Recent research findings

Public finances and spending

Since October 2002 IFS has produced monthly bulletins analysing the government's public finance figures. Recent figures make it more likely that the Golden Rule will be met over the current economic cycle. The path of the public finances going forward is of greater direct economic importance. Despite recent favourable corporation tax figures, doubts about the Treasury's medium-term forecasts remain.

See also our analysis of the 2005 Budget and our briefing note, Challenges for the 2004 Spending Review, which looks at the options for spending during the years 2005-06 to 2007-08.

Taxation

In the Green Budget 2005, we examined the evolution of the level of taxation and government revenues as a share of national income under Labour and the extent to which it is explained by policy decisions and other factors.
Download Green Budget 2005 (chapter 6) [94 KB]

Background reading on the tax system can be found in our briefing note, A survey of the UK tax system and in the note, Long-term trends in British taxation and spending

Distributional impact of policies

The two successive Labour governments that have been in power since May 1997 have each carried out many reforms to the tax and benefit system in the UK. These have not affected all groups in the population equally. Rather, gains or losses depend on people's income, age an household circumstances. A chapter in the Green Budget 2005 aims to provide a deeper understanding of how tax and benefit reforms since 1997 have affected different groups in the population.
Download Green Budget 2005 (chapter 7) [106 KB]

See recent inequality analysis (Poverty and inequality in Britain: 2005)

For background reading about inequality and income distribution, see our briefing notes, Inequality and living standards in Great Britain: some facts and Inequality under the Labour government Other work in this area can be found under the project, Ongoing analysis of trends in inequality

Higher Education funding

A recent IFS Commentary analyses the impact of the three parties' HE funding policies on students, graduates, universities and taxpayers.
Download Higher Education funding policy: who wins and who loses? [496 KB]

Further reading about higher education funding can be found in the paper, Fine-tuning the HE reforms and in the briefing note, An analysis of the higher education reforms (January 2004). Further details can be found under the project, Analysis of Higher Education reforms.