We are independent…
The ERC is entirely independent with no party political affiliations. We take no money from government, nor do we represent any industry. We are almost entirely funded through voluntary individual donations, as well as income from journal and ticket sales and individual memberships. We occasionally receive sponsorship for specific events, but this never compromises the content of our output nor has any bearing on who can attend and participate in our events. As such, ERC events offer an academically objective and intellectually rigourous environment in which to learn about a vast array of topics, from the social care and housing crises to big data and artificial intelligence.
If you would like to support the ERC’s work, please click here to donate.
We are issue-focussed…
The ERC focuses on issues, building our activities around emergent matters and pressing questions as they arise. In the past, we have covered a number of topics at our events and in our research, including debates on EU membership, research into the state of the energy market and property prices. We were founded in the 1930s by individuals who were concerned by the poverty they saw around them in the midst of the plenty they themselves enjoyed, and we believe that this needless inequality persists today. Our activities will continue to be guided by this principle. As Britain starts a new chapter of its economic history, there has never been a more profound need for fresh economic thinking. Among other topics, the ERC hopes to address the following questions:
- The ‘plight’ of millennials: What caused this to be the first generation to be poorer than their parents?
- Big Data and AI: Is the end of privacy being accompanied by increasing monopolisation within the sector?
- The rise of platform companies: Should the state regulate an increasingly fragmented labour market?
- Home ownership is falling: What, if anything, is needed to protect Generation Rent?
- Personal indebtedness is near its historical peak: Is this phenomenon entirely negative and what should be done about it?
- Is there really a productivity crisis in the UK?
- Over 50% of UK households receive some form of state subsidy: Why is the welfare state failing?
- 9 years on from the global crash: Has “casino economics” substantively come to an end or are our banks still too-big-to-fail?
- The ageing population: How should we reform social care and pensions?
- Energy and the low-carbon economy: Should the Big Six be challenged?
We support education…
The ERC has links with a number of schools, both state and independent, in and outside the capital. We offer a range of informative materials for teachers as well as running a forecasting competition each year in which students can compete against professional economists and economic modellers, receiving monthly updates and providing excellent talking points for class discussion. We also offer a range of discounts for students to attend our events, with tickets priced between £5 and £10.
We also connect proactive, able students with a range of work experience placements, both with the ERC and beyond.
If you are a school and would like to get involved with the ERC, please email us by clicking here.
If you work in economics or finance, and are interested in taking one or more of our students for a work experience placement, please get in touch here.