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.
Police infrastructure, police performance, and crime: Evidence from austerity cuts Working Paper Focusing on a wave of austerity cuts, I show that police station closure increased violent crimes in census blocks near the defunct stations. 24 April 2024
Sure Start achieved its aims, then we threw it away Comment "We know that poor children grow up with poor life chances. We know how to ameliorate that. The choice is ours." Paul Johnson writes for the Times. 15 April 2024
Living standards since the last election Report New income statistics suggest this parliament is on course to be the worst for living standards on record. 21 March 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
Housing costs and income inequality in the UK Report This report sheds light on some of the drivers of changes in housing costs over time for different groups. 17 November 2023
Retirement is not always a choice that workers can afford to make Comment "More of us may feel little choice but to work a year or two longer than planned." Paul Johnson writes for The Times. 6 November 2023
The effects of reforms to the Work Capability Assessment for incapacity benefits Report We investigate the potential impacts of the government’s proposed reforms to the Work Capability Assessment. 26 October 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
When and why should we care about inequality? Podcast Why should we care about inequality? What has happened to inequality over recent decades? And can government do anything about it? 9 August 2023
Exploiting discontinuities in secondary school attendance to evaluate value added Working Paper We use a new empirical strategy to test various measures of school effectiveness in England. 19 July 2023
Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2023 Event 13 July 2023 at 11:00 via Slido and Youtube This online event presented the key findings from our latest flagship annual report on living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK.
Poverty Report We investigate recent trends in poverty, and government policies aimed at alleviating it. 13 July 2023
Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2023 Presentation This online event presented the key findings from our latest flagship annual report on living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK. 13 July 2023
Earnings and income inequality in Scotland Presentation This presentation to the Royal Society of Edinburgh provides an early preview of upcoming work on labour market trends and inequalities in Scotland. 28 June 2023
Housing quality and affordability for lower-income households Report We examine patterns of housing tenure, quality and affordability for people on lower incomes. 27 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
Lots more people are working, but in jobs that keep them in poverty Comment "As well as a continuing focus on making sure people can get into work, we also need to look at the quality of work." Paul Johnson in the Times. 8 May 2023
Challenges for the UK pension system: the case for a pensions review Report This report makes the case that economic and policy changes in the last two decades necessitate a comprehensive review of the UK pension system. 20 April 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 fell in the first two years of the pandemic as middle- and high-income households became worse off Comment Declining real incomes for middle- and high-income households, together with a rise for poorer households, led to a reduction in income inequality. 23 March 2023
