Public investment: what you need to knowexplainerEverything you wanted to know about UK public investment but were too afraid to ask – including analysis of Labour and Conservative plans.25 April 2024
The Spring Budget 2024 explained in 90 secondsexplainerIFS Director Paul Johnson gives an initial response to Jeremy Hunt's Spring Budget.6 March 2024
The way Chancellors respond to economic news adds to our debt - here's whyexplainerChancellors don’t respond symmetrically to good and bad economic news. The result is higher debt. 1 March 2024
How tight public finances will shape the 2024 electionexplainerBen Zaranko explains how the next general election will be shaped by the fiscal challenges facing the political parties.13 February 2024
The changes to Labour's green investment plan explainedexplainerBen Zaranko explains Labour's latest announcement that it will no longer seek to spend £28 billion per year on green investment.9 February 2024
Should we abolish the triple lock?explainerPaul Johnson talks us through the triple lock and whether it is still a useful policy tool. 18 December 2023
How important is the Bank of Mum and Dad?explainerPaul Johnson talks us through patterns of financial help for first-time buyers. 15 December 2023
The Autumn Statement 2023 explained in 90 secondsexplainerPaul Johnson responds to Jeremy Hunt's 2023 Autumn Statement. 22 November 2023
The changes to the UK's net zero pathway explainedexplainerWhat are the changes announced by the Prime Minister and what will their impacts be?10 November 2023
Should the government levy VAT on private school fees?explainerLabour have proposed levying VAT at the main rate of 20% on private school fees. Paul Johnson lays out the facts in 90 seconds.9 November 2023
Now is not the time for tax cutsexplainerIn the current environment of high inflation and rising interest rates, tax cuts at the upcoming Budget would be extremely difficult to justify.18 October 2023
Inheritance tax raises £7bn a year. It needs reform.explainerWe lay out issues with the inheritance tax system and examine options for reform.10 October 2023
This will be the biggest tax-raising parliament on recordexplainerThis has been the biggest tax-raising parliament since records began, pushing UK tax revenues to historically high levels.29 September 2023
Student loans in England explained and options for reformexplainerHow does the student loan system currently work in England, what will change for new students in 2023, and what are some of the options for reform?20 July 2023
The housing crisis for low-income private renters explainedexplainerTom Waters explains how the freezes in housing benefit are affecting low-income renters.29 June 2023
The impact of rising mortgages explainedexplainerOn Thursday, the Bank of England will decide whether to increase the base rate once again. How will this impact households' finances?21 June 2023
Should we abolish inheritance tax?explainerRecently there have been calls to abolish inheritance tax. Paul Johnson takes us through the facts in 90 seconds.7 June 2023
How progressive is the UK’s £1 trillion in government spending?explainerPaul Johnson explains how redistributive UK public spending is in 90 seconds.6 June 2023
What do we know about the impact of working from home on productivity?explainerWhat evidence do we have on the success from working from home?22 May 2023
Why are more and more people paying the higher rate of tax?explainerIn recent decades, the amount of adults paying the higher rate of tax has increased enormously. In this explainer, we explain the reasons why.17 May 2023
How are private pensions taxed?explainerPrivate pensions form a key part of retirement saving. We explore how they are taxed.3 April 2023
Private pensions explainedexplainerHow do private pensions work? How are defined benefit and defined contribution pensions different? And what about 'pension freedoms'?23 March 2023
Spring Budget 2023 explainedexplainerIFS Director Paul Johnson provides an immediate response to the government's Spring Budget15 March 2023
Private pensions explainedexplainerWe explain how private pensions work in the UK, how pension incomes have changed over time and what 'pension freedoms' mean for pension saving.6 February 2023
The Autumn Statement 2022 explainedexplainerPaul Johnson provides an immediate response to the government's Autumn Statement.17 November 2022
Income and wealth inequality explained in 5 chartsexplainerWe document how economic inequalities have changed over the last sixty years, and how experiences have varied for different groups.9 November 2022
What is happening to spending in schools and colleges?explainerWhat are current levels of spending in schools and colleges and how have they been affected by rising cost pressures?8 November 2022
What is happening to public sector pay?explainerWith inflation rising, and a cost of living crisis hitting the UK, how much public sector workers get paid is hitting the headlines.31 October 2022
The mini-Budget explainedexplainerPaul Johnson provides an immediate response to the government's mini-Budget.23 September 2022
Response to the Energy Price GuaranteeexplainerThe government has today announced an ‘Energy Price Guarantee’.8 September 2022
Why is inequality in the labour market growing?explainerGiulia Giupponi takes us through the latest research on the UK labour market.3 August 2022
How do firms impact inequality?explainerIn this video, John Van Reenan takes us through the latest research on firms in the UK - and looks at their impact on inequality.16 June 2022
Levelling up: geographical inequality in the UK explainedexplainerHow big are inequalities in work and pay? Why are there such large gaps? Can the levelling up agenda fix these problems?22 April 2022
Three things to know about National Insurance contributions and the upcoming changesexplainerThis observation summarises some of the key facts about how NICs works and who will be paying more in NICs from April 6th 2022.5 April 2022
Gender inequalities in work and pay explainedexplainerWhat has been happening to the gender pay gap? Do inequalities emerge when parenthood begins? We explore gender inequalities in work and pay.20 March 2022
How has education spending changed?explainerLuke Sibieta looks at how education spending has changed over time.2 December 2021
Three things to look out for in Rishi Sunak's Autumn BudgetexplainerRishi Sunak will outline his plans in his Autumn Budget. Isabel Stockton assesses which policy areas to look out for. 21 October 2021
COVID-19, social care reform and the finances of English councilsexplainerIFS economist Kate Ogden examines what’s happened to council funding during the pandemic and what’s next for councils in England. 18 October 2021
Carbon taxes and the road to net-zeroexplainerIFS economist Isaac Delestre looks at the UK’s path to net zero. 2 October 2021
The NHS before COVIDexplainerBen Zaranko takes us through the state of the NHS on the eve of the COVID crisis.8 September 2021
How has the pandemic affected living standards?explainerWe look at how household living standards have changed over the course of the pandemic.8 July 2021
Where does the government get its money from?explainerHelen Miller explains where the government gets its money from, how it plans to raise more in coming years and how the UK compares to other countries.11 June 2021
What's happening to Scottish taxes and benefits?explainerWe analyse Scottish public finances ahead of the elections.28 April 2021
Government spendingexplainerWe analyse Scottish government spending ahead of the elections.16 April 2021
The three things Rishi Sunak needs to address in his March BudgetexplainerSenior Research Economist Jonathan Cribb looks the Chancellor's options for the Budget.25 February 2021
What happens in a Budget?explainerTypically, the government holds a Budget every year. What must governments set out? What kinds of policies are announced? How important are Budgets?23 February 2021
How does the government borrow £400 billion?explainerIsabel Stockton explains the process behind government borrowing, and assess the long-term impact.22 February 2021
What happened to learning during lockdown?explainerAdam Salisbury presents our latest research on the effects of the partial reopenings of schools in June and July 2020 on children's learning.19 February 2021
What has COVID-19 meant for council income and spending?explainerLocal government has played a significant role in responding to the coronavirus. Kate Ogden looks at the pressures facing councils in England.23 November 2020
What happens in a Spending Review?explainerWhat is a Spending Review? Who started it? How is it different from a Budget? Ben Zaranko explains what happens in a Spending Review.19 November 2020
'Levelling Up' explainedexplainerWe look at what the government should consider when pursuing its 'levelling up' agenda.2 October 2020
Who are the top 1% of income tax payers?explainerHow different are the 1% from the rest, how did they get to where they are, and what – if anything – should policy do about it?22 January 2020
Rising in work poverty isn't just about low payexplainerWe have identified four key reasons for the rising in-work poverty rate, and it isn’t all just about low pay, as Jonathan Cribb explains.19 June 2019
What can we learn from Sure Start?explainerTo what extent has Sure Start benefitted children’s health? Which groups of children benefit the most? How might these benefits have come about?4 June 2019
Universal Credit: Winners and LosersexplainerWe review the impact of reforms to the benefit system and explain who will gain and who will lose out as a consequence of universal credit.23 May 2019
How are health and economic outcomes linked?explainerDavid Sturrock takes us through the latest data on how health and economic incomes are linked.9 January 2019
What are the options for raising taxes?explainerIf the Chancellor wants to meet his commitments to eliminate the deficit, and provide extra funding for the NHS, he will need to lower spending elsewh17 October 2018
Living standards and income inequalityexplainerHow has income growth has differed across the population and what implications this has had for income inequality?20 June 2018
The National Living Wage: What's happened to pay and living standards?explainerWe look at how low-paid workers’ pay, and their household living standards, have risen after the introduction of the National Living Wage in 2016.20 June 2018
Poor health, living standards and povertyexplainerWho's more likely to be in poor health in the working age population? How does their experience in the labour market differ?20 June 2018
How much advertising for food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar do children see?explainerSince 2007 it has not been permitted to advertise food and drink that is high in fat, salt or sugar during children's television programmes.31 May 2018
