Big signing here for the government (and civil service) as Prof Brian Bell becomes Chief Economic Advisor at the Treasury. Brian will bring much-needed economic rigour and expertise, as well as adding A LOT of drive and energy to UK economic policymaking.

Our major new book is out today, exploring the changing circumstances of the poorer half of Britain, and setting out a policy agenda. Read a summary of it all here resolutionfoundation.substack.com/p/unsung-bri...

Good news about the British economy?! UK productivity – how much the economy produces per hour worked – grew more in the past year than in the previous seven years combined. In our latest Substack, Research Director @gthwaites.bsky.social takes a closer look 📈

📢now forthcoming in ECMA! The Class Gap in Career Progression: Evidence from US Academia Class is rarely a focus of research or DEI in elite US occupations. Evidence suggests it should be: we find a large class gap in at least one occupation - tenure-track academia...🧵

Good news against January blues: 🏹 the Nottingham GEP Labour Workshop is back! 🏹 Small in-person workshop; plenty of interactions. Submit your best labo(u)r paper! 🗣️ Gordon Dahl (UCSD) and Anna Stansbury (MIT) 📅 1-2 June 2026 🌍 University of Nottingham Apply by March 1st! ➡️ tinyurl.com/3kdpb64a

And that's a wrap! You can watch back our New Year Outlook event with @ruthcurtice.bsky.social @claire-ainsley.bsky.social @luketryl.bsky.social & @gthwaites.bsky.social here www.resolutionfoundation.org/events/growi... A wide-ranging discussion, with some great questions!

Has anyone looked at whether getting information from AI, which tends to be mainstream, is having/will have a depolarising effect, kind of the opposite of social media?

I don’t agree with lots in this article, but do agree it’s important to highlight that minimum wages can affect other aspects of job quality. w/ Michael Davies and Jisung Park, I find higher minimum wages increase workplace injuries, likely via work intensification.

GDP treats cigarette sales & cancer treatments as “good,” but caring for your kids or creating art doesn’t count at all. @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social joins Nick & Goldy to explain why GDP no longer reflects the real economy—and how we can measure true progress instead. 🎧Listen here: buff.ly/7HrQ3Wi

📉 Calling all chart enthusiasts! 📢 The Resolution Foundation is hiring 👀 This is a rare opportunity to join our senior leadership team and take forward our work on productivity and growth. Applications close in two weeks! ⤵️ buff.ly/x40DZV1

Sometimes a statistic is counterintuitive. This is not one: every adult in Britain has experienced greater interaction with people of different ethnic backgrounds over their lifetime As I say in this thread, this statistical fact is obvious in every aspect of our lives, & all of us know/feel it

📢 Job vacancy: Research Assistant (Pre-doc), Labour Markets Work with Prof. Stephen Machin on projects analysing labour markets & labour policy 📊⚖️ Full-time | 1 year Apply by 8 Oct → ow.ly/oyuZ50X1kVm

🚨 Vacancies alert! We're currently hiring for three new roles. Applications for all three will close on September 19th. See details and how to apply here 👉 buff.ly/EjyZen5

Ready for your next step? We're hiring! 📣 If you have strong quantitative research skills and a commitment to raising living standards in the UK, you might be the right fit for our team. Find out more about becoming an Economist or Research & Policy Analyst ⤵️ buff.ly/Xk8MWuv

📣 We're hiring! 📣 Do you have an interest in the economic and social policy of the UK and an eye for detail? Find out more about joining our team as a Researcher ⤵️ buff.ly/VVGWc14

This is my flag.

🚨 New research published today 🚨 Our analysis finds that inactivity is rising and unemployment has not yet peaked. Learn more 👉 buff.ly/a9SnWhw

Economist? The Treasury’s headache could be your opportunity! An ideal time to specialise in tax policy ….

Quick word on today's encouraging UK flash PMIs. This is THE key short-term economic indicator and the big issue for Aug was whether the recovery from April & May doldrums wd continue... In the event, the composite PMI pickedup slightly to its highest level in a year in August...

🚨 🚨 Interested in #regional #economic #inequalities in the #UK? Have a look at the video that came out of our project on the drivers of #wage disparities across English #cities. #econsky📉📈 #geosky @astonpress.bsky.social @resfoundation.bsky.social @sheffielduni.bsky.social

Our latest report by @emilyfry.bsky.social @tasoskitsos.bsky.social @gthwaites.bsky.social @dalilariba.bsky.social Richmond Egyei and Enrico Vanino looks at the impact of place in regional inequality.

While regional pay inequality is widely discussed, what drives these divides is less well understood. We'll be discussing our latest research on region pay w/ Rachel Taylor ‪@xiaoweixu.bsky.social‬ ‪@henrimurison.bsky.social‬ ‪@gthwaites.bsky.social‬ & ‪@ruthcurtice.bsky.social‬ buff.ly/hahdelB

Excited to be hiring a Senior AI Research Fellow @ippr.org . With AI progressing rapidly, the economic and social impacts could be huge – from job disruption to misinformation. We design bold, sector-specific policies to ensure AI delivers public value. www.ippr.org/jobs/senior-...

📣 New research, by @louisemurphy.bsky.social‬ and Gregory Thwaites, published this morning 📣 The spring’s benefit and employment support reforms will most likely increase the labour supply... but that increase is much smaller than the number of people affected by the cuts ⤵️ buff.ly/YzOXy6T

Short piece out tonight on what tariffs mean for UK living standards (h/t @emilyfry.bsky.social & @gthwaites.bsky.social). Key point: tariffs hurt the economy and destroy good jobs outside London & SE, so expect a policy response. But big risk is this turns into a global recession.

New research out from me today: why has Britain experienced so little productivity growth in recent years? And why (at least up until now) has the US has performed so much better? Spoiler: it’s not just tech companies and energy prices 🧵

With Trump's new tariffs coming into effect, how should the UK respond? In their piece from February, @emilyfry.bsky.social and @gthwaites.bsky.social suggested we should be cautious about retaliating. Read more➡️ buff.ly/9Z9LRmK

I think I worked out the optimal tariff calculation, as explained here: ustr.gov/issue-areas/... Step 1: work out how sensitive imports are to tariffs. If you impose a tariff, imports will fall! But how much...?

This is important both because of the issue but also because it shows Reform voters are not MAGA-style cultists - they do respond to events.

I would favour a joint political broadcast by Starmer, Badenoch, Farage and Davey where they sit us down, explain we’re not in Kansas any more, and say together that we need to raise income tax rates by say 2pp and spend the money on defence.

With the threat of tariffs seemingly coming closer, what should the UK do? In our blog from last week @emilyfry.bsky.social and @gthwaites.bsky.social suggested that we should be cautious about retaliating if the spotlight shifts to the UK. Read more➡️ https://buff.ly/3EAQvEg

🚨One week left to apply🚨 We're looking for a thoughtful and proactive individual to join our research team to support work on a specific research project. Full job description 👉 https://buff.ly/3PSACeM

Come and work with us! www.resolutionfoundation.org/about-us/opp...

Very nice summary of today’s labour market stats today from @gthwaites.bsky.social. Key takeaway here is that the labour market is cooling rapidly and looks in recession territory (but wage growth remains puzzlingly strong).

The jobs market ended 2024 with good news on pay - if you have a job. But there's worrying evidence that it’s getting harder to find one. Read the latest analysis by @gthwaites.bsky.social 👇

New randomized, controlled trial by the World Bank of students using GPT-4 as a tutor in Nigeria. Six weeks of after-school AI tutoring = 2 years of typical learning gains, outperforming 80% of other educational interventions. And it helped all students, especially girls who were initially behind.

There’s a welcome new consensus that childcare is something the Government should invest more in, but there are some major policy gaps that studying parents can fall through. Read our latest analysis ⤵️ https://buff.ly/4hGNm5e