Universal credit: assessment, claims and payment- in principle and in practice

Understand this issue

Cutting inheritance tax isn’t quite as simple as its proponents suggest

comment

"There are dozens of tax cuts that would be some combination of more equitable and better designed to promote economic efficiency and growth."

20 November 2023

IFS responds to changes to DWP work capability assessments

comment

We respond to proposed changes by the government to reform the work capability assessment used to determine entitlement to incapacity benefits.

5 September 2023

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

The IFS Scottish Budget Report – 2024–25

report

This report looks at the key budgetary and public service issues for the Scottish Government for the 2024–25 financial year and beyond.

22 February 2024

Academic research

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

Is it time to reboot welfare economics? Overview

journal article

The articles in this Fiscal Studies symposium engage with the question of how to revive normative questions as a central issue in economic scholarship

5 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