Although artificial intelligence can raise workers’ productivity and leave them free from interference, it can still erode their autonomy. This has an uncomfortable implication for how policy-makers…

The world has changed drastically over the two and a half centuries since the publication of what is widely seen as the founding text of economics. But its author’s core ideas – about specialisation,…

People’s wellbeing at work is influenced by various features of their jobs, including autonomy, intensity and prospects. Researchers use surveys to track these dimensions of working life and measure…

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…

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…

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…

Explore interactive visualisations, find data direct from official sources, create and share your own charts.

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…

Explore interactive visualisations, find data direct from official sources, create and share your own charts.

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…

Explore interactive visualisations, find data direct from official sources, create and share your own charts.

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…

Explore interactive visualisations, find data direct from official sources, create and share your own charts.

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…

Explore interactive visualisations, find data direct from official sources, create and share your own charts.

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,…

Questions and answers about coronavirus and the UK economy