Digital economy businesses have grown rapidly in the last 10-15 years, transforming how we work, travel, consume, and contract workers. Some impacts have been problematic, with growth of short-term lettings platforms reducing access to housing, and gig economy platforms increasing the precariousness of work. In this article, Dr Luke Yates outlines research findings on how […]
Building the bioeconomy
Current manufacturing processes across all industrial sectors rely on petrochemicals, either to power them, or as starting points for their product. This over reliance on finite fossil resources is having a detrimental impact on the health of the world and its population. Professor Aline Miller explains how industrial biotechnology can break this addiction to petrochemicals […]
New governments bring new opportunities: a way forward for green finance?
Following the result of the general election in July 2024, the new Labour government is now responsible for ensuring the UK gets back on track with its Net Zero objectives. Green finance has become a burgeoning area of climate politics and financial markets, raising the question over how the new government might utilise it to […]
The childhood obesity crisis – driven by deprivation?
Children growing up in the most deprived areas of the UK are over twice as likely to be obese as children growing up in the least deprived areas. Obesity and associated malnutrition in childhood can have significant long-term impacts on physical and psychological health, and on children’s long-term social and economic outcomes. In this article, […]
Precarious Work: The Consequences for Later Life Security
The concerning trend of precarious work is increasingly the focus of policymakers and researchers. Here, Kristian Fuzi and Professor Debora Price advocate for greater attention to the multiplicity of sectors and the widening age range of the workforce now affected by these working conditions. Precarious work trends have serious consequences for the financial security of workers […]
Don’t worry about the future, what about the ‘now of work’?
Amongst all the competing predictions about what the future of work might hold, the challenges of achieving decent work in the foundational economy have been largely overlooked. Here, Dr Mat Johnson and Dr Eva Herman argue that the focus should be on making tangible improvements to the working lives of those in the frontline roles that keep […]
Extending working lives – healthy ageing in the workplace
One in three workers in the UK are aged over 50 – with this figure set to rise in coming decades. Current government employment policy is to encourage over 50s to either to remain or return to work. However, the lasting impacts of COVID-19, along with caring, health, and work issues facing older workers, are […]
‘I am terribly hard up’: How looking at historical experiences of women’s offending can help to address current problems of benefit fraud.
Women are disproportionately represented in convictions for benefit fraud: in 2019, females made up 55% of the 98 summary convictions and 58% of the 1160 convictions for indictable benefit fraud offences. Since women’s convictions and custodial sentences are acknowledged to cause significant harm to them and their children, it is important to look at strategies that […]
Workplace violence and aggression – employees on the frontline
Workplace violence and aggression (WVA) is a serious social issue with profound negative consequences for individuals, teams, organisations, and society. The risk of WVA from the public (third parties) is a growing concern, with evidence indicating that incidents increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even ‘after’ COVID (after pandemic restrictions have ended), increased rates of WVA […]
Accelerating the electric vehicle transition in the UK
Following the publication of the industrial strategy in 2017, in which Theresa May attempted to envisage a post-Brexit future, electric vehicles (EVs) were identified as an important opportunity for the UK political economy. Yet, despite the almost annual publications that reiterated the need for EVs to become a significant feature of the UK, attempts to […]