Resolution Foundation

The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank focused on improving the living standards of those on low-to-middle incomes. There are eight million low-to-middle income families in the UK, including twelve million adults and nearly seven million children. We work across a wide range of economic and social policy, combining our core purpose with a commitment to analytical rigour.

The Foundation’s established work programme includes incomes and inequalityjobsskills and payhousingwealth and debttax and welfarepublic finances and the economy. More recently, it has added work streams on tradenet zero and productivity, as well as covering these issues through both an intergenerational and cities lens.

Since 2018, we have calculated the real Living Wage – a voluntary hourly pay rate that is based on what families need to get by.

Between 2021 and 2023, the Resolution Foundation collaborated with the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics on The Economy 2030 Inquiry. The Inquiry brought together leaders from business, academia and policy making, in both the UK and US, to both diagnose the causes of the UK’s poor economic performance in recent decades, and to set out a new economic strategy for the 2020s. Over the course of the project, the Resolution Foundation published over 90 reports, briefing notes and comment pieces, examining the change that the UK is living through, and setting out a plan for successfully navigating that change. In December 2023, this work culminated in the publication of the Inquiry’s final report, Ending Stagnation.


Latest reports

Low Pay Britain 2025

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines the Government’s employment reforms. The Employment Rights Bill (ERB) currently making its way through parliament is a big deal for low-paid workers, who stand to gain the most from its changes. But it’s also a big deal for the country, with the row between business...

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The good, the bad and the messy

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation. This week marks an important moment for this Government’s welfare reform plans: as Parliament prepares to vote on major legislation to make cuts to PIP and UC-Health, the consultation on longer-term changes to the benefits system, set out...

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The Living Standards Outlook 2025

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at how incomes have fared over the decade so far and what may lie ahead. This is our seventh annual Living Standards Outlook. It looks at how incomes have fared over the decade so far and what may lie ahead given current economic forecasts and...

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Flex appeal

This report from UK think tank Resolution Foundation looks at how to reform electricity pricing for a cleaner and cheaper energy system. This report examines how Britain’s electricity system must transform to achieve net zero emissions while keeping energy affordable for households. It provides a comprehensive assessment of the reforms needed to move from a...

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The power of place

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines the role of place in driving regional pay inequalities. Pay varies dramatically across England. In 2024, average weekly wages range from £610 in Liskeard to £1,130 in London. Is this because high‑earning areas attract inherently higher‑earning people, or because the jobs located there pay more...

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A healthy State?

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation puts the 2025 Spending Review into context. June 11th saw the Chancellor reveal the results of the first ‘zero-based’ review since 2008, the first stand-alone Spending Review since 2019, and the first three-year plan since 2021. It was the Government’s chance to say what its priorities...

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Renew and improve

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation reviews the Household Support Fund and recommends how a longer-term scheme could be improved. At the upcoming Spending Review, the Government has a chance to deliver a long-term settlement for the Household Support Fund, the largest form of discretionary crisis support in England. Conceived of as...

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No workaround

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation assesses the impact of the Spring 2025 disability and incapacity benefit reforms on employment. In March, the Government released its Pathways to Work Green Paper, setting out a package of welfare reforms that amounted to a net reduction in spending of £4.8 billion in 2029-30. On...

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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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Saving penalties

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at reforming the capital rules in universal credit. Means-tested benefits in Britain are built on the principle that individuals with significant financial resources should use those before turning to the state for help. That’s why wealth – as well as income – is assessed when...

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Precarious prospects

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation examines the labour market experiences of foreign-born workers. This briefing note – the second in a Resolution Foundation research programme on precarious work in the UK, supported by Unbound Philanthropy – examines the labour market experiences of foreign-born workers. While many secure high-skilled, well-paid jobs, we...

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Turning up the heat

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at making the home heating transition work for low-income households. This report continues the Resolution Foundation’s series of reports looking at how changes associated with the net zero transition will impact low-to-middle income households. It deals with the issue of home heating, providing insights into...

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At your service?

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at why the 2025 Spending Review must reckon with the distribution of public service use. Post-Covid, the British state is estimated to have reached a historic high of 45 per cent of the size of the economy. Past strategies to cope with increasing pressure on...

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Yanked away

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at the post-pandemic productivity divergence between Britain and America. Britain’s record of productivity growth in the 2010s was dismal. But halfway through the 2020s things appear to have got worse not better, with official data likely understating the scale of Britain’s ongoing productivity crisis. America...

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Happy new tax year 2025

This report from UK think tank the Resolution Foundation looks at tax, utility bill and social security changes in April 2025. April is always a month of tax changes, and this year, two stand out in their impact on the public finances: the rise in employer National Insurance, and the continuing freezing of the Income...

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Upcoming events

9 July 2025

Location: Online / Resolution Foundation, 2 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AA

Think tank: Resolution Foundation

A new world order

This event hosted by UK think tank the Resolution Foundation discusses the economic implications of global trade, tariffs, and uncertainty. On the evening of Wednesday 9th July, join us for a timely discussion exploring the profound transformation of global trade, amid rising tariffs and mounting geopolitical tensions. What are the broader economic implications for the...