The public finances and the age of austerity

Understand this issue

Should we worry about government debt?

podcast

David Miles joins us to discuss high government debt and its impact on the economy.

11 April 2024

The £600 billion problem awaiting the next government

podcast

We speak to David Gauke and Giles Wilkes, two experts who have been at the heart of the spending review process.

25 April 2024

Public investment: what you need to know

explainer

Everything you wanted to know about UK public investment but were too afraid to ask – including analysis of Labour and Conservative plans.

25 April 2024

Policy analysis

Recent trends in and the outlook for health-related benefits

report

Recipients of and spending on health-related benefits have risen rapidly since the start of the pandemic, posing a serious challenge for policymakers.

19 April 2024

4.2 million working-age people now claiming health-related benefits, could rise by 30% by the end of the decade

press release

Our new report sheds more light on forecasts for a substantial increase in the number of people claiming health-related benefits in coming years.

19 April 2024

Oil and gas make Scotland’s underlying public finances particularly volatile and uncertain

comment

A fallback in oil and gas prices has hit Scotland’s underlying public finance position this year.

27 March 2024

Academic research

Intertemporal income shifting and the taxation of business owner-managers

journal article

We show that responses of UK company owner-managers to personal taxes are due to intertemporal income shifting and not reductions in business activity

24 January 2024

Insurance, redistribution, and the inequality of lifetime income

working paper

This paper studies how the tax-and-transfer system mitigates income inequalities over the lifetime, which can lead to disparities in living standards.

2 November 2023

Symposium: tax equity around the world - introduction

journal article

This set of issues was showcased at the 4th World Bank Tax Conference in September 2022, which focused on ‘Global Tax Equity’.

11 September 2023