Government finances and spending

The unintended consequences of infrastructure development

Journal article

Focusing on the period from 2005 to 2015 in Peru, I investigate the social costs imposed by poor implementation of public infrastructure.

17 May 2024

The past and future of UK health spending

Report

How has health spending changed over the past seven decades? How does the UK compare to other countries? What is the outlook for health spending?

14 May 2024

Council funding is a numbers game in which everybody is losing

Comment

"Local government finance is a mess that has been years in the making, but good luck trying to solve it." Paul Johnson writes for the Times.

13 May 2024

The unintended consequences of infrastructure development

Working Paper

Focusing on the period from 2005 to 2015 in Peru, I investigate the social costs imposed by poor implementation of public infrastructure.

8 May 2024

Empty defence spending promises are a shot in the dark

Comment

"The government’s announcement was misleading and opaque and does nobody any favours." Paul Johnson writes for the Times.

29 April 2024

Public investment: what you need to know

Explainer

Everything you wanted to know about UK public investment but were too afraid to ask – including analysis of Labour and Conservative plans.

25 April 2024

The £600 billion problem awaiting the next government

Podcast

We speak to David Gauke and Giles Wilkes, two experts who have been at the heart of the spending review process.

25 April 2024

Recent trends in and the outlook for health-related benefits

Report

Recipients of and spending on health-related benefits have risen rapidly since the start of the pandemic, posing a serious challenge for policymakers.

19 April 2024

Spending as much as other countries but taxing less is unlikely to be sustainable

Comment

How do the UK’s levels of tax and spend compare with other advanced economies?

17 April 2024

New tax year gives Chancellor more ‘headroom’ but doesn’t change the fundamentals

Comment

The start of a new tax year causes a mechanical boost to the Chancellor’s ‘headroom’, but the post-election fiscal challenge remains daunting.

16 April 2024

Should we worry about government debt?

Podcast

David Miles joins us to discuss high government debt and its impact on the economy.

11 April 2024

Favouring the low paid has backfired on the public sector

Comment

If we want high quality, highly qualified people delivering public services then we can’t let their pay fall relative to what’s available elsewhere.

1 April 2024

Oil and gas make Scotland’s underlying public finances particularly volatile and uncertain

Comment

A fallback in oil and gas prices has hit Scotland’s underlying public finance position this year.

27 March 2024

Recent trends in public sector pay

Report

How has public sector pay changed in recent years? Which type of workers have done better and which have done worse?

26 March 2024

How is the tax burden at a high when most of us are taxed so low?

Comment

Luck has played its part for Jeremy Hunt but whisper it quietly: this Tory government has taken a serious chunk out of the incomes of the 1 per cent.

18 March 2024

Taxing non-doms is a non-issue for the big public finance challenges

Comment

Jeremy Hunt’s new regime is a clear improvement — but the saga distracts from bigger public finance challenges

15 March 2024

Unfunded mandates and taxation

Journal article

In mid-2006, the Chinese central government increased the salaries and pensions of civil servants in its coastal areas but a funded mandate in others.

14 March 2024