Economics in business

May 2026 PwC UK Chief Economist Barret Kupelian is joined by Andy Haldane, Economic Adviser to PwC UK and former Chief Economist at the Bank of England, to explore three possible futures for the Middle East and what they could mean for businesses, markets and the global economy. They also discuss the surprising resilience of UK private sector balance sheets, whether the recent stock market rally c...

April 2026 PwC UK Chief Economist Barret Kupelian is joined by Andy Haldane, Special Advisor to PwC UK, to unpack the latest developments in the Middle East and what they mean for UK businesses. They revisit the pre-escalation outlook, explore how rising geopolitical risk is feeding through into oil prices, supply chains, inflation and financial markets, and consider the implications for UK econom...

In this final PwC Economics in Business Podcast of 2025, PwC UK Economics Leader Simon Oates and UK Chief Economist Barret Kupelian take stock after the dust has settled on the UK Budget. They unpack what a thicker fiscal headroom really signals for economic stability and how recent policy changes are reshaping business decisions and the labour market as firms look ahead to 2026. Barret also share...

With households saving more and uncertainty rising, UK growth remains mediocre. In this episode from the PwC Economics team, Barret Kupelian Chief Economist and Andy Haldane Special Advisor speak to Simon Oates, UK Economics Leader on their latest thoughts on the economy, why households are saving and weigh on the Chancellor's high-level fiscal options for the Autumn Budget. They are also joined b...

Hosted by Simon Oates, Leader of Economics at PwC UK, this episode of Economics in Business brings you a data-driven exploration of the UK economy’s brightest levers and its toughest hurdles. Join Simon as he challenges: Barret Kupelian, PwC’s Chief Economist UK, on why real wages are rising faster than wallets feel—and what it means for consumer demand. Andy Haldane, PwC Special Advisor and forme...

While women's participation in labour markets is increasing, they continue to face pay disparities compared to men. In this episode, host Ellie Golden is joined by Alia Qamar and Yashi Chowdhary, Economists at PwC, to dive deeper into the findings of the Women in Work 2024 report. The speakers outline the standout findings, the drivers of the gender pay gap in the UK, and why this is so important.

Are we out of the woods yet? In this podcast, Ellie Golden hosts our UK Chief Economist Barret Kupelian, along with Jake Finney, a manager in our Economics team, to discuss their views on the macroeconomic outlook and the reports special article, which offers a holistic evaluation on undergraduate degrees. The speaker's outline their views on GDP growth, the outlook on headline inflation and what...

Free school meals can have a great impact on both children and wider society. Join us as we discuss the potential expansion of free school meals in England, looking at who currently receives them, what the potential benefits to children and society are from expanding this policy, and what we expect to happen next.

Overall success is heavily dependent on effective employee adoption, and without this, businesses struggle to see the true benefits of their time and financial investments. So, what insights can behavioural economics provide to help navigate change and get good habits to stick? And how did we apply these insights in practice to drive an 81% increase in employee adoption of technology within 2 mont...

Action on net zero is a central tenet of governments, businesses and policy makers around the world, but what are the implications for women in the workplace? What lessons have we learned from COVID-19 that we can carry forward to make sure all women, especially those with childcare responsibilities and those from ethnic minorities, are better placed for the transition to net zero? In this episode...

Are you value-sensitive or time-sensitive? Active or dormant? Proactive or a procrastinator? These questions are at the heart of Behavioural Segmentation, an approach to segmentation that makes nudges significantly more effective at influencing behaviour. The integration of behavioural science into customer insight is proving to be a powerful accelerator for businesses to understand their customer...

Building back greener is now an urgent imperative, but how can policymakers ensure that the green transition works for all countries and all people? In this episode, Hannah Audino talks to Zlatina Loudjeva and Jack Steenson from PwC's International Development team about the benefits and challenges of the green skills agenda and what policymakers can do to prevent widening global inequalities. For...

After a year of low inflation across the UK, US and the eurozone, economists are now turning to the question of whether inflation might make a comeback this year, as economies recover from the pandemic. In this bonus episode, Hannah Audino and Barret Kupelian, economists at PwC, explore the outlook for inflation this year, focusing on the US and considering the implications for the UK. For more in...

In this episode, Freddie Martin discusses the results of PwC's latest Good Growth for Cities index with George Mason, an economist at PwC, and James Bowman, a South-East and London PwC Consulting partner specialising in local government transformation. Ten years after its launch, and as we recover from another global crisis, we reflect on what economic wellbeing really means, and how policymakers...

Projecting what the future holds is an important exercise for businesses and governments looking to plan ahead. In this podcast, Hannah Audino speaks to Barret Kupelian and Rob Clarry from PwC's Economics team to discuss the key trends we expect to come to the fore in the global economy in the year to come. You can read more in our latest Global Economy Watch: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/research-in...

In this episode our co-host Freddie Martin is joined by Steve Davies, PwC's Global Blockchain leader, and Jonathan Gillham, who leads PwC UK's Economics team, to discuss blockchain, the technology that is revolutionising how we share and store data, with the potential to add an estimated $1.76 trillion to the global economy by 2030. To find out more, please visit PwC's blockchain page, where you c...

Virtual and Augmented reality were once seen as the domain of the entertainment industry, used mainly in gaming and social media. However, as these technologies have developed and the number of use cases have grown, an increasing number of sectors, from health services to product development, are beginning to harness the potential of VR and AR. Jeremy Dalton, a VR and AR specialist, and Ryan Hamil...

 In this episode, we talk to our outgoing Chief Economist John Hawksworth, to mark his retirement after 34 years with the firm. John reflects on the development of the UK economy over the past four decades - the key trends, challenges and lessons learnt. We discuss the opportunities facing the UK economy and also touch upon the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Governments and other public sector bodies are under increasing scrutiny from taxpayers to demonstrate that investment of government resources represents good value for money for society. This means that it is no longer enough to look at the traditionally monetised economic benefits but it is also important to capture wider impacts on society. In this podcast, Hannah Audino talks to Ioanna Sikiari...

Values in society are being reassessed, external stakeholders are gaining more influence and Government policy and regulation are changing. We are now seeing customers and employees wanting to engage with companies that share their values and are increasingly demanding companies to demonstrate their positive contribution to society. In this podcast, we talk to Ioanna Sikiaridi and Priya Ravidran,...

In this podcast, we discuss the potential impact of drones on the UK economy, drawing on findings from PwC's "Skies without limits" report. We discuss the benefits and the risks of increasing drone uptake across industries, and how governments and businesses can best utilise drones to increase productivity and realise net cost savings of a potential £16bn to the UK by 2030.

In April of this year PwC published a groundbreaking report, commissioned by Microsoft, which estimated the potential economic and environmental benefits of using AI technology to address climate change and promote sustainability. The report found that using AI applications across four sectors (agriculture, water, energy and transport) could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4% in 2030 and contri...

UK employment levels are at record highs, but is there more that we can do to encourage further participation in the workforce and what are the potential gains to be made? In this episode we talk to John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, about the UK's current labour market performance and what lessons we can learn from other OECD countries about harnessing the potential of three key demographic...

We discuss the benefits for emerging capital markets becoming "Euroclearable" and the resulting economic impacts. If you'd like to read more, our full report is available at https://www.euroclear.com/newsandinsights/en/press/2019/2019_mr-04-PWCWhitepaper.html

Our economists discuss the key themes emerging for the year ahead and their impact on the global economy - including a slowdown in global economic growth, workers and wages, and trade conflicts.