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.
Public service delivery, exclusion and externalities: Theory and experimental evidence from India Working Paper This paper provides novel evidence on the trade-off between public service delivery and free riding in low- and middle-income countries. 15 November 2023
Sanitation and marriage markets in India: Evidence from the Total Sanitation Campaign Journal article This paper uses the Indian human development household survey (IHDS) to measure the additional value of sanitation within the marriage arrangement. 23 March 2023
Increasing the adoption of safe sanitation infrastructure: Evidence from India Comment Labeled microcredit loans increase the take-up of safe toilets, but take-up and conversion are influenced by intra-household gender differences. 22 March 2023
Community matters: Heterogeneous impacts of a sanitation intervention Journal article We study the effectiveness of a widely adopted participatory community-level information intervention aimed at improving sanitation. 8 February 2023
Sustaining behavioural change: Evidence from rural Pakistan Comment Where community interventions lead to behaviour change, continued interactions are needed to help people maintain healthy behaviours. 27 January 2023
Labeled loans and human capital investments Working Paper We provide rigorous evidence of the impacts of labelled microcredit on household sanitation investment and borrowing behaviour. 24 January 2023
To invest or not to invest in sanitation: the role of intra-household gender differences in perceptions and bargaining power Working Paper We study how intra-household gender differences in perceptions of costs and benefits of sanitation impact investment decisions. 24 January 2023
Labeled loans and human capital investments Journal article We provide novel evidence that labeled microcredit is effective in influencing household borrowing and investment decisions. 14 January 2023
When nature calls back: Sustaining behavioral change in rural Pakistan Journal article We implement a randomized controlled trial and a qualitative study to assess whether, and if so how, behavioral change can be sustained. 16 July 2022
Can white elephants kill? Unintended consequences of infrastructure development Working Paper I provide evidence of the severe social costs imposed by infrastructure projects that are being implemented in the context of sewerage in Peru. 12 July 2022
MaiMwana - IFS Economic Survey Internal Dataset The MaiMwana - IFS Economic Survey is a longitudinal dataset of approx. 3200 women aged 17-43 years and their households collected in Malawi. 22 April 2022
Public service delivery and free riding: experimental evidence from India Working Paper This paper provides novel evidence on the trade-off between public service delivery and free riding in low- and middle-income countries. 14 April 2022
Sanitation and credit constraints – The role of labelled microcredit in India’s Swacch Bharat Mission subsidy scheme Working Paper We provide rigorous evidence of the impacts of labelled microcredit on household sanitation investment and borrowing behaviour. 4 February 2022
Sanitation and marriage markets in India: evidence from the total sanitation campaign Working Paper We analyse marriage decisions in rural India, focusing on the added attractiveness of sanitation within the marital living arrangement. 3 December 2021
To invest or not to invest in sanitation: the role of intra-household gender differences in perceptions and bargaining power Working Paper We study how intra-household gender differences in perceptions of costs and benefits of sanitation impact investment decisions 3 December 2021
When nature calls back: sustaining behavioural change in rural Pakistan Working Paper We implement a mixed method approach to assess whether, and if so how, behavioural change can be sustained. 3 December 2021
Coordination and the poor maintenance trap: an experiment on public infrastructure in India Working Paper This paper provides one of the first economic analyses of provider–user dynamics in the presence of local coordination failure. 22 June 2021
Labelled loans and human capital investments Working Paper We draw on a cluster randomized controlled trial in rural India to show that labelled microcredit is effective in increasing take-up of a safe toilet. 27 April 2021
Editorial: WASH Economics and Financing: towards a better understanding of costs and benefits Journal article These papers highlight some of the specificities, and challenges of conducting full economic evaluations of WASH interventions. 1 December 2020
Sanitation dynamics: toilet acquisition and its economic and social implications in rural and urban contexts Journal article We use primary micro-data from Indian households in rural villages and urban neighbourhoods to shed light on household sanitation decision-making. 1 December 2020