacturing and restore growth. In this report, the Centre for Social Justice makes the case that it’s the comparative decline of British manufacturing that holds the key to Britain's productivity puzzle. While so much of our growth...

Read more

A year of uncertainty?

This report from UK think tank the Work Foundation looks at the Retained EU Law Bill 2022 and UK workers’ rights. New analysis from the Work Foundation at Lancaster University reveals that Government plans to rush the ‘sunsetting’ of EU laws by the end of 2023 will put the rights and protections of more than...

Read more

The active last mile

This report from UK think tank the Centre for London looks at how can we boost out-of-home deliveries. The ‘last mile’ of a delivery is the journey from the depot to your front door. Most last mile journeys are currently taken by vans, meaning each delivery is contributing to air pollution and road congestion. The...

Read more

In London and for London

This report from UK think tank the Centre for London looks at impact investing for the capital. This report looks at ways to maximise the local benefits of impact investment capital – with five key recommendations on how to support and boost the sector. Impact Investments are investments made with the intention to generate positive,...

Read more

Work in progress? Supporting the self-employed after the pandemic

This report from UK think tank Bright Blue looks at the barriers self-employed people face to access financial support from government and commercial sources. The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant financial, occupational, social and psychological changes for self-employed people from low and middle income households. Challenges are now being compounded by the rising cost of...

Read more

Embracing the “new normal”?

This briefing from UK think The Policy Institute looks at why people largely feel so positive about the shift to hybrid working. As hybrid working becomes a feature of everyday life for so many people post-pandemic, the Policy Institute and King's Business School carried out a representative survey of 2,030 London workers aged 16+, between...

Read more

Just a click away

This report from UK think tank the SMF looks at how increasing SME e-commerce exports can boost UK’s economic growth. The UK has had an exports problem. Since the financial crisis of 2008, it has been lagging behind its pre-crisis trend. This has been further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, where UK exports have failed...

Read more

Buy back better

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at the case for raising taxes on dividends and buybacks. Households are experiencing a real-terms income squeeze while some of Britain’s largest companies transfer profits to their shareholders at record levels. Taxes on shareholder transfers should be raised to ensure that companies are not channelling profits to...

Read more