Increasing police numbers can reduce crime rates, and yet - as Richard Hyde points out - it is an aspect of policing that isn’t as prominent as it should be. As crime will likely become more complex, Hyde calls on police and policymakers to invest in increasing police numbers, so that we can not only to stay on top of the current high levels of crime, but also reduce them substantially.

High street shopping units left empty by the collapse of retail businesses should be converted into hundreds of thousands of new homes built by the public sector, a think-tank report says today.

The answer lies not just in comparing the costs to parents, but also the societal costs of providing childcare - which are surprisingly difficult to work out, requiring bottom-up data gathering and calculations. In this blog, SMF's Hari Menon compares the cost of provision between UK and Sweden, to open up the discussion on childcare accessibility.

The SMF is seeking a Deputy Research Director. The appointee will support Aveek Bhattacharya, our Research Director, in managing and conducting our research projects. They will also be given the chance to develop their own policy interests and profile.

The SMF is seeking a new Chief Economist/Senior Researcher. The appointee will replace Aveek Bhattacharya, who is being promoted to Research Director.

The COVID-19 pandemic created a stark divide between a public that was shut off from healthcare, whilst GPs and others found themselves severely overworked and under-appreciated - as highlighted by the response to James Kirkup's column in The Times. In this essay, Doug Russell sets out to answer two questions arising from the difference in responses: 1) why is there a rise in GPs working part-time? and 2) why is there 'under-doctoring' in areas of higher deprivation?

The UK’s pensions system is an international outlier, investing too little in illiquid assets. But there's great opportunity here - with DC schemes being able to take on greater risk as they are less constrained by regulation. In this blog, SMF Trustee Melville Rodrigues sets out how the next government should seek to unlock these savings to boost the economy and generate better returns for savers.

Engineering doesn’t always get the fame it deserves according to Guru Madhavan.