Latest thinking

The future of ageing

Blog

01 Apr 2009

Matthew Taylor

 Among yesterday’s comments James Horn kindly asked me to elaborate on the top lines of my Resolution Foundation speech about ageing.

Against Evidence-Based Policy

Blog

01 Apr 2009

While scanning the recently published POSTnotes in the course of writing this rather negative post, I came across one called "Lessons from History" [pdf], which opens with:

Getting old in an ageing society - why we need a revolution in attitudes

Blog

31 Mar 2009

Matthew Taylor

I spoke this morning to the Resolution Foundation, an impressive new think tank focusing on issues facing the low paid. The conference was looking in particular at social care so I chose to focus on ageing and attitudes to old age.

News in the POST

Blog

31 Mar 2009

POST's (the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology - who provide parliament with policy analysis on science and technology issues) most recent POSTnote is called "Delaying Gratification" and is clearly aimed at policy makers and civil servants interested in all things Nudge. The main thrust of its message is that people have a bias towards short-term rewards over longer-term benefits, and opens with a paragraph that says:

Purpose, governance and engagement - why third sector organisations must face the big questions

Blog

30 Mar 2009

Matthew Taylor

(A short blog today as it’s already late, it’s Monday and I had some really good comments over the weekend so have already spent an hour on my site!)

The stupidity of crowds

Blog

27 Mar 2009

Matthew Taylor

One of the many privileges of my job is chairing events in our lecture programme. Sometimes it can be nerve-racking. So it was last night. Not only did we have an all star cast, but so broad was the subject matter there was the danger we would end up having parallel, tenuously linked, debates.

Job creation and social care - would this work?

Blog

26 Mar 2009

Matthew Taylor

Here is an argument you will be hearing a lot as the unemployment figure rises: it costs only a thousand pounds either to keep a family breadwinner in a £30k job or to create a new job for them. Why?  Because someone on a £30k salary pays about £11k in tax whilst an unemployed parent will receive an average of £18k in benefits, tax credits and other entitlements.

Paper: Producing decent returns for pensioners in turbulent times

Report

25 Mar 2009

Sir John Banham blames the poor performance of the UK fund management industry on Britons’ propensity for risk avoidance and ‘little Englander’ attitudes.

Arts New Deal needs a sharper focus

Blog

25 Mar 2009

Matthew Taylor

In his stark warning against boosting the fiscal deficit Mervyn King gave the Government some leeway by agreeing the need for ‘targeted and selected’ spending.