The Social Market Foundation (SMF) is a non-partisan think tank. We believe that fair markets, complemented by open public services, increase prosperity and help people to live well. We conduct research and run events looking at a wide range of economic and social policy areas, focusing on economic prosperity, public services and consumer markets. The SMF is resolutely independent, and the range of backgrounds and opinions among our staff, trustees and advisory board reflects this.
Latest reports
Running out of road
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at navigating the route to decarbonised business fleets. Electric vehicles are at the forefront of the green transition, improving air quality and promoting cleaner, safer roads, but much of the policy discussion focuses on consumer uptake. This report looks at electric vehicle adoption among...
Capital improvement
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation puts forward a proposal for a new in-work poverty benchmark for London employers. This Social Market Foundation report is the culmination of a three-year project supported by Trust for London examining the scale and impact of in-work poverty in London. It proposes the creation of...
Electric avenue
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at how to make EVs more affordable to poorer households and the benefits they can offer them. For many people in Britain, electric vehicles represent the most tangible aspect of the green transition, but high upfront costs mean they are disproportionately available to the...
Assuring growth
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at the rising demand for AI assurance technologies and sets out how the UK can get a head start in this market. Artificial intelligence could boost the economy and public sector productivity, but for these benefits to materialise, concerns around the safety and reliability...
Clearing the air
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation explores the costs of restrictive software licensing practices on the public and private sector. This Social Market Foundation report explores the costs of restrictive software licensing practices on the public and private sector. It reviews existing literature on the cloud, draws upon interviews with IT...
Too much of a good thing?
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at international students and the financial stability of English higher education. International students benefit the UK, but the speed of the increase in their numbers since 2019 has diluted these benefits and created pressures on student housing. This Social Market Foundation briefing lays out...
Crazy for you
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation seeks to illuminate how the UK can best realise the benefits that come from the admission of international students. The debate around international students has taken on a more negative tone both in the UK and in other major host countries over the past year...
Pensions: a vision for the future
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation proposes a vision for a simpler, fairer and more sustainable pensions landscape. The pensions landscape is complex and unsustainable in its current form. This Social Market Foundation report proposes a vision for a simpler, fairer and more sustainable pensions landscape, incorporating the three pillars of...
Testing patience
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at reducing the burden of the English school curriculum. Nearly a decade on from the last major reforms, politicians are again turning their attention to the national curriculum. This Social Market Foundation briefing assesses claims that the curriculum is ‘too packed with content’ and...
Up for grabs
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation presents evidence on public attitudes to the pension ‘pot-for-life’ proposal. The Social Market Foundation recently published proposals for ‘member choice’ over pensions, whereby individuals can direct their contributions to a scheme of their choice. Meanwhile, the government is consulting on related proposals for a ‘lifetime...
Labour economics
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation provides independent analysis of the party’s proposed approach – and the gaps it needs to fill. With the Labour Party having vowed to achieve the fastest growth in the G7, the Social Market Foundation has brought together leading economic experts to provide independent analysis of...
Investing in the future
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at the case for universal financial education in the UK. Politicians across the party spectrum are keen for education to provide young people with key life skills, yet financial literacy among young people in the UK remains inadequate. This Social Market Foundation report looks...
Beyond the comfort zone
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at how effective planning reform is and how the UK can learn from failures elsewhere. Planning reform is of growing interest to policymakers across the Anglosphere as a way to increase the rate of housebuilding at minimal cost to the public purse. This report...
Affordable living
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at the role social and cooperative housing can play and what the UK can learn from other countries. High house prices are putting homeownership out of reach for many, but rising rents and insecurity of tenure make the private rental sector an undesirable long-term...
Life beyond bars
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation discusses the current state of education in prisons, and why it is failing to deliver on its aims. Education is central to prisoner rehabilitation, but take-up of it has been in decline and is still not back at even pre-pandemic levels. This Social Market Foundation...