Briefing notes
We produce short briefing notes on current policy issues, drawing on our expertise and research findings.
Briefing note
The current system of alcohol taxes in the UK is incoherent. The UK’s departure from the European Union offers an opportunity to improve the way that alcohol is taxed, as EU regulations that place constraints on the system of alcohol duties will no longer apply. In this briefing note, we provide ...
Briefing note
In recent years, some of the most talked-about trends in the UK labour market have concerned
the growth of ‘non-standard’ or ‘alternative’ forms of work. These have been central to concerns
over inequalities stemming from the world of work – either because they are seen as symptoms
of ...
Briefing note
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to dramatic changes in the delivery of routine health care in England. To prioritise access to hospital beds, staff and ventilators for COVID-19 patients, and to minimise the risk of infection for other patients, much routine health care was postponed or replaced with ...
Briefing note
The measures taken to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, resulting from both policy and consumers’ changes in behaviour, have had major impacts on consumer spending patterns. In this briefing note, we explore how consumer spending has evolved, both during lockdown and in the recovery phase since.
Briefing note
In this briefing note, we examine the ethnic diversity of academic economists who provide much of the research that ultimately feeds into policymaking. We use data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) to look at which groups are more or less well represented as academic economic ...
Briefing note
In this briefing note, we use comprehensive real-time data on grocery purchases and prices in Great Britain to show how inflation and promotional activity has evolved up until the beginning of August 2020.
Briefing note
In this briefing note, we use data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) Covid-19 study to examine how the work activity of older individuals has been affected by the pandemic, how older workers’ concerns about their job security vary with their individual characteristics, and how ...
Briefing note
This Briefing Note uses linked administrative data to investigate gaps in access to postgraduate degrees. The numbers of students progressing to postgraduate study are increasing rapidly, such qualifications could therefore be an important driver of differences in early career opportunities.
Briefing note
The COVID-19 pandemic has had huge impacts on the UK labour market. To protect households from the most severe consequences of this, the government made temporary changes to the existing social security system and rapidly designed and implemented large new schemes. In this briefing note, we take ...
Briefing note
The COVID-19 crisis has brought to the fore increasing concerns about inequalities not only between different population groups – such as the gap between the rich and poor, young and old, and different ethnic groups – but also between people living in different places. Even prior to the crisis ...