Building ‘An Equal Recovery’ after the Covid-19 crisis

The Place-based Economic Recovery Network (PERN) academic steering group and Women in Economics research community (WiE) submitted written evidence to the Parliamentary Treasury Committee inquiry:

‘An Equal Recovery’.

The submission, published on 21^st September, formed part of the inquiry which examines different forms of inequality that have emerged or that may have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, and what HM Treasury can do to mitigate them. The inquiry focuses on disability, gender, race, regional imbalances, and intergenerational inequality, including housing.

The collaboration was led by the University’s Caroline Bentham and co-authored by Professor Andrew Brown, Professor Gary Dymski and Dr Richard Whittle.

Caroline explains the key policy recommendations:

The Covid-19 crisis exacerbated pre-existing economic inequalities, along fault lines that include racial, gender, wealth, housing, intergenerational and regional dimensions. The only way to build back an economy that is more resilient, sustainable, productive, fair and equal is through policies designed to address inequalities as a foundational assumption.

“Government programmes should go beyond the immediate impact of the Covid-19 crisis as an opportunity to correct long-standing inequalities. Truly effective policies should analyse and address as standard the systemic socioeconomic inequalities that lead to worse economic and social outcomes for individuals, families and at an aggregate level. This includes the use of economic analysis tools for complex social systems, and the representation of voices from across society is essential for making sure needs are addressed in a realistic, sufficient and well-designed way”.

About the collaboration partners:

PERN, the Place-based Economic Recovery Network, brings together experts from West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), Leeds City region Enterprise Partnership, ‘Yorkshire Universities,’ and universities within and outside of Yorkshire, with the aim of playing a key role as ‘anchor institutions’ in regional recovery and development.

The Women in Economics initiative is an interdisciplinary research community based in Leeds University Business School, founded in 2020. WiE welcomes researchers of all genders from across the university, and in June 2021 opened up to other universities and other research bodies, to promote inclusive perspectives in the economics profession and economics/economics-related fields.