After completing his master’s studies in Oxford, Matthew worked for nine years as an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. While there he studied for his PhD at University College London. A major theme of Matthew’s research has been the consumption and saving decisions of individuals and how these are affected by public policies and by the real and financial assets that are available. He has published in general interest journals such at the Journal of the European Economic Association, the Scandinavian Journal of Economics and Economica; and in field journals such as the Review of Economic Dynamics and the Journal of Health Economics. He also contributed to the influential “Mirrlees Review” of the principles behind the design of tax and benefit policy and their application to the UK.
Education
PhD Economics, University College London, 2009
PhM Economics, St John's College, 2000
BA (1st Class Honours) Philosophy, Politics and Economics, St John's College, 1998
We discuss one reason why the UK system may be ill suited to providing adequate retirement incomes for some individuals, and briefly consider some options for reform.
This lecture, for the IFS Public Economics Lectures series, focuses on why pensions and savings are an economic policy issue, the way in which policy maker's have responded to an ageing UK population and the pressures on the UK pensions system.
We consider empirical evidence from the US and the UK regarding the extent to which funds in some specific tax advantaged accounts (IRAs in the US, TESSAs and ISAs in the UK) represent new savings.
In this lecture, for the IFS Public Economics Lectures series, we look at the challenges facing the government in pension reform in the contect of an ageing population.
Discussions about how many people should pay higher rate tax are treacherous waters into which politicians wade at their peril, as Peter Hain, leader of the House of Commons, discovered in June.
There is a strong consensus that the British general election successes of the Labour Party in 1997 and 2001 owed much to attracting and retaining support from amongst the 'middle-class' voters of 'middle Britain'. But are the supposed residents of middle Britain in the middle of the income distribution? In this briefing note, we look at where we might find the 'middle classes' in the income distribution, and at the pattern of income distribution more generally.
The government is committed to introducing a new savings account for people on lower incomes. This will provide a strong incentive for eligible individuals to save, or at least to hold financial assets, in these accounts. This paper describes possible rationales for this government intervention.
In this Briefing Note, we discuss whether or not the government's proposed reforms are likely to help individuals to make choices about how to provide for their retirement that are appropriate to their circumstances. We focus particularly on whether or not the proposals might prompt those individuals who are not thought to be providing sufficiently for their retirement to save more each year or to retire at an older age than might otherwise have been the case.
In 1997, the Labour Party was elected in the UK with few explicitly articulated ideas about social security reforms. This paper reviews the large number of subsequent reforms to social security, and argues that some consistent themes have emerged.
The Government has proposed the Saving Gateway to encourage higher rates of saving and asset ownership among lower-income households. Matthew Wakefield examines the proposal.
