IFS Senior Research Economist Ben Zaranko writes for The Conversation on how the UK's lower defence spending has allowed successive governments to pay for a growing welfare state without a higher tax burden.
For decades, the "peace dividend" from lower spending on defence has, in effect, allowed successive governments to pay for a growing welfare state without a higher tax burden. But the conflict in Ukraine could mark the end of that trend, if the UK follows countries across Europe in announcing plans for higher defence expenditure. What might this mean for the government's fiscal situation?
Read the full article in The Conversation here.
Authors
Senior Research Economist
Ben is a Senior Research Economist and an editor of the IFS Green Budget. His work focuses on the health and social care system and UK fiscal policy.
Report details
- Publisher
- The Conversation
Suggested citation
Zaranko, B. (2022). Defence cuts effectively paid for a growing UK welfare state for 60 years – but that looks impossible after Ukraine. London: The Conversation. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/defence-cuts-effectively-paid-growing-uk-welfare-state-60-years-looks-impossible-after (accessed: 19 May 2024).
Related documents
More from IFS
Understand this issue
The £600 billion problem awaiting the next government
25 April 2024
Public investment: what you need to know
25 April 2024
If you can’t see it, you can’t be it: role models influence female junior doctors’ choice of medical specialty
24 April 2024
Policy analysis
The past and future of UK health spending
14 May 2024
NHS spending has risen less quickly than was planned at the last election, despite the pandemic and record waiting lists
14 May 2024
Recent trends in and the outlook for health-related benefits
19 April 2024
Academic research
The role of hospital networks in individual mortality
13 May 2024
A senior doctor like me: Gender match and occupational choice
24 April 2024
The consequences of miscarriage on parental investments
22 March 2024