News

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.
Looking Backward to Look Forward: reading Edward Bellamy
19th October 2020
Dr Rajiv Prabhakar is a Senior Lecturer in Personal Finance at the OU. Following his recent reading of the novel Looking Backward 2000-1887, Rajiv explores the novel's link with income and wellbeing, tying it with his own research into universal basic income
Customizing national strategy for COVID-19 testing
16th October 2020
A new paper by Professor Smita Srinivas from The Open University, Ramakrishna Prasad and Pritika Rao, explores 'The clinical foreground and industrial background: Customizing national strategy for COVID-19 testing'
Letter by Professor Paul Anand published in The Guardian
15th October 2020
Paul Anand, Professor of Economics at The Open University, has had a letter published in The Guardian. Paul responds to the government's 'disappointing' new three-tier system with reference to a recent study he was involved in
Taxing financial winners from coronavirus to pay for the crisis
15th October 2020
Janette Rutterford, Emeritus Professor of Finance and Financial History at The Open University, urges the government to consider targeting those organisations that have profited from the pandemic to help those that are struggling
The Global Financial Safety Net, COVID-19 & Developing Countries
9th September 2020
Christina Laskaridis, Lecturer in Economics at The Open University, presents the findings of a recent paper which explores plans to fill a $2.5 trillion financing gap to combat COVID-19 and the subsequent financial crises