Policy area: Economics

Reports

Ministerial leadership during crises

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how ministers can prepare for a potential crisis and learn lessons in the aftermath. Crises are among the greatest challenges a minister will face while in office. The minister in charge of the response will have to get to grips with a complex...

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Introducing the Shuttered Front

This report from UK think tank Power to Change argues that visible local decline matters to people when they head to the polls. This new analysis indicates that support for Reform UK is rising in places with declining high streets, predominantly in the Midlands and Northern England. The report argues that visible local decline matters...

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A Nation of Innovators

This report from UK think tank Civitas examines how the Industrial Strategy can kick-start growth in advanced manufacturing. Civitas has partnered with the Bessemer Society and the ERA Foundation to contribute to the new UK Industrial Strategy. Our objective is to identify barriers to growth, and suggest practical measure that will boost advanced manufacturing in...

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The defence pound in national and local prosperity

This report from UK think tank RUSI explores how UK defence spending contributes not only to national security but also to economic prosperity. This paper explores how UK defence spending contributes not only to national security but also to economic prosperity, especially under the current Labour government, which has emphasised the defence sector as a...

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Fair play: how competition policy can drive growth

This report from UK think tank IPPR sets out the case for an unwavering and robust competition policy, enforced by a more responsive regulator. The UK’s competition framework — and its regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority — has struggled to prevent rising market concentration and stagnant productivity. At the same time, the UK economy...

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Helping funders to measure what matters

This report from UK think tank PBE looks at using wellbeing to understand the value for money of Spirit of 2012 grants. Funders influence how impact is measured in the social sector. Their data needs to shape both the type of data charities collect and how they use it. However, the need for charities to...

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New Stable

This report from UK think tank Localis discusses expanding and reforming the role of the LGPS in driving affordable housing. Solving the housing crisis, a stated but unrealised goal of successive recent governments, is both a generational challenge for policy and a hugely significant potential investment in place. That a crisis exists is well-rehearsed, but...

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Trusteeship – a positive opportunity

This report from UK think tank Pro Bono Economics shares the findings of the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken of trustee motivations and skills. The charity regulator for England and Wales, with think tank and social sector research organisation, Pro Bono Economics, has published the findings of the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken of trustee...

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Capital gains

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at public investment priorities for the 2025 Spending Review. In this report we put the big investment decisions facing the Government at the Spending Review in context. It examines the UK’s long history of chronic under-investment, evaluates the recent welcome announcement of £100 billion additional...

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The myth of “left behind”

This report from UK think tank Centre for Cities looks at why a city-focused industrial strategy will not increase place-based discontent. A common argument in the aftermath of the Brexit vote was that people’s political discontent was the result of the widening divide between city and town. Yet, data shows that constituencies with stronger connections...

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Currencies under pressure

This report from UK think tank IIED examines how currency fluctuations and climate risks impact debt sustainability in SIDS and LDCs. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) are facing growing debt burdens, as volatile exchange rates, amplified by climate shocks, inflate the cost of servicing external debt. The reliance by SIDS...

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Underfunded, under resourced and under the radar

This report from UK think tank Pro Bono Economics examines the state of the women and girls' social sector. Women and girls’ charities are under intense strain — facing rising need and shrinking resources, even beyond the challenges experienced by the wider social sector. Read our new research by Dr Beth Kitson, commissioned by Rosa...

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How China–India relations will shape Asia and the global order

This report from UK think tank Chatham House explores the main factors behind the relationship between China and India. The China–US relationship is widely regarded as the defining geopolitical issue of the 21st century. But relations between China and India arguably hold greater long-term significance for the future of Asia and the global order. These...

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Getting the balance right

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at getting the balance right between copyright and AI. The UK is a global leader in AI development and innovation, but that status might be challenged by the UK’s copyright law, which could deter investment. As the Government begins a consultation on the topic,...

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A better life

This report from UK think tank Green Alliance highlights the green route to growth and security. The UK faces a convergence of serious challenges: rising poverty, sluggish economic growth and mounting geopolitical instability, all compounded by the escalating impacts of climate change. This publication highlights how these crises are deeply interconnected, and rather than viewing...

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