The £600 billion problem awaiting the next government podcastWe speak to David Gauke and Giles Wilkes, two experts who have been at the heart of the spending review process.25 April 2024
Be the Chancellor Our interactive tool lets you be the Chancellor. Change spending plans, set tax policies and see how your choices impact borrowing and debt.
Should we worry about government debt? podcastDavid Miles joins us to discuss high government debt and its impact on the economy. 11 April 2024
IFS Annual Lecture - Innovation and productivity policies: a budgetary perspective event 15 May 2024 Professor Heidi Williams (Dartmouth College) will deliver the 2024 IFS Annual Lecture on innovation and productivity policies.
Higher Education Access and Funding: challenges and policy options conference 14 May 2024 This one-day academic conference will look at access to and funding of Higher Education systems.
Jobs landing pageAt IFS, we recruit and train top-quality economists and professional support staff. We aim to foster a respectful and inclusive working environment.20 July 2022
Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy The Research Centre at the heart of IFS is the CPP.
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
Scottish Budget: Tax and spending in 2024–25 Report The Scottish Government is raising taxes on the 5% highest-income Scots, but health funding is, on current plans, set to fall in real terms next year. 6 February 2024
Robust analysis of short panels Working Paper Examples of application to some static and dynamic binary, ordered and multiple discrete choice panel data models are presented. 8 January 2024
Distributional analysis of Ghana’s tax system Report This report analyses the distributional impacts of Ghana’s direct and indirect tax systems using the GHATAX microsimulation model. 18 December 2023
Halving inheritance tax would give away an average of £180,000 to the top 5% of estates at death Comment It is rumoured the Chancellor will halve inheritance tax in next week’s Autumn Statement. Four-fifths of the cut would go to estates worth over £1m. 18 November 2023
Identification analysis in models with unrestricted latent variables: Fixed effects and initial conditions Working Paper Examples of application to some static and dynamic binary, ordered and multiple discrete choice panel data models are presented. 11 October 2023
Reforming inheritance tax Report We set out issues with the inheritance tax system and examine options for reform and the distributional impacts of reforming or abolishing the tax. 27 September 2023
The triple lock: uncertainty for pension incomes and the public finances Report The pensions triple lock has increased state pension spending and creates uncertainty for current and future generations of pensioners. 8 September 2023
Tax and public finances: the fundamentals Report This report highlights 10 key facts about UK tax and public finance policy that will underpin the choices faced by governments in coming decades. 23 August 2023
Levelling Up: Is inequality between places Britain’s biggest problem? Podcast Since 2019, 'levelling up' has been at the forefront of the political agenda - but is inequality between places really Britain’s biggest problem? 16 August 2023
Employment, earnings and incomes in Scotland Report How have employment, earnings and incomes performed in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK? What drives geographic inequalities within Scotland? 9 August 2023
Student loans in England explained and options for reform Explainer How does the student loan system currently work in England, what will change for new students in 2023, and what are some of the options for reform? 20 July 2023
Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2023 Report We investigate how living standards have changed for different groups in the UK, with a particular focus on the cost of living payments and housing. 13 July 2023
Living standards and inequality Report We examine recent trends in households’ living standards, with a particular focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–21 and 2021–22. 7 July 2023
Characteristics and consequences of families with low levels of financial wealth Report Many families have little or no savings to access on a ‘rainy day’. We examine the types of families with low savings and what the consequences are. 16 June 2023
Government spending has long been targeted at the poorest in our society Comment Paul Johnson writes for The Times on how taking account of public service spending is critical to assessing the government's redistribution of wealth. 5 June 2023
Public service spending has become significantly more progressive since the 1980s Comment Changes in the composition of spending and rising education participation mean public service spending is more progressive than in the 1980s & 1990s. 31 May 2023
The distribution of public service spending Report This report for the IFS-Deaton Review looks at how public service spending is distributed across the population in the UK. 31 May 2023
The policy menu for school lunches: options and trade-offs in expanding free school meals in England Report The expansion of free school meals has been frequently discussed. IFS researchers consider the costs and benefits of different options. 29 March 2023
Inequality and the benefits system Event 2 February 2023 at 11:00 At this online event, we presented and discussed findings from a major new work on benefits.
