Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
Oxford University Professor Ben Ansell is delivering this year's Reith Lectures on the future of democracy: whether it's in retreat across the world, whether citizens of wealthy countries have embraced a false sense of security, how to build a sense of solidarity in polarised societies, and how to enable continued economic growth without wrecking the environment in the process. But will he tackle the question of how democracy can — and should — evolve from national to global governance? And will he address the need for participation in individual ownership and the accompanying enhanced sense of responsibility, combined with the need for the young to be empowered through inter-generational rebalancing? The next three lectures will tell. Background music: 'Resolution' by Wayne Jones, Image source: BBC
Guests: Lord Lee
Published:
Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
“Give your grace abundantly to our European Union Leaders, that they may lead with wisdom and insight”, prayed Archbishop John Sentamu in early 2019. But it only became possible to knock sense into Brexit negotiations with the EU once Boris, armed with his very direct slogan ‘Get Brexit Done’ and with his impressive parliamentary majority following the December 2019 general election, took the EU bull by the horns. We all knew then it couldn't be the end of the story and, sure enough, we now have the Windsor Framework: but let's give credit where credit's due. Background music: 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home' - Cooper Cannell
Published:
Original Broadcast: Policy Matters
In this episode of Policy Matters, host Matt Dickson and Franz Buscha are joined by Sunčica Vujić, Associate Professor of Applied Econometrics at the University of Antwerp. Sunčica’s research covers a broad range of topics, but a common thread is that it is always very engaged with policy: making an impact in policy areas including crime, health, education and the labour market. Franz and Matt start by asking her about her recent work on the impact of the Brexit referendum on recorded hate-crimes in the UK, and we get a bonus lesson from Franz in translating statistical terms into user-friendly language! Sunčica then discusses her work that shows how policymakers and immigrants themselves can help to improve immigrants’ chances of labour market success, highlighting the startling role of volunteering in reducing labour market discrimination. The discussion concludes with some interesting findings on the impact of education on fertility timing in the UK.
Guests: Franz Buscha,Sunčica Vujić
Published:
Original Broadcast: This is Money
Happy new year, happy new lockdown. 2021 has seen off 2020, but schools and large chunks of the economy have shut down again and people have been ordered to stay at home, as across the UK the nations adopt their own version of lockdown. It’s probably been the gloomiest start to a year for as long as many can remember and a tough winter for people, businesses and the economy lies ahead. So what happened? The UK stock market jumped, of course. Contrary as this may seem, there is some logic to investors buying into the hope that better times lie ahead. We have Covid-19 vaccines being rolled out that will hopefully make this national lockdown the last people have to endure – and we also have a Brexit deal. On this week’s podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert look at what the fresh lockdown means for the economy and why investors are choosing to look straight through it and develop a new appetite for buying British. Are UK shares undervalued and a great opportunity for 2021 and beyond – and will a strong consumer rebound once the economy is reopened prove the catalyst the FTSE needs? The team also discuss the potential implications of the Brexit deal for people’s finances and businesses. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100’s gains may have been substantial for a week on the stock market, but they are nothing compared to bitcoin’s continuing rise. The cryptocurrency cracked $40,000 this week: what’s going on, are people making real money out of this, and is there any idea what could happen next? Also, on this week’s podcast, the team talk moving home and getting your property looking attractive for a sale and with everyone stuck at home again, how to improve your wifi.
Guests: Simon Lambert,Lee Boyce
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Talk by the WealthiHer Network
For women (59%), the resounding role of wealth is being able to provide comfort and security for themselves and their family. But many women neglect to plan and invest sufficiently to provide for their retirement; currently women lose nearly £1million over the course of their lives through a lack of investing. COVID-19 has dramatically impacted financial security, changed the ways in which we work, and the way we think about life, the future, and retirement. As the age of retirement keeps rising and we find ourselves in uncertain times, we should all be thinking about how we want to spend our lives and be armed with the knowledge needed to make the right financial choices to fuel the future we want. In this episode, Tamara Gillan is joined by Wealth Director of Brewin Dolphin, Carla Morris, to share her knowledge and expertise on pensions and female prosperity – both now, and in the future.
Guests: Carla Morris
Published:
Original Broadcast: Policy Matters
In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson discuss a non-COVID-19 policy topic that has been prominent in recent months following the recent Black Lives Matter protests: the ethnic inequalities that exist in socio-economic outcomes in the UK. Examining the issue from an academic viewpoint, Franz initially explains how labour economists define discrimination and how theoretically classical economics would expect labour market discrimination on the basis of race or gender to be eliminated by market forces. Matt and Franz go on to discuss how reality clashes with this theory, setting out the extent of contemporary ethnic and gender pay inequalities and some of the issues with analysis that seeks to explain away the large differences in pay between men and women and between white workers and those of other ethnicities. The discussion continues by looking at studies directly highlighting discrimination in hiring in both the UK and the US, before concluding with thoughts on what policymakers could do to address these longstanding inequalities.
Guests: Franz Buscha
Published:
Original Broadcast: This is Money
Stock markets crashing tend to put savers off investing in shares, but there has been a sizeable rise in new investors in Britain during lockdown, reports suggest. That came as savings rates plummeted (again) and people decided to go hunting for a bargain amid the stock market turmoil in March and April. But who are these novice investors and what do you need to think about to get started? On this week's podcast This is Money editor Simon Lambert tells host Georgie Frost what first timers need to know about building an investment portfolio - and gives some tips on easy ways to get started and why British isn't always best for investors. Managers can invest in their own fund or investment trust, but how do you find out if they do - and whether they're buying or selling, and does it matter? Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs backed Marcus Bank has pulled its best buy easy-access savings account – assistant editor Lee Boyce reveals why and how we are set to see rates tumble even further. Should you gamble on taking a European summer holiday in July, August or September and if you are tempted, what do you need to know? Euro 2020 should have been starting today, but at least for sport-starved fans Premier League football returns next week. However, you'll need a major tournament-style wallchart if you plan on catching the action, with Amazon Prime, BBC, BT Sport and Sky Sports all having games on – how do you watch for the cheapest price? And finally, property sales in England have started to edge up but apparently million-pound-plus homes in the country are leading the way. Are buyers really swapping Millionaire's Row for Millionaire's Lane?
Guests: Simon Lambert,Lee Boyce
Published:
Original Broadcast: Policy Matters
In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson talk to Simon Burgess, Professor of Economics at the University of Bristol. With COVID-19 and all the policy responses to it still very much at the forefront of public policy, Franz and Matt begin by asking Simon about the likely impact of school closures on child attainment, how this may affect existing socio-economic inequalities and what policymakers could do to tackle the issue once schools settle back to “normal”. The additional problems of replacing GCSE and A-level exams with teacher assessments are also considered, along with the difficult situation facing graduates finishing university this year. The discussion then moves on to Simon’s research into the impact of students’ effort on their educational outcomes. Simon explains how international football tournaments and school visits from Michelle Obama have provided insights into the huge effect that students’ effort can have on their results – and how policymakers might harness these findings.
Guests: Matt Dickson,Simon Burgess
Published:
Original Broadcast: Share Radio Interview with Vicky Sayers
Over two months into lockdown here in the UK, you may well be wondering when life is going to get “back to normal” once this is all over – but many are already convinced that things will never be the same. Vicky Sayers is joined by Ian Jenkins, CEO of Intrinsic Insight and author of a report projecting how behaviours could change following the COVID-19 outbreak, to talk about what the “new normal” might look like.
Guests: Ian Jenkins
Published:
Original Broadcast: This is Money
Should you save cash and accept low interest rates, or invest and take the risk that you could lose money? This is the perennial dilemma for those with some money to set aside, who are looking to build their wealth. And it’s not been made easier by a rollercoaster 20 years. Since the turn of the millennium, we’ve had three hefty stock market crashes, but we’ve also had the past decade of historically low interest rates. In response to paltry savings rates, more people have been encouraged to invest in shares for a better return, but the coronavirus crash has left the UK’s flagship stock market index, the FTSE 100, below its level on 31 December 1999, and burnt the fingers of many recent investors. So, is it worth investing, or should you just stick with the relative stability of cash? On this episode of the This is Money podcast, Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost look at our exclusive statistics on who is investing, who is bowing out of the market, and what the new generation of younger investors are doing. They also dive back into the question asked last week: how long do you need to invest for to avoid losing money? With some charts and data sent through to the team by Duncan Lamont, head of research and analytics at Schroders, they compare how putting money into either cash or the stockmarket fared over the past 150 years against inflation – and what the likelihood was of losing money over varying time periods. The team also look at what might happen next to house prices after the coronavirus lockdown put the property market into a deep freeze. Simon dives into the varying predictions of how much property prices could fall – and the bullish suggestion of one estate agent that it’ll all be fine. And finally, we discuss the businesses that we spoke to this week who are fighting veteran insurer Hiscox, because they believed they should be covered against coronavirus with policies that cite infectious or contagious disease… but it says they are not.
Guests: Simon Lambert,Lee Boyce
Published:
