Good economic history offers insights to policy-makers, showing them how crises have been navigated in the past, and the intended and unintended consequences of the actions of earlier governments.

Good economic history offers insights to policy-makers, showing them how crises have been navigated in the past, and the intended and unintended consequences of the actions of earlier governments.

Good jobs exist everywhere in the UK – but the highest-paying roles remain heavily concentrated in London and the South East, and a small number of cities. Structural change has reinforced these…

Every UK region grew in 2024, but nearly a third of local authorities experienced a fall in total output that year. Analysing the latest official data helps to explain this striking variation – and…

Every UK region grew in 2024, but nearly a third of local authorities experienced a fall in total output that year. Analysing the latest official data helps to explain this striking variation – and…

Every UK region grew in 2024, but nearly a third of local authorities experienced a fall in total output that year. Analysing the latest official data helps to explain this striking variation – and…

Friday brought the news that English football – and indeed global football – has been anticipating for a long time. We wrote here in early 2023 about the 115 charges that the Premier League had…

The most productive, fastest-growing and most heavily invested part of the UK economy is invisible in the data that policy-makers use for decisions. A new classification of frontier firms reveals the…

The most productive, fastest-growing and most heavily invested part of the UK economy is invisible in the data that policy-makers use for decisions. A new classification of frontier firms reveals the…

The most productive, fastest-growing and most heavily invested part of the UK economy is invisible in the data that policy-makers use for decisions. A new classification of frontier firms reveals the…

The UK’s financial system has been forged by economic shocks, political priorities and market changes. Over the past century, banks have come to play a bigger role, not least for firms looking to…

Despite lessons from macroeconomics and economic history, recessions still strike with similar frequency and force to their predecessors. Business cycles remain unpredictable in their timing and…

Debates about globalisation and trade policy have deep historical roots. Patterns in the goods and services bought and sold by the UK have shifted over the past century, alongside the framework that…

At first glance, UK businesses have changed a lot since 1926. But to understand the nature and extent of that change requires us to think about issues such as business size, sector, focus and…

As the centenary of the General Strike, 1926 is an apt starting point for considering how the governance of UK labour markets has evolved. But 1979 was the moment when the industrial relations system…

Unemployment has fallen over the last century, although it is currently rising once again. These figures are driven by both the performance of the economy and the match between workers’ skills and…

Globally, there were dramatic and apparently permanent declines in almost all measures of economic inequality within countries across the 20th century. The UK too experienced these global trends, as…

Globally, there were dramatic and apparently permanent declines in almost all measures of economic inequality within countries across the 20th century. The UK too experienced these global trends, as…

The physical health of British children has improved substantially over the last century. While there had already been many improvements in children’s health before 1926, both infant and child…

There are several historical precedents for large-scale and sustained unemployment following technological change. Understanding these past experiences will help researchers and policy-makers to have…

There are several historical precedents for large-scale and sustained unemployment following technological change. Understanding these past experiences will help researchers and policy-makers to have…

The absence of live TV matches on Saturday afternoons may inconvenience fans of England’s 20 best sides. But the many smaller clubs in the league pyramid below the top compete with the big teams for…

The absence of live TV matches on Saturday afternoons may inconvenience fans of England’s 20 best sides. But the many smaller clubs in the league pyramid below the top compete with the big teams for…

Football shirts have become much more expensive over the past decade. Supporters’ unwavering loyalty means that clubs possess unusual pricing power, but there are still alternatives. Economics helps…

Britain established global leadership in manufacturing, innovation and exports in the Industrial Revolution. Relative economic decline from around 1870 was an outcome of comparator countries catching…

The UK government spends around £400 billion a year buying goods and services, a far bigger slice of public spending than goes to research and development. To support the new industrial strategy,…

In considering a return to North Sea exploration, five arguments relate to climate and clean energy: one’s bad; two provide a genuine case for limited additional production; and two strengthen the…

How effectively the machinery of governance enforces laws, regulates economic activity and provides public services is a key issue around the world. The Covid-19 pandemic and other policy challenges…

How effectively the machinery of governance enforces laws, regulates economic activity and provides public services is a key issue around the world. The Covid-19 pandemic and other policy challenges…

How effectively the machinery of governance enforces laws, regulates economic activity and provides public services is a key issue around the world. The Covid-19 pandemic and other policy challenges…

Cities often experience higher temperatures than rural areas. This ‘urban heat island’ effect is an increasing risk, with the average number of hot days (28°C or above) in the UK in a ten-year…

Cities often experience higher temperatures than rural areas. This ‘urban heat island’ effect is an increasing risk, with the average number of hot days (28°C or above) in the UK in a ten-year…

In August 2024, the normally quiet neighbourhood of Walthamstow in London was in uproar. More than 1,500 residents had signed a petition to ‘safeguard the soul of our beloved neighbourhood’. The…

Alongside the recent announcements on further devolution made by the Burnham government, England is navigating a quiet but profound shift in its domestic geography. The English Devolution White…

In the UK, the family you are born into still goes a long way in determining what you earn as an adult. Children born in the late 1980s inherit roughly one-fifth of their parents’ income advantage in…

The new prime minister has promised a cut in business rates for the country’s public houses as well as other social venues. Whether this helps pubs’ prospects of survival depends on how much of the…