New Economics Foundation

As large swathes of the Caribbean have been left devastated by Hurricane Irma, the issue of climate change is once again back on the global news agenda. It’s easy to feel defeated when the environmental crises we face are so immediate and huge. But action is urgently needed. In this special edition of the Weekly Economics Podcast (recorded before Irma took place), we explore some of the possible solutions, debate what real action looks like and how those most...

This week, the Scottish government pledged to phase out all new petrol and diesel cars by 2032 – a welcome eight years earlier than the UK-wide ban due by 2040. Air pollution and carbon emissions from transport are major problems. More than 40,000 premature deaths are attributable to high levels of air pollution in the UK alone. The sooner we leave petrol and diesel cars in the past, the better. But even the Scots are setting a 15-year horizon on the ban. Why so...

The 2015 Paris Agreement commits the world to limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2° Celsius. In this context, a number of initiatives have been launched to help stimulate financial support for achieving the transition to a low-carbon economy. These market-orientated initiatives focus mainly on mobilising existing private capital from institutional investors. So far, the results have been disappointing and the low-carbon investment ‘gap’ remains...

For Government’s new 30-hour free childcare to be sustainable, nurseries would have to pay their staff below the minimum wage to break even, new research shows This would mean a pay cut for 62% of the least-qualified nursery workers in the country.[2] Of nursery workers with at least A-level equivalent qualifications, 85% might expect a pay cut Nurseries will almost certainly look to make savings elsewhere, either by charging more for ‘extras’ or cutting services...

Today the government announced a package of corporate governance reforms to address workplace inequality and enhance the public’s trust in business. [1] Responding to the proposals, Annie Quick, Subject Lead for Inequality at the New Economics Foundation said: “Today’s announcement on corporate governance is a vital first step on the path to a better workplace. We cannot act when we don’t have all the facts. That’s why the Government’s measures to force firms to...

This week, car giant Ford announced a new scrappage scheme for old diesel cars. They’re offering at least £2,000 for the trade in of a pre-2010 motor (any brand) for a new one – as long as it’s made by Ford, obviously. This is smart PR for the UK’s leading car maker – something that it – and the industry it leads – desperately need. But are scrappage schemes really the answer to the UK’s diesel crisis? If you’re a car company that makes a lot of diesel cars,...

You don’t need to be an expert in adult social care to know that it’s in deep trouble. High-profile, distressing exposes like that from Panorama reveal a sector on the verge of –perhaps already in – full-blown crisis. People are living longer. In the UK the number of people over the age of 85 is expected to double by 2030. Yet thanks to Government cuts and the dysfunctionality of our care system, council spending on adult social care in England fell 8% in real...

Two in five of the UK workforce still in ‘bad jobs,’ according to NEF analysis Job quality is worse for the self-employed, where low income is rife Buoyant employment figures obscure reality as insecure and underpaid workforce close to breaking point More than half of all self-employed people are failing to earn a decent living, according to new research by the New Economics Foundation. The research, based on data from the ONS Labour Force Survey and the DWP...

Look at recent unemployment figures, and you may think all is plain sailing in the world of work. But look a little closer and the reality starts to come into focus. Two in every five people employed in the UK are in ‘bad jobs’ — work which doesn’t provide a secure, living wage. This figure includes more than half of all self-employed people who are failing to earn a decent living, according to new research by the New Economics Foundation. Our latest research...

This piece first appeared at Business Green and is reproduced here with permission. Last week marked Earth Overshoot Day. August 2 was 2017’s date roughly calculated as when we’ve started to cause more impact on the ecosystem than it can safely absorb, and used more of its resources than it can comfortably renew. That’s a global figure, by the way: rich countries’ individual overshoot days are much earlier (May 4 for the UK). Overshoot Day’s scary. It keeps...