The Economy in Plain English with Torsten Bell

Past event: 13th May 2024

Hear journalist Clare English and David Hume Institute Director, Susan Murray in conversation with Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation. He has a background in economic policy, with a current research focus on how to renew the UK’s economic strategy to raise growth and reduce inequality.

In this episode, Torsten discussed his latest analysis from his new book, Great Britain? Described as “a treasure trove of enlightening and original analysis, and a much-needed antidote to the pervading sense that the country’s decline is inevitable or irreversible”.

We also discussed why Britain needs to stop living off its past and invest in the future; how complicated stories are told to justify the lack of investment; and how we need to pay attention to the economy as it is, not as people imagine it to be. Britain has a broad based service economy - if we live off our past, we will continue to remain poor.

This session was streamed live on LinkedIn, X and Youtube.

The Economy in Plain English with Diane Coyle

Past event: 25th March 2024

In our fifth conversation of 2024, Journalist Clare English and Director of the David Hume Institute, Susan Murray discuss the Economy in Plain English with Diane Coyle, Professor of Public Policy and Co-Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge.

This time we discussed: “What Economics Is and What It Should be”.

The session was streamed live on LinkedIn, X and Youtube.

Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker - February 2024 Insights

Past event: 28th February 2024

This event launched the latest results from the Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker (USET) - a quarterly survey of over 2000 people in Scotland undertaken in partnership with the Diffley partnership.

Mark Diffley, Director of the Diffley Partnership presented the latest findings which track economic confidence and buying intentions over time, as well as helping us to understand and monitor economic attitudes and public opinion.

Mark was joined by Professor Mairi Spowage, Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute and Kevin Havelock, Regional Director Corporate, Commercial and Business Banking at Royal Bank of Scotland to reflect on the results which came a week ahead of the Spring Budget at Westminister.

The event was kindly hosted by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Video credit: Allan Lloyd, Live to Air

About the speakers:

Mark Diffley, Director and Founder of the Diffley Partnership

Mark has spent 25 years delivering research, polling and insights for organisations in all sectors, including for governments, the third sector and companies across the business sector.

After working with a number of agencies in the research sector, Mark set up Diffley Partnership in 2017 and works with a brilliant team in Edinburgh to ensure that our research and insights are of the highest quality, enabling his clients to make important decisions with confidence.

Mairi Spowage, Professor of Practice and Director of the Fraser Allander Institute

Mairi’s areas of expertise include economic policy, economic statistics, national accounting, public sector finances, and economic and fiscal forecasting. Mairi leads on the Institute's work with various partners, including those in business, the public and third sector. 

Mairi is leading on various projects to improve economic measurement and the use of economic insights to improve policy decisions in Scotland and beyond. She also leads the programme to encourage graduates into careers in analysis through the Economic Futures programme. 

Mairi is on the Leadership team of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy and the Economics Statistics Centre of Excellence. Previously, Mairi was the Deputy Chief Executive of the Scottish Fiscal Commission and the Head of National Accounts at the Scottish Government, and has over 15 years of experience working in different areas of statistics and analysis, including transport, household surveys and performance measurement.

Kevin Havelock, Regional Director Corporate, Commercial and Business Banking at Royal Bank of Scotland

Kevin joined the Royal Bank of Scotland as a graduate trainee over 25 years ago, working in various teams before specialising in relationship management and moving into Corporate and Business Banking.  He has a degree in Politics from the University of Aberdeen and an MBA from Edinburgh Business School at Heriot Watt University.  Kevin is also currently a Governing Council Member of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and previously served for six years as Treasurer of the charity, Families Outside.

Read more about the research.

The Economy in Plain English with Andrea Barry

Past event: 19th February 2024

In our fourth conversation of 2024, Journalist Clare English and Director of the David Hume Institute, Susan Murray discuss the Economy in Plain English with Dr Andrea Barry, Principal Economist from the Youth Futures Foundation.

- What is a Principal Economist?
- What's their role in a youth organisation?
- And then the big question, does the economy cause intergenerational tension?

The session was streamed live on LinkedIn, X and Youtube. As always we promised you a lively conversation and interesting insights into the economy and economics - and all in plain English!

#economy #youngpeople #economics #intergenerationalwealth

The Economy in Plain English with Arun Advani

Past event: 5th February 2024

Hear former BBC Journalist Clare English discuss tax and the economy with Dr Arun Advani. Arun is co-chair of the Discover Economics campaign, aiming to increase the diversity of people who study and work in economics.

He studies issues of inequality, tax compliance, and tax design, with a focus on those with high incomes or wealth. He is a Commissioner at the Wealth Tax Commission and also work on issues of environmental taxation, economic development, migration, and tax in low- and middle-income countries.

A month ahead of the likely tax cuts in the Spring Budget, this is a good opportunity to take time out and hear one the the UK's leading experts on tax systems.

The Economy in Plain English was streamed Live on LinkedIn, X and YouTube.

More Information

David Hume Institute event: Diversity and econmics: what do the data tell us?, 2021

David Hume Institute event: Talking Tax with Dr Arun Advani, Dr Andy Summers and Charlotte Barbour, 8th July 2020

The Economy in Plain English with Dieter Helm

Past event: Monday 5th February 2024

At the David Hume Institute, we're on a mission to get more people talking and thinking about the economy. That's why we've launched a new series of online live events, where you can ask questions and get answers in plain English.

Hosted by journalist Clare English and Susan Murray, Director of the David Hume Institute we discuss the Economy in Plain English.

Last week with Professor Graeme Roy, Economy in Plain English discussed economics being about the allocation of scarce resources.

This week, Sir Dieter Helm, Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Economics at New College, Oxford discussed what would a sustainable economy look like and how to build it - and why it matters.

Dieter told us he is not considered a mainstream economist - but what does this mean? Have a listen to the conversation and see if you think these ideas are or should be mainstream.

Key points:

• Conventional economists look at the flows of goods, services, expenditures and incomes. The sustainable economy starts with the balance sheet of the assets and asks how well the stocks of these assets are being looked after or stewarded.

• What is left to spend now is net of having first made good any damage we have done. If you own a house and have neglected to fix a hole in the roof, you will not pretend that you are better off and can spend more because the money has not been spent on fixing the roof. Your house would be worth less. You would in effect be eating up your capital, mortgaging the future for the benefit of your spending today.

• Citizens of the sustainable economy have entitlements and rights, as well as duties and obligations to others now and to the next generation.

"What is not sustainable will not be sustained. The consequences of climate change do not go away because we refuse to address its fundamental causes."

Watch the recording below.

Find out more in Dieter's book Legacy: how to build a sustainable economy is available to download for free here.

The Economy in Plain English with Prof Graeme Roy

Past event: Monday 29th January 2024

Have you ever thought about how would you answer the question, what is the economy? If you are not an economist, the answer is probably, "no, I've never thought about it".

Whether you think about it or not, your decisions to do or not do something have an impact on the economy. And, someone else's decision to do to not do something will also affect you.

At the David Hume Institute, we're on a mission to get more people talking and thinking about the economy. That's why we've launched a new series of online live events, where you can ask questions and get answers in plain English.

Hosted by journalist Clare English and Susan Murray, Director of the David Hume Institute we'll discuss the Economy in Plain English.

To start us off, Professor Graeme Roy from the University of Glasgow joined us to answer the question, what is the economy?

We discussed:

• Economics is often misunderstood - lots of people think it is just money and finance but it's really about how society makes choices about the allocation of scarce resources.

• Traditional measures of the size of a country's economy like GDP (Gross Domestic Product) counted things that could be easily measured. This means activities that are harder to measure are not included even if they are of great value.

• Although the short-term is often front of mind when we hear politicians speak, it is important to think beyond election cycles when considering the economy and how to allocate scarce resources.

Listen to the full discussion:

Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker - November 2023 Insights

This briefing of the latest results Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker, produced by the David Hume Institute and the Diffley Partnership, marks its second birthday, showing many Scots continue to take extreme measures to navigate turbulent economic times:

Mark Diffley, Director of the Diffley Partnership and Scott Edgar, Senior Research Manager present the top ten insights from the latest tracker results and with reflections on the long term implications of the data:

• 1 in 6 people (17%) report skipping meals

• 1 in 5 people are using ‘buy now pay later’ payment plans

• 2 out of 3 people (67%) are not putting the heating on to reduce costs

For many, the ongoing challenges with the cost of living are dominating their lives with:

• 3 in 10 (29%) Scots tell us they are losing sleep due to their personal finances

Many Scots are living with severe financial precarity:

• 3 in 10 people (28%) are not confident of covering a £100 emergency expense – up three percentage points since February 2023.

• This rises to 1 in 2 (49%) for an emergency expense of £500.

The survey also shows 8 in 10 Scots perceive the economy as favouring the wealthy (78%), while 53% believe it primarily serves business interests. Only 1 in 10 (10%) believe that the economy works in their own interest.

Understanding Scotland economy tracker August 2023

This event launched the latest findings in our quarterly research series. Our regular survey with the Diffley Partnership helps us to understand and monitor changes in economic attitudes and public opinion over time.

The recent data have shown that skipping meals and cutting down on portion sizes have consistently been coping strategies for up to a quarter of Scottish households as the cost of living has risen.

In this session, Mark Diffley presented the latest tracker results and then we will reflect on the long term implications of the data by asking: is this household response to financial stress a long-term risk to public health and the economy?

To help us explore this question, Kate Elliot, from Rathbone Greenbank Investments, will join us. Her team led the creation of the Investor Coalition on Food Policy - a group of 23 investors representing over £6 trillion in assets under management. The work analyses the systemic risks and compelling business case for investors to include the negative impact of poor dietary health on the workforce and economic growth. 

Mark and Kate were joined by Pete Ritchie, Executive Director of Nourish Scotland. Pete will reflect on the new data from his perspective after many years experience of working to bring change towards a healthier, more sustainable food system.

In the light of recent reports that the average height of UK five year olds is slipping behind other European nations and established evidence that poor diets contribute to four out of the top five risk factors for early death, ill health and disability in Scotland we felt the time is right to ask what action business and policy-makers can take to help avert another growing crisis.

Watch the event recording

Read the research insights

Shattered Nation: how to save Britain from becoming a failed state

Past event: 23rd August 2023

What needs to be done to stop Britain becoming a failed state and is Scotland providing some answers?

Professor Danny Dorling, the Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at University of Oxford joined us in Edinburgh to preview his new book “Shattered Nation: Inequality and the Geography of a Failing State".

This event explored how Britain lost its role as Europe’s leading economy, made itself one of the most unequal countries and whether policies such as the Scottish Child Payment, universal free school meals and the absence of university tuition fees in Scotland are preventing things getting worse.

In "Shattered Nation," Dorling discusses the need for progressive plans for change to help us tackle inequality, social and political polarisation as well as the economic challenges and repeated crises that have left so many struggling to afford decent housing and the basics of a good life.

The session was chaired by Assa Samaké-Roman, a journalist and newspaper columnist from France who lives in Edinburgh. Assa covers Scotland's politics, culture and society for the French-speaking media (Radio France Internationale, Radio-Télévision Suisse, Le Figaro, Politis). She is also the co-founder and editor of La Revue Écossaise, a new francophone magazine about Scotland's ideas, culture, history and politics.

This event was supported by News Direct.