Options for local authorities

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

Spring Budget 2024: What you need to know

podcast

IFS reaction to the Chancellor's Spring Budget.

7 March 2024

A mess has been made of Child Benefit, and the clear-up operation may not be easy

comment

"Status quos can be hard to change, no matter how incoherent they are." Robert Joyce writes about child benefit in The Telegraph.

29 March 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

Unfunded mandates and taxation

journal article

In mid-2006, the Chinese central government increased the salaries and pensions of civil servants in its coastal areas but a funded mandate in others.

14 March 2024

The labor market effects of disability benefit loss

working paper

Leveraging age and health cutoffs in the reassessment, the paper estimates employment responses to loss or reduction of benefits.

29 September 2023

The menopause "penalty"

working paper

We estimate the effect of menopause diagnosis on employment and earnings, reliance on social safety net programs, and demand for medical care.

18 March 2024