News

New BBCTwo/OU two-part series “We are Black and British” explores tough questions from unique perspectives.
21st February 2022
Broadcast on 23 and 24 February on BBCTwo at 21:00, new two-part OU/BBC series We Are Black and British explores the issues and debates around being black in Britain from a unique perspective.
New BBCTwo/OU two-part series “The Decade the Rich Won” reveals secrets about the 2008 Financial Crisis
25th January 2022
Broadcast on 25 January and 1 February at 21:00 on BBCTwo, two-part series The Decade the Rich Won talks to insiders about the 2008 financial crash and its far-reaching repercussions.
The real impact of inflation on individual households
21st January 2022
The UK Government’s latest data shows UK price inflation has risen by 4.8% year-on-year, but for many the jump in the cost of the weekly shop and household bills is much higher than that. Jonquil Lowe discusses the impact.
Remembering a treasured colleague, Dr Paula Tibandebage
28th April 2021
We are sad to announce that Dr Paula Tibandebage, a long standing and much valued research collaborator, colleague, Visiting Research Fellow in Economics at the OU, and friend of many OU colleagues, has died in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
India and the search for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines
2nd February 2021
We were delighted to have Dr Rory Horner from the University of Manchester join us in January to discuss 'Between globalisation and nationalism: India and the search for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines'. The webinar is now available to view again.
Food Poverty and urban struggles during COVID-19
2nd February 2021
A new working paper has been published, Food Poverty and urban struggles during COVID-19: the social reproduction of unequal London and the false narrative about the ‘pandemic-led crisis’. Written by Lorena Lombardozzi, Jeanette Copperman and Carolyn I. Auma
COVID-19 and the Child Trust Fund
12th January 2021
Young people are likely to bear much of the economic fall-out from COVID-19. Senior Lecturer in Personal Finances, Rajiv Prabhakar, argues that Child Trust Funds are the ideal avenue in which to channel emergency payments
Why switching aid spending to defence may not increase UK security
26th November 2020
Rishi Sunak has announced the UK will slash its overseas aid budget from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income, a reduction in international aid totalling around £3bn. In response, Alan Shipman, a Senior Lecturer in Economics in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at The Open University, discusses why switching aid to defence may not increase UK security.
OU research cited in report commissioned by Welsh Government
17th November 2020
Research by Senior Lecturer in Finance, Rajiv Prabhakar, has been cited in a new report commissioned by the Welsh Government during the pandemic. "An assessment of the feasibility of a local income tax to replace council tax in Wales" was written by Jennie Bunt.
The new SSGS magazine
4th November 2020
We're pleased to announce the publication of SSGS Magazine, which offers insight into the breadth of work across the School's eight disciplines.