8 BusIness AUGUST 2019
feature
T
he economy matters.
Whether you’re a
student, single mother,
employed, an
entrepreneur or a
pensioner, what
happens to the
economy affects all of our lives.
It impacts how much we pay to fill up
a tank of petrol, whether we can afford
to buy a home or go on holiday.
Yet to understand the economy can
be a minefield. It can be complicated
and often technical and leaving people
thinking it’s something to do with
posh white people in Whitehall.
Which is why a new
campaign is putting
economics back in the
hands of people who
need it most.
Backed by the
Treasury, national
charity, The
Economy, has
been putting on
crash courses
across the UK to
help improve
everyone’s
understanding around
economics and empowering
people to engage in decisions that
affect their lives.
Following a successful run of three
pilot courses in London and one in
Manchester last year, they were back
again, this time in Levenshulme’s
Inspire Centre.
A one-day workshop saw Stockport
born Clare Lombardelli, the chief
economic advisor to the Treasury,
meet with locals to talk about issues
that mattered to them.
This included topics around
Manchester’s construction boom,
climate change, tax, as well as closing
the north-south divide.
“There’s a misconception out there
that the economy is something for
other people, it’s something that
people think about in London, in
banks and big businesses, and actually
economics is about everyone and
everyone’s lives,” says Lombardelli.
“If you ask people what they think
economists do they basically think
about bankers and the stock market
and that’s not true.
“We’ve had so many
interesting conversations
today all around basic
economic questions
such as fairness,
housing, public
services, questions
around the
climate and the
environment - and
what economists
do is think about
those things that
affect everyone.”
Lombardelli jointly
runs the government’s
economic service which
employs 2,300 economists
nationally.
The Treasury is the biggest employer
of economists in the UK working on
public policy issues including the big
questions around the macro economy,
growth, income and employment to
local issues such as transport schemes.
“It’s important to try and break down
this perception about economics being
something that affects other people
and it’s actually about people’s day today lives, it’s about their families, their
households, their bills and their
communities.
“What is really interesting to come to
an event like this is to talk to people
and really listen to what they think.
“This campaign is great because it’s
getting people to talk about economics
in a language people understand and
it’s making people realise that they can
take part in the economics debate.”
She continued: “It was interesting to
hear what people were talking about.
Housing was a big issue and so was
concerns around the environment,
there was a lot of people talking about
clean air, recycling which is something
we talk about in Whitehall but it’s really
interesting to see how much people
care about that.
“There were a few Mancunian
themes such as the north-south divide,
the industrial strategy and what are the
businesses and the industries of the
north today.
“Clearly, there is a long economic
history here in Manchester, which is a
wonderful city. It has got a vibrantfuture and industries that are dynamic,
and there was a sense of that feeling
from locals that Manchester is doing
well.”
As one of the UK’s top female
economists, Lombardelli is passionate
about encouraging a wider diversity of
people to study and work in
economics.
She agrees there are far fewer women- around a third of its workforce -
working in public sector economics,
but it’s also far too white.
Only 17 per cent of staff are from
BAME backgrounds and the number of
people from socio economic
backgrounds isn’t great either.
“It’s not representative,” she says.
“To what extent is the economics
debate a collection of middle class
white men talking to each other? Well,
it’s too often.
“I attend too many meetings where
often I’m the only woman.
“It white, middle class and male. This
is why I spend a lot of time talking to
schools and sixth forms about the work
we do and why young people from all
Economics
for those
that need it
the most...
Shelina Begum went along to Levenshulme
Inspire to speak to the government’s most
senior economist Clare Lombardelli on
why economics is for everyone
Clare Lombardelli at
Levenshulme InspireIf you ask people what
they think economists
do they basically think
about bankers and the
stock market and
that’s not true