Matthew Oakley

  • Head of Economics & Social Policy
  • matthew.oakley@policyexchange.org.uk
  • 0207 340 2650
Matthew Oakley

Biography

Matthew Oakley is Head of Economics & Social Policy. His team focuses on welfare reform, growth and the UK economy, public sector reform and financial policy. His recent publications include an assessment of the public sector pay premium across the wage distribution; reports outlining the next steps for tackling unemployment and benefit dependency; and a report outlining areas where Government must focus to boost growth in the long-term.

His current work includes: an assessment of the economic advantages of moving to a more localised system of pay bargaining in the public sector; analysis of the social foundations of benefit dependency; how to finance innovation and the growth of small firms; and how a new approach to tackling child poverty could lead to better outcomes and life chances.

Prior to joining Policy Exchange he was an Economic Advisor at the Treasury, where he worked on a number of tax and welfare issues for the previous eight years. He was closely involved in analysing the labour market impacts of and responses to the recession and in the Green and White Papers on Universal Credit. Before this, his other roles at the Treasury included working on property tax strategy, microeconomic analysis of the labour market and on medium-term tax strategy.

He has an MSc in Economics from University College London, where he specialised in labour economics and econometrics. Matthew was appointed as a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee in January 2013.

Authored Publications

  • Slow Progress: Improving progression in the UK labour market

    25 March 2013

    Policy Exchange's response to the DWP’s labour market interventions consultation, Slow Progress says that there must be greater conditions for in-work claimants to ensure that they are doing all they can to increase their hours and earnings. The introduction of Universal Credit this year provides the government with an opportunity to ensure that workers reliant on state benefits are explicitly asked to do more to find more work where possible.

  • Outcomes, Not Just Incomes: Improving Britain’s understanding and measurement of child poverty

    08 February 2013

    Outcomes, Not Just Incomes says that nearly one in five children (2.3 million) across the UK are living materially deprived lives and are not included in the government’s headline measure of relative income poverty. This is despite £170 billion of expenditure between 2003 and 2010. The report identifies a number of problems with the existing measure of child poverty and recommends a new Child Poverty Bill that would measure social poverty as well as household income.

  • Welfare Reform 2.0: Long-term solutions, not short-term savings

    04 October 2012

    Welfare Reform 2.0 highlights Jobcentre Plus's less than successful record at reducing the number of people on benefits. The report recommends measuring jobcentres on the success they have in getting people to enter and stay in work – not just moving people off benefits. It also calls for a stronger conditionality regime for those working part time or fixed contracts who continue to claim benefits.

  • Local Pay, Local Growth: Reforming pay setting in the public sector

    04 September 2012

    Rebalancing the pay and pensions of public sector workers so that they are in line with that of equivalent workers in the private sector would save £6.3 billion a year in public spending. This money would be better spent on tackling local unemployment and could create at least 288,000 private sector jobs in some of the areas of the country suffering most from the impact of the recession.

  • Mind the Gap: The size and costs of pay differentials between the public and private sectors in the UK

    04 September 2012

    Mind the Gap examines how public and private wages differ in local areas. It demonstrates a complex picture of mismatches between the wages one might expect individuals to receive based on their characteristics and types of job, and the public sector wages they receive: pay differentials vary dramatically both across and within regions and across the pay distribution.

  • Fostering Aspirations: Reforming the foster care system in England and Wales

    24 January 2012

    Some 48,530 children are now in a care system that is letting many of them down and is in radical need of reform. Fostering Aspirations makes a number of recommendations to increase the number of carers and improve the quality of care children receive.

  • Further analysis on the public sector pay premium

    30 November 2011

    Further analysis on the public sector pay premium updates and extends our previous analysis of the public sector pay gap using three new quarters of Labour Force Survey data.

  • Something for Nothing: Reinstating conditionality for jobseekers

    17 October 2011

    Something for Nothing is the third report in our welfare reform series. The report calls for a new points based system for Jobseekers Allowance that recognises different ‘job-search’ activities that claimants are required to carry out each week.

  • Public and private sector terms, conditions and the issue of fairness

    05 June 2011

    This note examines the evolution of pay and conditions during 2010 and what the prospects are for these moving forward. It shows that public sector pay is higher and continued to grow faster than private sector pay during 2010 and that significant reforms will need to be made to limit job losses in the public sector and to achieve equity and fairness in the labour market.

  • No Rights Without Responsibility: Rebalancing the welfare state

    20 May 2011

    No Rights Without Responsibility argues that conditions on benefit claimants should be increased so that they have to spend more time each week looking for a job.

  • Tackling the Causes of Poverty: Replacing the child poverty target with a multi-dimensional set of causal indicators

    04 May 2011

    Tackling the Causes of Poverty is Policy Exchange's response to the government's child poverty consultation. It recommends replacing the current, income-based, measures of poverty with new, wider, measures that reflect the multi-dimensional and complex causes of poverty for both adults and children.

Edited Publications

  • A Better Start in Life: Long-term approaches for the most vulnerable children

    14 December 2012

    This report argues that the government should increase the number of looked after and disadvantaged children given the opportunity to attend boarding schools. Using residential schooling can provide children with stability at home and at school, is actually cheaper than foster care and disadvantaged children staying in boarding schools attain better grades.

  • Looking to the Future of Growth

    28 November 2011

    Looking to the Future of Growth brings together a collection of essays from experts in Policy Exchange as well as from business and industry. Each lays out the author’s views on the blockages to growth and makes suggestions for where Government policy must focus.

  • Personalised Welfare

    16 September 2011

    Personalised Welfare: Rethinking employment support and Jobcentres notes serious problems with Jobcentre Plus. JCP’s job search database is severely dysfunctional and JCPs advisers are hamstrung by poor use of information, which gives them only very basic information about the claimants they are trying to help.

Related Events

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Related News

  • Matthew Oakley on BBC Radio 5 Live

    29 April 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live speaking about the impact Universal Credit will have as it is gradually rolled out in the UK. Matthew said the scheme will simplify the benefits system and help make work pay, noting that the government is right to be rolling the scheme out slowly to prevent problems occurring.

  • London boroughs first in line for benefit cap

    15 April 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, is quoted in an article by Politics.co.uk discussing the introduction of a new cap on benefits in four London boroughs, saying that it is right to assess the amount that taxpayers are willing to give to any one household, and noting that those on disability benefits are exempt from the cap.

  • Cameron hails 'big day for welfare reform' as jobless are told they cannot receive more in benefits than working families

    15 April 2013

    The Daily Mail quotes Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, speaking in response to a new cap on benefits introduced in four London boroughs, arguing that it is right to assess what level of support taxpayers are willing to give to any one household.

  • Matthew Oakley on BBC Radio Leeds

    15 April 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, appeared on BBC Radio Leeds's Mark Forrest show speaking in response to the recent cap on benefits rolled out in London, noting that the government is right to implement reforms to the welfare system and introduce measures to get more people back into work.

  • Business questions long-term gain for customer pain

    11 April 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, is quoted in The Financial Times in an article exploring the impact of austerity on consumers following the welfare changes that came into effect this April, noting that even if work does pay for the majority, many don’t believe that, and people must become more responsive to the incentives.

  • Matthew Oakley on The World Tonight

    01 April 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, appeared on BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight commenting on the recent changes to welfare. Matthew said it is crucial to ensure people out of work are doing all they can to find a job, noting that those who need the most help will be given support.

  • Miliband: Brown ‘wrong’ to scrap 10p rate

    14 February 2013

    The Financial Times quotes Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, saying that proposals by Ed Miliband that a Labour government would save households £100 per year with a reintroduction of a lower 10p starting rate of tax are incorrect, saying it would only be a saving of 67p per week.

  • Child Poverty In UK: 'The Hidden Truth'

    08 February 2013

    Sky News covers Outcomes, Not Just Incomes, Policy Exchange's latest report. They cite the findings that 2.3 million children are not counted under the government's child poverty measure, despite living in material poverty, and quote report co-author Matthew Oakley calling for a child poverty measure that takes into account social aspects instead of just income.

  • More than 2m 'deprived' children in UK

    08 February 2013

    The Guardian covers the release of Policy Exchange's report Outcomes, Not Just Incomes, citing its findings that that 2.3 million children are living in material poverty but are not included in the government's child poverty measure.

  • A million children of working parents growing up in deprivation

    08 February 2013

    The Daily Telegraph covers Policy Exchange's new report Outcomes, Not Just Incomes, citing the report's findings that current child poverty policies have proved a disincentive work and have failed to provide help to 2.3 million children who are not covered by the current poverty measure.

  • UK GDP figures: panel verdict

    25 January 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, is quoted in a comment piece in The Guardian looking at the latest UK GDP figures. Matthew argues that quarterly GDP releases should not be used as a guide for policy, instead suggesting there needs to be a more mature debate on ways to drive UK economic growth.

  • Matthew Oakley appointed as a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee

    09 January 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, has been appointed as a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee.

  • Matthew Oakley on BBC Radio 5 Live

    08 January 2013

    Policy Exchange's Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy, appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to dicuss welfare reform. Matthew highlighted the importance of supporting people who are striving to get a job and cracking down on the minority who are not doing enough to find work. 

  • Matthew Oakley on The World Tonight

    08 January 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, appeared on BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight discussing welfare reform. Matthew said we should support people into gaining better skills as employers need to see an increase in productivity to justify paying employees higher wages.

  • Prime Minister attacks Labour tax grab on pensions to fund job scheme

    05 January 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, is quoted by The Daily Express discussing the recent proposals by Labour to introduce a job guarantee for the long-term unemployed. Matthew argues that while it is positive to see Labour supporting workfare, it is crucial to intervene earlier as employers will not want to hire someone who has been out of work for two years.

  • Matthew Oakley on Newsnight

    06 December 2012

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, appeared on Newsnight as part of a panel discussion addressing the impact of the Autumn Statement, saying the government has spent over 10 years trying to increase living standards, but the answer is not to keep increasing benefits.

  • Matthew Oakley on Channel 4 News

    05 December 2012

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, appeared on Channel 4 News live in Manchester following the Autumn Statement. Matthew called for more to be done to get people into work and to support existing businesses.

  • Matthew Oakley on BBC Radio West Midlands

    06 November 2012

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, appeared on BBC Radio West Midlands speaking about whether people with alcohol and drug addictions should be given more support to tackle those issues. Matthew argued that people with addictions should take advantage of the support on offer to help them back into work and mainstream society.

  • Kwasi Kwarteng MP: Why the Government must end national pay bargaining

    19 September 2012

    Writing on ConservativeHome, Kwasi Kwartang MP cites findings from recent Policy Exchange report Local Pay, Local Growth, which argues that introducing localised public sector pay could save the UK economy £6 billion a year.

  • ‘National pay deals must go’

    04 September 2012

    The Sun covers Policy Exchange's latest report Local Pay, Local Growth. Report co-author Matthew Oakley is quoted arguing that national pay bargaining is "bad for the economy and bad for public services".

  • Ending national pay deals 'could save the taxpayer £6bn a year’

    04 September 2012

    The Daily Telegraph covers Policy Exchange report Local Pay, Local Growth which shows how government can save £6.3 billion a year by setting public sector pay at local levels rather than nationally. These savings would then be spent tackling unemployment.

  • Public Workers Earning 25 Per Cent More

    04 September 2012

    The Daily Express covers Local Pay, Local Growth, Policy Exchange's latest report, which calls for ending national pay bargaining and replacing it with a local system of pay setting. This would save £6.3 billion a year which would be used to tackle unemployment and improve infrastructure.

  • Matthew Oakley on Radio 4 for Fostering Fortnight

    18 May 2012

    As part of Fostering Fortnight, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy Matthew Oakley takes part in a lengthy debate on the foster care system on BBC Radio Four, citing findings from our report Fostering Aspirations.

  • The Work Programme ''will not do enough''

    02 May 2012

    Public Service Magazine quotes comments made by Policy Exchange Head of Economics & Social Policy Matthew Oakley on the Work Programme at our Labour Market 2020 event. Matthew argues that the Work Programme will not do enough to address big structural problems with the UK labour market.

  • Workfare that shames UK plc or a leftwing plot by the job snobs?

    28 February 2012

    In the Guardian Head of Economics and Social Policy Matthew Oakley is quoted highlighting resistance to the controversial government's work experience scheme has been caused mainly by public confusion of various Work Programme schemes.

  • Matthew Oakley on Newsnight

    24 February 2012

    Head of Economics & Social Policy Matthew Oakley appears on Newsnight citing findings from Policy Exchange report Just Deserts? that the public are strongly in favour of conditional welfare and demonstrating the benefits that workfare programmes bring.

  • Why has pay not risen at the same rate as company profits?

    20 February 2012

    Head of Economics & Social Policy Matthew Oakley is quoted by BBC News arguing that having a tax credit system spanning the income scale all the way up to £55,000 has acted as a kind of company subsidy, allowing firms to pay workers less.

  • Deficit plan 'is causing permanent damage'

    03 February 2012

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, is quoted in The Times arguing against renewed claims that the UK can spend its way out of the current economic crisis.

  • Foster system 'failing thousands'

    24 January 2012

    The Press Association covers Policy Exchange's latest report Fostering Aspirations. They report co-author Matthew Oakley criticising local authorities for putting money ahead of children's needs and calling for greater use of independent providers.

  • Foster Care In Crisis As Kids Wait For Homes

    24 January 2012

    Fostering Aspirations, Policy Exchange's latest report calling for reform of the care system, is covered by Sky News. Co-author Matthew Oakley is quoted highlighting the poor life outcomes for children that are cared for by the current system.

  • Matthew Oakley on BBC Radio 5 Live

    23 January 2012

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Enterprise, Growth and Social Policy at Policy Exchange, debates the Coalition's benefit caps on BBC Radio 5 Live, arguing that the current system is unfair to those working full time on low income.

  • David Cameron's job search reforms 'are unrealistic'

    06 October 2011

    Policy Exchange's Head of Enterprise, Growth & Social Policy Matthew Oakley is quoted by The Daily Telegraph making the case from report Personalised Welfare that a system needs to be developed that better matches those looking for work with appropriate jobs.

  • Claims Jobless 'Let Down' By Government

    16 September 2011

    Sky News reports on Policy Exchange's latest report Personalised Welfare, quoting Head of Enterprise, Growth & Social Policy Matt Oakley calling for a new, more targeted system for helping the unemployed back into work.

  • 'Shut the Jobcentres, they promote benefits culture'

    16 September 2011

    The Express quotes Head of Enterprise, Growth and Social Policy Matt Oakley making the case from Policy Exchange's latest report Personalised Welfare that the current system of employment support is "unfair and ineffective".

  • CIH conference special: A year is a long time in housing

    16 June 2011

    Matt Oakley, Head of Enterprise, Growth and Social Policy at Policy Exchange, is quoted by 24dash.com arguing the case from report Making Housing Affordable that social housing has not effectively incentivised tenants to resolve their employment problems.

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Related Blogs

  • Universal Credit: Good Start, More Needs to be Done

    29 April 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, argues that welfare reforms to date should mark the start of what should be a decade of welfare reform, with future reforms focusing on individual responsibilities and on improving state support.

  • Worse-off areas need private sector growth and jobs

    12 April 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, responds in a letter to The Financial Times to a recent article in the paper on the impact of April's changes to welfare which showed Northern cities being most affected by the cuts. Matthew pointed out that areas with the highest unemployment will naturally see higher benefit cuts, and stressed that what worse-off areas really need is private sector jobs and growth.

  • Jobcentre Plus has become a revolving door

    11 April 2013

    Policy Exchange's Ed Holmes, Senior Research Fellow for Economics & Social Policy, and Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy, set out why Jobcentre Plus needs to undergo serious reforms. They argue that currently only half of claimants leaving jobseeker's allowance are still in work eight months later, stressing that Jobcentre Plus does not go far enough in getting people into long-term employment.

  • Why the Government is right to take on welfare reform

    03 April 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, sets out why the government is right to take on welfare reform. Matthew argues that we are currently spending nearly £100 billion on working age benefits, and that just a 5% reduction could pay for four new runways at Heathrow over two years and other key projects such as new hospitals and schools.

  • David Cameron needs a more radical remedy for our economic ills

    07 March 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, argues that David Cameron's recent announcement that he plans to stick to the government's current deficit commitments are right, but said the Prime Minister needs to adopt a more radical approach to solving the UK's economic problems, making suggestions in the areas of housing and job creation.

  • Welfare-to-work schemes will continue, despite appeal court ruling

    13 February 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Policy Exchange's Head of Economics & Social Policy, analyses the likely impact of the ruling on the recent Reilly workfare case. Oakley argues that the ruling will have little effect, being based only on a technical issue that will soon be rectified, leaving the government's back-to-work schemes intact.

  • Child poverty - Government should focus on outcomes as well as incomes

    08 February 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Policy Exchange's Economics & Social Policy unit, sets out the importance of an effective measure of child poverty, highlighting the findings of recent report Outcomes, Not Just Incomes which revealed that 2.3 million children are in material poverty but do not come under the current government measure of child poverty.

  • Welfare reform must be based on the principle of 'something for something'

    08 January 2013

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, writes setting out three key principles for welfare reform: building self-sufficiency, conditionality and employment support.

  • The government should learn from big companies on local pay policy

    31 October 2012

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, argues that the government should learn from big companies on local pay policy. Matthew sets out findings from Policy Exchange report Local Pay, Local Growth, which suggests that rebalancing public sector pay and pensions in line with the private sector could save £6.3 billion a year.

  • Freezing working age benefits is a short term solution

    19 September 2012

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, argues that the government's plans to freeze working-age benefits is not a long-term solution. Matthew suggests that further government cuts should focus on bad expenditure or on where reforms could increase employment.

  • How's this for a deal? Regional pay restraint...to fund regional infrastructure

    22 August 2012

    Matthew Oakley, Head of Economics & Social Policy at Policy Exchange, argues that recommendations from report Ending Expensive Social Tenancies and reforming public sector pay would create savings which could be reinvested into growth-enhancing infrastructure.

  • The Long View on British Growth

    28 October 2011

    Policy Exchange Head of Enterprise, Growth and Social Policy Matthew Oakley writes in the Wall Street Journal on why a longer term economic view is more important than a focus on quarterly growth figures.

  • Why selling off expensive social housing will benefit our communities

    12 July 2011

    Matt Oakley, Head of Enterprise, Growth and Social Policy at Policy Exchange, writes in The Guardian putting forward the case made in 2010 report Making Housing Affordable for selling off social homes in order to fund new builds.

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