Isabel joined the IFS in 2019 as a Research Economist. Their research focuses on labour markets in the healthcare system, with recent and ongoing projects analysing the labour supply decisions of NHS staff, the role of pay in retaining nurses in the hospital sector and the impact of gender and motherhood on doctors' and nurses' careers. They also produce work on the public finances, focusing on fiscal sustainability, borrowing and debt.
By 2026, despite the sharp reduction in borrowing, the UK is forecast to see the second-biggest increase in government debt out of 28 economies for which comparable forecasts are available – with only the US seeing a bigger increase.
The Chancellor was right to suspend the current set of fiscal targets during the pandemic, and he is also right to take time to consider what a good set of post-pandemic targets will be.
Since the March Budget, encouraging early indicators on the recovery in consumer spending, the labour market and government revenues have led to an upwards revision in most economic forecasts.
The IFS Green Budget looks at the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Chancellor aims to secure a lasting recovery and deliver on the Government’s other objectives and priorities.
The IFS Green Budget 2021, in association with Citi and with funding from the Nuffield Foundation, analysed the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, its economic legacy, and the big decisions confronting Chancellor Rishi Sunak as he prepares for his upcoming Budget and Spending Review.
As lockdowns are lifted and more economic activity is resumed, the extent, speed and nature of the UK’s economic recovery from the pandemic will be a crucial determinant of the Chancellor’s options at the upcoming Spending Review, expected this autumn.
Presentation to the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England and Improvement as part of the Health and Social Care Workforce Policy Research Unit.
