The £600 billion problem awaiting the next government podcastWe speak to David Gauke and Giles Wilkes, two experts who have been at the heart of the spending review process.25 April 2024
Be the Chancellor Our interactive tool lets you be the Chancellor. Change spending plans, set tax policies and see how your choices impact borrowing and debt.
Should we worry about government debt? podcastDavid Miles joins us to discuss high government debt and its impact on the economy. 11 April 2024
IFS Annual Lecture - Innovation and productivity policies: a budgetary perspective event 15 May 2024 Professor Heidi Williams (Dartmouth College) will deliver the 2024 IFS Annual Lecture on innovation and productivity policies.
Higher Education Access and Funding: challenges and policy options conference 14 May 2024 This one-day academic conference will look at access to and funding of Higher Education systems.
Jobs landing pageAt IFS, we recruit and train top-quality economists and professional support staff. We aim to foster a respectful and inclusive working environment.20 July 2022
Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy The Research Centre at the heart of IFS is the CPP.
There and back again: women’s marginal commuting costs Working Paper We estimate female and male workers’ marginal willingness to pay to reduce commuting distance in Germany. 2 April 2024
Annual report on education spending in England: 2023 Report Our sixth annual report on education spending shows changes over time across different stages of education, as well as geographic differences. 11 December 2023
Halving inheritance tax would give away an average of £180,000 to the top 5% of estates at death Comment It is rumoured the Chancellor will halve inheritance tax in next week’s Autumn Statement. Four-fifths of the cut would go to estates worth over £1m. 18 November 2023
Assessing the Welsh Government’s consultation on reforms to council tax Report We analyse the impact of the possible approaches to council tax reform set out in the Welsh Government’s consultation on ‘A fairer council tax’. 14 November 2023
Revaluation and reform of Welsh council tax should proceed without delay Comment We analyse the impact of the possible approaches to council tax reform set out in the Welsh Government’s consultation on ‘A fairer council tax’. 14 November 2023
The changing geography of jobs Report This report examines the way in which ‘hollowing out’ and other labour market trends have shaped the economic geography of the UK. 13 November 2023
School and neighbourhood segregation in Scotland and England Report We document the patterns of neighbourhood and secondary school segregation across England and Scotland 10 October 2023
Schools and segregation: a comparison of Scotland and England Comment We study how the different ways pupils are assigned to schools in England and Scotland relate to income segregation in schools and neighbourhoods. 10 October 2023
Levelling Up: Is inequality between places Britain’s biggest problem? Podcast Since 2019, 'levelling up' has been at the forefront of the political agenda - but is inequality between places really Britain’s biggest problem? 16 August 2023
How much public spending does each area receive? Local authority level estimates of health, police, school and local government spending Report How much funding does each area of England receive for key public services, and is this funding allocated in line with patterns of needs? 15 August 2023
How much was spent on public services in your area in 2022-23? Calculator Explore how much funding your area receives for key public services, and whether this funding is in line with patterns of needs 15 August 2023
Employment, earnings and incomes in Scotland Report How have employment, earnings and incomes performed in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK? What drives geographic inequalities within Scotland? 9 August 2023
Pay growth for London’s top earners has driven up geographical inequality in mean earnings Comment Strong pay growth in business services has pushed up top earnings in London, widening geographical inequalities in mean earnings. 25 July 2023
Need, funding and geographic inequalities Presentation This LGA 2023 Annual Conference presentation discusses some key issues with how public service spending is allocated across England. 5 July 2023
Earnings and income inequality in Scotland Presentation This presentation to the Royal Society of Edinburgh provides an early preview of upcoming work on labour market trends and inequalities in Scotland. 28 June 2023
How does school spending per pupil differ across the UK? Report This short report compares the level of school spending per pupil across the four nations of the UK. 21 April 2023
Freeports: What are they? What do we know? And what will we know? Report This report analyses the rationale for Freeports and what we can learn about their potential impact from past policies and a planned evaluation. 10 March 2023
Freeports and Investment Zones – what sorts of things should we consider when assessing whether they are good policy? Comment We discuss the economic issues central to whether Freeports and Investment Zones are a good idea. 10 March 2023
The economic and fiscal outlook: modelling the impact on local government Presentation Slides from David Phillips and Kate Ogden's presentation at the 2023 LGA Annual Local Government Finance Conference. 11 January 2023
The poor are failed most by our inability to reform local services Comment "Our system of funding for local services is not fit for purpose." Paul Johnson in The Times on the urgent need for local services funding reform. 24 October 2022
