Work, Pensions & Labour Economics (WPEG) Conference 2024

The Work, Pensions and Labour Economics (WPEG) Conference 2024 will be a hybrid event on Tuesday 16th July. It will be jointly organised by the Department for Work and Pensions and the University of Sheffield's Department of Economics.

As in previous years there will be a wide range of sessions on areas of labour and pensions policy.

The programme for WPEG can be seen below.

By registering you will be able to attend any of the available sessions.

Registration commences from 09:30am and opening remarks will be from 10:15am.

As this year's conference is hybrid, Microsoft Teams links will be shared with online attendees in advance of the conference.

DWP staff who wish to attend in-person must select the "DWP In-Person" ticket. In-person attendees from other organisations must select the "External In-Person" ticket. All online attendees must select the "Online" ticket.

A ll presenters and attendees need to register for the event to ensure that they receive any conference communications, updates and Teams links.

If you have any dietary requirements please let us know by email to [email protected] once you have registered. We require these by Tue 2nd July 2024 to inform the catering team at the venue.

Our keynote speaker will be Carl Emmerson, Deputy Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). He is an editor of the annual IFS Green Budget, and his research includes analysis of the UK public finances and the design of the tax and benefit system, in particular relating to state and private pensions. Carl is also on the advisory panel of the Office for Budget Responsibility. The topic is on the IFS's Pensions Review project, The Pensions Review | Institute for Fiscal Studies (ifs.org.uk)

Venue directions:

It is a 15 min walk from Sheffield Train Station to the Venue. Directions are below.

Directions from Sheffield Train Station to Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria Hotel, Sheffield: Start: Sheffield Station, Sheaf St, Sheffield City Centre, Sheffield S1 2BP

• Walk north towards Sheaf St/A61
• Turn right onto Sheaf St/A61
• Turn left onto Pond Hill
• Turn right onto River Sheaf Walk
• Slight right to stay on River Sheaf Walk
• Turn right onto Commercial St
• Turn left onto Broad St W
• Turn right onto River Sheaf Walk
• Turn right towards Victoria Station Rd
• Turn left onto Victoria Station Rd and head to Hotel. Postcode: S4 7YE

Car Parking:

Free parking is available to all attendees at the venue and a parking permit is not required.

WPEG Programme Annual Conference 2024 - Tuesday 16th July

9:30 – 10:15

Registration & Coffee

Location: The Royal Victoria Crowne Plaza Hotel

10:15 – 10:30

Event Introduction

• Pamela Lenton (Sheffield, WPEG Organiser) Welcome and General Information
• (DWP Chief Economist) Opening remarks

Location: Main Ballroom

10:30 – 11:45

Session A1 - Pension Schemes and Savings

• Laurence O’Brien et al (IFS/UCL) Ethnic differences in private pension saving in the UK (30mins)
• Heidi Karjalainen and Jonathan Cribb (IFS) Accessing Defined Contribution Pensions since the UK’s ‘Pension Freedoms’ (30mins)
• Discussion Chair: TBA (15mins)

Location: Main Ballroom

Session A2 - Housing

• Francesco Arzilli (DWP) and Peter Farmer (DWP) Characteristics of Housing Benefits Claimants at Pension-Age (30mins)
• Steve McIntosh and Joanne Lindley (Sheffield/ Kings College) The social mobility of home ownership: To what extent have millennials fared worse? (30mins)
• Discussion Chair: TBA (15mins)

Location: Waverley Room

Session A3 - Inequality and Welfare

• Andrew Bryce (Sheffield) Levelling up and the disability employment gap. (30mins)
• Tanya Wilson (Glasgow) Gender differences in the nature and extent of multiple employment in the UK (30mins)
• Disscussion Chair: TBA (15mins)

Location: Assembly Room

11:45 - 13:00

Lunch

Location: Dining Rooms

13:00 - 13:45

Plenary

• Carl Emmerson (Institute for Fiscal Studies) "IFS Pensions Review"

Location: Main Ballroom

13:45 - 14:45

Session B1- Education

• Lei Xu and Yu Zhu (Loughborough/Dundee/IZA) The impact of ability grouping on Education Inequality: Evidence from Random Assigned Classes. (25mins)
• Peter Urwin et al (Westminster) Post-16 pathways to employment for lower attaining pupils: are they working? (25mins)
• Discussion Chair: TBA (10mins)

Location: Waverley Room

Session B2 - Policy Evaluation Methods: Two Case Studies

• Lukas Ambroza Impact Assessment: Voluntary In-Work Progression (IWP) Support Offer for UC Claimants in the Light Touch and Working Enough Regimes (25mins)
• Charlie Kitson European Social Fund (ESF): Analysis & Evaluation (25mins)
• Discussion Chair: TBA (10mins)

Location: Main Ballroom

Session B3 - Health

• Gilabert Paulino (DWP) The role of subjective expectations in (under) planning for old age social care (25mins)
• Michael Oldridge (DWP) Exploring the Causal Effect of Job Loss on Health and Usage of Healthcare Services in the UK (25mins)
• Discussion Chair: TBA (10mins)

Location: Assembly Room

14:45 - 15:00

Tea/Coffee

Location: The Royal Victoria Crowne Plaza Hotel

15:00 - 16:30

Special Session - The Wage and Employment Dynamics Project

• A wage spine for Britain; Van Phan (UWE) (15mins)
• Looking at wage volatility using the ASHE PAYE datasets; Mike Brewer (Resolution Foundation) (15mins)
• Labour market performance and integration of immigrant workers (Dr Ezgi Kaya, Cardiff University) (15mins)
• Working towards a greener future: who, where and what for (Damian Whittard, UWE) (15mins)
• The impact of a rising wage floor on labour mobility across firms (Carl Singleton, Sterling and John Forth, City) (15mins)
• Panel Q&A session (15mins)

Location: Main Ballroom

16:30 - 16:45

Closing Remarks - DWP Chief Economist

Location: Main Ballroom

Host or Publisher Department for Work and Pensions & University of Sheffield