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Inequality, poverty and well-being
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.

 To get an idea of where you fit into the income distribution, try our interactive model, which will plot your position on the distributional graph. You can also download a spreadsheet containing some key figures about inequality.

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Year: 443 publications
01 May 1983
Andrew W Dilnot and Nick Morris
01 November 1982
26 July 1982
Andrew W Dilnot and Nick Morris
Before joining the European Commmunity, Britain supported its farmers by a system of 'deficiency payments'.
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Impact on Society
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.
The IFS has made valuable contributions to the debate on VAT and its impact on the poor.
The IFS played a key role in the debate about who the tax and benefit changes in recent ‘Emergency Budget’ hit hardest.
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 played an important role in the analysis underlying the findings of the National Equality Panel set up by the Labour Government.
Extensive research on inequality allowed us to develop an online model where users can plot their position in the income distribution.
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 economist advised a “Citizens Jury” on the welfare system, including basic facts and important issues about its purpose and structure.
IFS researchers develop a model of the Mexican tax system that will be used by the Mexican Government analysts.
IFS researchers and the World Bank plan to develop capacity and tools in developing countries for the comprehensive analysis of tax reforms
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.