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The news that Sarah Green has wrested the constituency of Chesham and Amersham off the Conservatives for the first time in its history merits a look back over the Liberal Democrat's long decline. The centre ground is not an easy place to be in politics, and the new MP has needed the frequent sight of HS2 bulldozers and stormtroopers to get her majority - but she's done it. This look-back over Liberal Democrat history with Simon Rose and Mike Indian was first published in October 2019, just before the last General Election.

Research into workplace productivity and management practice is often focused on the links between ‘Good’ and ‘Efficient’ practices. ‘Good’ covers employee-friendly policies; for instance, those providing opportunities for better Work Life Balance. In contrast, ‘Efficient’ practice includes the use of KPIs, setting clear performance expectations and tackling underperformance where it is identified. In this episode Peter Urwin and Professor Richard Saundry discuss this, drawing on their own understanding as researchers and experiences as line managers. The operational reality is that managers hold a position between the interests of their organisation and those who work for them – how do they balance the (often competing) need to create both efficient and good workplaces?

In this episode, hosts Matt Dickson and Franz Buscha are joined by Sonia Bhalotra, Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick. Sonia has a prodigious volume of research on topics relating to the creation of human capital, early child development, gender inequality, intergenerational mobility, and the impact of early life health on later life outcomes. Sonia discusses her research on the impact of the advent of antibiotics in the US in the 1930s on child pneumonia, and how this had long-lasting impacts on children’s education and labour market outcomes. She explains how improvements in child health and mortality have implications not just for the children themselves, but also for women’s fertility decisions and labour supply. The discussion then turns to the trade-off between the “quality” and the quantity of children that a family have – including the surprising news that having twins is not as random as we might have assumed. Finally, they touch on Sonia’s research into the long-term benefits of treating maternal depression, which highlights how a non-drug therapy can have profound and long-lasting impact on maternal health and wellbeing.

This month, the WealthiHer Network is proud to partner with the UN Girl Up Foundation, to talk about how women and girls have been most impacted by Covid-19 and what can be done to redress the balance. Joining Tamara Gillan is Hallie Hudson, Director of Development, Girl Up and Bethel Kyeza, Co-president Girl Up London to discuss how girls around the world are overcoming inequality and how Girl Up are helping them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Adam Cox is joined by Simon Marsh from 108 Harley Street to discuss the effect the pandemic has had on the NHS and their ability to carry out breast screening. They look at the way private clinics relieve some of the pressure the NHS faces, and how the NHS and private clinics may continue to work together in a post-COVID Britain.

The UK has come a long way since the early Equal Opportunities legislation of the 1970s, high-profile cases in the 1980s and 1990s identifying institutionalised discrimination, and the subsequent focus on celebration of diversity and promotion of inclusion. However, the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements are reminders of how far we still need to travel. In this episode, Peter Urwin is joined by Emma Parry, Professor of Human Resource Management at Cranfield School of Management, to discuss how to further move the dial on diversity in the workplace. Asking whether research provides clear lessons for managers, they identify a number of similar messages across the economics and HRM literatures. However, whilst recent debates over the value of unconscious bias training caution against untested approaches, evaluation of “solutions” such as Inclusion present a real challenge. Peter and Emma debate these tensions, and consider possible ways forward. For an accompanying blog post on this issue, go to https://www.propelhub.org.

In this episode of Policy Matters, hosts Franz Buscha and Matt Dickson are joined by Colin Green, Professor of Economics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Colin’s research interests cover a range of areas in applied economics and public policy, including education, the labour market, health, personnel economics, and political science. We first hear from Colin about how the pandemic has been in Norway over the last year and how this compares to the experience in the UK and in his home country of Australia. This leads into discussion of Colin’s research on the impact of the London congestion charge on traffic accidents in the city and some of the intended and unintended consequences for pollution. Next, we hear about the relationship between the election of anti-immigration politicians in Italy and the location decisions of migrants, before Colin tells us about the positive long-term impacts immigration can have on an area’s social capital, exploiting a specific migration event into Italy during the 16th Century. Colin then sheds light on why the performance-related pay element in Franz’s employment contract might not be the best thing for his health, before the programme closes with a discussion of Colin’s research on the concerning relationships between MPs’ jobs outside parliament, their involvement in law-making, and the economic value of the firms for whom they work.

The world of cyber security can seem mysterious and intimidating to the uninitiated, not least when it comes to all the jargon. In this episode, Vicky Sayers is joined by Cyber Security Expert at UNISYS, JP Cavanna, to talk about the dangers of one particular cyber security buzzword: ransomware. They discuss the background and growth of this form of malware, and some of the ways we can mitigate against the threat. JP also talks about a certain “white hat vigilante” who has become known for hacking the hackers – more information about which can be found here: https://bit.ly/3dE5X37

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.

Since the late 1960s, UK productivity growth has been weak and poor management is seen as one of the main causes. In recent years Economists have waded into this debate, and in this episode Peter Urwin asks Prof. Richard Saundy what he thinks of recent findings. The discussion begins with a reminder of the fractious history of UK industrial relations. They then consider recent evidence on what makes a good manager and ask why there seems to be so little sharing of good managerial practice both between, and even within, organisations. Concluding with a discussion of what the ‘cure’ might look like, they consider work of the PrOPEL Hub and ESRC funded studies that aim to improve management through new approaches to training.