Suchergebnisse

In this Brief, the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) considers how the salience of 'saving' in British political discourse has evolved in recent years. It does so by examining how savers and the saving process have been discussed in the election manifestos of the Conservative Party and the Labour Party since 2005, up to the most recent election in June 2017. The material significance of private saving by individuals has risen in the context of welfare retrenchment, but discourses around saving also encompass moral imperatives. The notion of 'asset-based welfare' has been used by political economists to capture both dimensions. It suggests that accumulating wealth can have a more positive welfare function than traditional welfare provision – but also that individuals, as (potential) asset-holders, are therefore primarily responsible for their own welfare. However, since the financial crisis, the macro-economic significance of private saving appears to have risen – although this change now appears to have been superseded by a more negative treatment of the saving concept in British political discourse, which may foretell more profound changes in British economic statecraft ahead.

In this Brief, the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) presents evidence on asset allocations by local authority pension funds in the UK, based on annual data published by funds. It charts in particular the changes in investment patterns evident since the 2007/08 financial crisis, and the extent of moves towards 'alternative' investments such as infrastructure. This analysis will shortly be supplemented by a further Brief which assesses the strategic decision-making of local authority pension funds; that is, the rationale behind some of the changes documented in this Brief.

In advance of the referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union (EU), this Brief considers the differences in how the UK's constituent regions and nations interact with other EU countries, focusing upon trade in goods. The regional dimension of the UK/EU relationship has received relatively little attention in the public debate around the implications of 'Brexit', yet the evidence examined here suggests that the notion of whether the UK will be 'better off' or 'worse off' as a result of voting to exit or remain within the EU is too simplistic. An examination of the different trade relationships that different UK regions and nations have with the EU helps us to consider both how the UK will be affected by Brexit, and who will be most affected. In particular, the Brief reflects upon the possible implications of Brexit for the policy agendas around 'rebalancing' and 'the Northern Powerhouse', which are predicated upon a resurgence of manufacturing industries in the North of England.

In advance of the referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union (EU), this Brief considers the distribution of EU 'structural and investment funds' to the UK's constituent regions and nations. The regional dimension of the UK/EU relationship has received relatively little attention in the public debate around the implications of 'Brexit' with much of the attention focusing on whether the UK as a whole will be 'better off' or 'worse off' as a result of voting to exit or remain within the EU. Further, whilst the UK's financial contribution to the EU has been widely debated there has been considerably less attention on the funding that the UK receives from the EU, and how that funding is distributed. Analysis of the regional distribution of EU structural and investment funds suggests that the possible implications of Brexit would vary across the UK's constituent regions and nations, which experience significantly different economic and social inequalities and have a high degree of variation in their economic performance. The Brief highlights a series of key questions relating to the future of European structural and investment funds that require examination in advance of the referendum, and that policymakers would need to swiftly address should the UK vote to leave the European Union on June 23rd.