 Facts and figures about UK taxes, benefits and public spending.
Analysing government fiscal forecasts and tax and spending.
Case studies that give a flavour of the areas where IFS research has an impact on society.
Reforming the tax system for the 21st century.
A peer-reviewed quarterly journal publishing articles by academics and practitioners.
Find out where you are in the income distribution.
Resources for schools and students.
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Understanding how consumers make decisions and what affects their behaviour is of key importance across a wide range of policy issues, from the analysis of indirect taxation to the assessment of competition policy. For example, the most recent developments in industrial organisation focus on how firms in imperfectly competitive markets interact, taking the structure of consumer demand as given. The nature of the equilibria that prevail in different markets depends crucially on the nature of consumer decisions.
Past research at IFS has played a leading role in the development of policy-relevant empirical models of consumer behaviour. Looking forward, our research will put the consumer at the heart of competition analysis by providing a rigorous characterisation of consumer behaviour. This is crucial for designing regulatory structures and the implementation of consumer and competition policy across many markets, from retailing to telecoms. Our research aims to develop the analysis of consumer decision-making in conjunction with the analysis of newly available Consumer Panel data. We study behaviour in Britain in detail but also engage in comparative research on similar data in Europe and North America. Price indices and measures of consumer welfare are fundamental inputs into many areas of policy, influencing benefit and state pension levels, and monetary policy, as well as private sector wage bargaining. Price indices vary for many reasons, including the types of goods purchased, where the purchases are made and the extent to which firms have market power. Obtaining useful price indices requires estimates of substitution possibilities and the value placed on new goods by consumers at different points in the income distribution. Demand responses are essential inputs in the design of indirect and environmental taxes. Price discrimination and the effective cost of living across different types of consumers are important for understanding the adequacy of levels of welfare benefits and pensions. The new Consumer Panel data open up an exciting new research agenda. Search
Richard Blundell, Dennis Kristensen and Rosa Matzkin
This paper was given as part of a session on 'Revealed Preferences: Modeling and Inference' as part of the Econometric Society North American Winter Meeting 2012.
These slides were delivered as part of the IFS public economics lectures 2011.
This full report consists of 11 chapters covering areas including: VAT exemptions and their economic effects; reduced and zero rates and their distributional, welfare and behavioural consequences; administration and compliance costs; VAT fraud; the operation of VAT in a cross-border context; the impact of the EU VAT system on cross-border trade flows; and, the impact of VAT on GDP, consumption and labour markets.
This document contains formal answers to the evaluation questions posed by the Commission.
The Executive Summary contains the main findings of the full report.
The UN Climate Change Conference begins in Durban, South Africa, on the 28th November. One of its primary aims is to reach agreement on ways to reduce carbon emissions. Good policy is required to achieve reductions efficiently, including a consistent (preferably global) carbon price. However, a consistent price does not currently exist. Within the UK, there are a myriad of policies in place which create substantial divergences in effective carbon prices. We have some way to go to get the basics right for an efficient national policy; the global challenges will be much greater.
The UK Government has reformed beer duties and plans to ban the sale of alcohol in England and Wales for less than the total tax liable. These changes are minor: each affects just 1% of off-licence alcohol units sold. In Scotland, the Government has introduced a minimum alcohol pricing Bill which, if introduced across Britain, would directly affect the vast majority of off-licence drinkers and could transfer large sums to alcohol producers and retailers. But it is not clear that a minimum price is particularly well targeted and it may be preferable to increase drink prices by raising taxes and transferring money to the national coffers.
We use detailed data recording off-licence purchases to assess which types of alcohol products, retailers and consumers would be most affected by reforms.
New research published today by the IFS throws more light on the nature of the recent recession and its impact on households.
This paper examines trends in household consumption and saving behaviour in each of the last three recessions in the UK.
Browse publications & research
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   IFS researchers found that the Saving Gateway was not the best way to support lower income families; government acted on this advice.
In light of Government objectives to increase environmental taxation, we investigate whether the UK tax system is becoming more or less ‘green’.
IFS researchers have monitored the extent to which some households experience higher rates of inflation than others.
IFS researchers have evaluated whether the temporary VAT cut was able to boost the economy effectively.
Government departments used IFS research to inform decision-marking about a temporary cut in VAT.
Methods developed at IFS for measuring wealth were instrumental in establishing a detailed government dataset about assets and debt in Britain.
IFS researchers present and discuss new research on retirement saving with a group of business leaders and policy makers.
IFS develops data on food prices and nutrition to build capacity for policy-relevant social science research.
In a tough economic climate IFS looks at how households are able to cope.
An IFS research fellow is leading an independent review into how to make automatic enrolment into workplace pensions operate best.
IFS researchers develop a model of the Mexican tax system that will be used by the Mexican Government analysts.
IFS researchers have investigated whether it is possible to measure the distributional impact of changes to spending on public services.
IFS researchers have investigated the relative merits of government policies designed to protect elderly households from the coldest winters.
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