 Facts and figures about UK taxes, benefits and public spending.
Income distribution, poverty and inequality.
Analysing government fiscal forecasts and tax and spending.
Analysis of the fiscal choices an independent Scotland would face.
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.
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The distribution of income, consumption and wealth continues to be a central area of IFS research. Amongst the many aspects of our work in this area, we seek to chart, explain, and understand changes in inequality in wages, earnings, incomes and consumption, in the UK and other countries; we also seek to examine the effectiveness of a wide range of policies aimed at reducing poverty - including taxes and benefits, and other types of policy interventions - both at home and abroad.
Our research is also concerned with the welfare implications of changes both to inequality and poverty. These depend on how far they are caused by permanent changes in the relative standings of individuals in the income distribution (e.g. a change in the return to certain skills caused by technical progress) or by changes in the frequency of short-lived events (e.g. temporary layoffs), as well as the availability to individuals of specific insurance and other mechanisms to mitigate unexpected events. For useful facts and figures, visit our Incomes in the UK section, where you will also find out interactive model, Where do you fit in?, which uses the latest data to plot your position in the income distribution. Search
This blog piece argues that the advantages of localising council tax rebate schemes seem to be strongly outweighed by the disadvantages.
Parallels are increasingly being drawn between current economic circumstances and those of the 1970s. In this Briefing Note we take the opportunity to reflect on a few of the ways in which economic life has changed since the Silver Jubilee year.
Council Tax Benefit provides support to 5.9 million low-income families, more than any other means-tested benefit or tax credit in the UK. This commentary looks at the implications for local councils of the government's reforms to Council Tax Benefit.
See and hear slides and audio from the launch event.
Government plans to localise the help that low-income families receive with their council tax while cutting funding for it by 10% leave local councils with a tough challenge to design replacement schemes, according to a new report by IFS researchers.
This presentation was given at a briefing at IFS on 31 May 2012.
This presentation was given at a briefing at IFS on 31 May 2012.
This study examines the likely effects of government reforms to Council Tax Benefit.
Presentation made to Welsh Government officials and Welsh local government representatives at the Welsh Goverment Offices, Cardiff 31st May 2012
Politicians often say they want to see income inequality or poverty fall. The current fiscal climate, and the government's aim to eliminate the budget deficit mostly through spending cuts, constrain the scope for additional large-scale fiscal redistribution in the near future. It is
therefore natural to ask what role labour market changes might play in the years ahead. With this in mind, work co-authored by IFS researchers and published today considers the likely impact of changes in the mix of jobs
over the rest of this decade on typical measures of income poverty and income inequality.
We use these data and earlier ELSA waves first to document the effect of the crisis on the finances of those aged 50 and over in England, and second, to estimate the effect of wealth shocks on household consumption and individual expectations of the future.
Browse publications & research
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   Extensive research on inequality allowed us to develop an online model where users can plot their position in the income distribution.
An IFS economist advised a “Citizens Jury” on the welfare system, including basic facts and important issues about its purpose and structure.
IFS researchers played an important role in the analysis underlying the findings of the National Equality Panel set up by the Labour Government.
IFS analysis forms an important input into the public debate about child and pensioner poverty and what policies are best suited to tackle these.
IFS evaluated the Pathways to Work programme. This work proved key to the policy debate about how to get disability benefit claimants in work.
IFS researchers develop a model of the Mexican tax system that will be used by the Mexican Government analysts.
The IFS has made valuable contributions to the debate on VAT and its impact on the poor.
IFS develops data on food prices and nutrition to build capacity for policy-relevant social science research.
Research told policymakers that, despite greater expenditure on health care, Americans are less healthy than their English counterparts.
IFS researchers have monitored the extent to which some households experience higher rates of inflation than others.
IFS researchers and the World Bank plan to develop capacity and tools in developing countries for the comprehensive analysis of tax reforms
In a tough economic climate IFS looks at how households are able to cope.
IFS researchers have investigated whether it is possible to measure the distributional impact of changes to spending on public services.
The IFS played a key role in the debate about who the tax and benefit changes in recent ‘Emergency Budget’ hit hardest.
IFS researchers have investigated the relative merits of government policies designed to protect elderly households from the coldest winters.
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