Paul Johnson

Director

Paul has been director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies since 2011. He is a columnist for The Times, and is a regular contributor to other broadcast and print media. He is a visiting professor in the UCL Policy Lab and at the UCL department of economics.

He was for 10 years a member of the UK Climate Change Committee, and has served on the council of the ESRC and of the Royal Economic Society. Paul led reviews of pension auto-enrolment and of inflation measurement for the UK government, and of fiscal devolution for the Northern Ireland executive.

Previous roles have included time as chief economist at the Department for Education and as director of public spending at HM Treasury, where he also served as deputy head of the government economic service.

Paul published the Sunday Times bestseller “Follow the Money” in 2023.

He was appointed CBE in the 2018 birthday honours.

Education

MSc Economics, Birkbeck, University of London, 1992

BA (1st Class) Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of Oxford, 1988

Contact

Email: Email

Twitter: @PJTheEconomist

Orcid number: 0000-0003-3342-3504

Paul Johnson: all content

Showing 61 – 80 of 853 results

The materials that shape our economy

Podcast

In this episode, we speak with Ed Conway, Economics Editor at Sky News and author of a new book Material World: The Making of Civilisation.

13 September 2023

Persevering with the autumn statement just generates confusion

Comment

Bi-annual fiscal events "have become an engine for an over-proliferation of measures, generating instability and confusion." Paul Johnson in the Times

11 September 2023

Disability, illness and pain are real problems for the entire economy

Comment

"Tackling them should be near the top of any list of social and economic priorities." Paul Johnson writes in the Times.

28 August 2023

Forecasting is hard enough without basing it on fictional assumptions

Comment

"The power of both the Bank and the OBR is considerable... transparency and reflection are vital." Paul Johnson writes for the Times.

14 August 2023

When and why should we care about inequality?

Podcast

Why should we care about inequality? What has happened to inequality over recent decades? And can government do anything about it?

9 August 2023

Abolishing inheritance tax would leave the country a terrible legacy

Comment

"I despair." Paul Johnson writes for the Times on the recent debate around abolishing inheritance tax.

17 July 2023

Things go swimmingly for those generations who shout the loudest

Comment

"Right now, it is younger generations who are again bearing the brunt of economic failure." Paul Johnson writes for The Times.

3 July 2023

Don’t cheer end of earnings squeeze: there is more pain to come

Comment

Paul Johnson writes for The Times on the pain to come for households and the public finances.

19 June 2023

The economics of immigration

Podcast

Recently, the government announced record net migration figures. Paul Johnson speaks to Madeleine Sumption, a political scientist, to get the facts.

8 June 2023

Should we abolish inheritance tax?

Explainer

Recently 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?

Explainer

Paul Johnson explains how redistributive UK public spending is in 90 seconds.

6 June 2023

Government spending has long been targeted at the poorest in our society

Comment

Paul Johnson writes for The Times on how taking account of public service spending is critical to assessing the government's redistribution of wealth.

5 June 2023