Reports
In tandem
This report from UK think tank the Fabian Society puts forward the case for coordinated economic policymaking. The daunting array of economic problems facing Britain – low growth, inadequate investment, stagnant productivity, accelerating climate change and suppressed wages – are closely connected. Yet since 1997, the institutions most responsible for addressing them, the Treasury and...
Anti-money-laundering enablers
This report from UK think tank RUSI looks at the four key challenges and how to address them. Kathryn Westmore In the report, Kathryn outlines how the legal and accounting industries have faced mounting criticism over their apparent failure to effectively prevent and detect illicit actors’ money laundering activities, particularly in the wake of the full-scale...
An efficiency mindset
This report from UK think tank Re:State looks at prioritising efficiency in Whitehall's everyday work. Spending public money wisely must be at the heart of how Whitehall operates. Every pound that is wasted, or used ineffectively, is a pound that could have been used to improve people's lives. Yet despite spending more than ever on...
Has the IMF’s lending become too expensive for its own good?
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at the case for an IMF lending cap rate. The International Monetary Fund (IMF/Fund) risks losing traction as the multilateral provider of bailouts to countries in debt distress and needs urgent reform to manage the current financial and geopolitical reality. In a new...
Peaked interest
This report from UK think tank Resolution Foundation looks at what higher interest rates mean for the size and distribution of Britain's household wealth. Over the past four decades, the total value of wealth owned by UK households has been on a seemingly-relentless upward path: rising from around three-times GDP in the mid 1980s to...
Investors and the ESG blind spot
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at upholding civic freedoms as part of geopolitical corporate responsibility. Business and civil society benefit equally from strong civic institutions (such as an independent judiciary and media), the rule of law and the freedoms of expression, association and assembly. These elements of accountability are all critical...
Beyond boosterism
This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at realigning the policy ecosystem to unleash private investment for sustainable growth. The UK is a low investment nation. Low business investment is a big driver of this. Low investment is one reason behind the UK’s weak productivity growth, which in turn is the main...
Making sustainable finance taxonomies work for the circular economy
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at lessons from the EU Taxonomy. Circular economy initiatives face a significant gap in the availability of finance. Annual worldwide circular economy spending by the corporate sector is estimated at around $850 billion, compared with $35 trillion spent on existing ‘linear’ economic models. Awareness of the...
Equity across the regions
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at the case for a British Regional Investment Bank. This briefing from the Social Market Foundation fleshes out the case for a British Regional Investment Bank – first made by the Gordon Brown Commission on the UK’s future – that can better match public...
How to boost international private climate finance
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at the role of central banks, financial regulators and sectoral coalitions. This paper explores the potentially critical role of central banks, financial regulators and finance industry coalitions in stimulating private cross-border climate-related investment flows – particularly into developing economies. The transition to a ‘net zero’ emissions...
Five proposals for enforceable EU fiscal rules
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at the need for reform of the EU's fiscal rules. The EU’s fiscal rules, which constrain member-states’ budget policies, are in desperate need of reform. They are too complicated, impose unrealistic demands on some countries, and lead to government overspending in economic booms...
Friend or Foe?
This report from UK think tank the Centre for Social Justice looks at equipping debt advisors to tackle illegal money. On the front lines, Britain’s debt advisers are facing an increased demand. Debt advice agencies across the board are witnessing steep rises in the need for debt advice and Citizens Advice, StepChange, and Christians Against...
Moving through the gears
This report from UK think tank Localis looks at where local government finance might be in 2030. Council finances are in a precarious position. Wound tightly from the time of the astringencies of the 2010 spending review, to the limited protections that saw the sector through the Covid years, the principal cogs of local government...
Squeezed out or opting out?
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at ethnic differences in use of financial products and services. This report from Social Market Foundation think-tank looks at the reasons behind the ethnic gap in financial products uptake, as well as proposing recommendations on how to reduce the risk of disadvantage faced by...
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,...