Family networks and school enrolment: evidence from a randomized social experiment

Understand this issue

How did parents’ experiences in the labour market shape children’s social and emotional development during the pandemic?

report

Around 50% of families saw changes in labour market status during the COVID-19 pandemic. This impacted the emotional development of their children.

1 August 2023

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

Behind the numbers: reassessing investment in skills and training

comment

"There are concrete steps, such as reforming the Apprenticeship Levy, that the government should take to improve the existing skills system."

12 October 2023

Policy analysis

Three ways to improve the design of the UK’s overseas aid spending target

comment

The UK spent £12.8 billion on aid in 2022. But the way the budget is managed can lead to perverse outcomes. There is definite room for improvement.

18 January 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

The short- and medium-term impacts of Sure Start on educational outcomes

report

We study the medium-run effect of Sure Start on academic outcomes, finding large benefits, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

9 April 2024

Academic research

Evaluating pricing health insurance in lower-income countries: A field experiment in India

working paper

We conducted a large-scale, 4-year trial that randomized premiums and subsidies for India’s first national, public hospital insurance program, RSBY.

14 March 2024

Saving by buying ahead: stockpiling in response to lump-sum payments

journal article

This study uses variations in state income tax refunds over time to estimate consumption responses to lump-sum payments.

2 February 2024

Does the value-added tax add value? Lessons using administrative data from a diverse set of countries

journal article

We draw on firm-level administrative VAT records from 11 countries at different income levels to examine the functioning of real-world VAT systems.

9 February 2024