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.
Scottish election 2021 Collection We published a range of Scottish Election Briefing Notes on tax, benefits and public spending, co-funded by the Scottish Policy Foundation. 6 May 2021
What's happening to Scottish taxes and benefits? Explainer We analyse Scottish public finances ahead of the elections. 28 April 2021
Government spending Explainer We analyse Scottish government spending ahead of the elections. 16 April 2021
The Scottish Government’s record on tax and benefit policy Report Are there any common themes in how the current Scottish Government has used these powers? Who are the winners and losers from the reforms it has under 15 April 2021
Public service spending in Scotland: trends and key issues Report How is Scotland's higher spending allocated across different services? How have these allocations changed over time? And how do a range of headline in 14 April 2021
How and why has the Scottish Government’s funding changed in recent years? Report Scottish Government funding per person is over 30% higher than equivalent English funding. But it has still chosen to use temporary COVID funding to p 31 March 2021
Lessons and issues for sub-national government finances post-COVID Report Impacts of and lessons from the COVID-19 crisis for sub-national government finances. 23 March 2021
Scotland’s implicit budget deficit could be around 26-28% of GDP in 2020-21 Comment Today’s Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures show Scotland’s implicit budget deficit increasing to 8.6% of GDP in 2019-20 26 August 2020
Up to £10 billion of the Chancellor's 'Plan for Jobs' will be funded by underspends on previously planned projects Comment A lack of transparency over where spending is expected to be lower is contributing to confusion about the overall scale of fiscal support being provid 16 July 2020
Devolved governments need more flexible funding and greater borrowing power to tackle coronavirus effectively Comment The funding arrangements for the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not look well designed to deal with the coronavirus. 25 March 2020
The SNP’s manifesto reflects its renewed focus on a future outside the United Kingdom Comment The most commented upon is additional money for the English NHS 4 December 2019
Would Boris’s tax plans represent an unfair grab of Scotland’s money? Comment Some have claimed that Boris Johnson's tax pledges mean Scots would end up paying for a tax cut for higher earners in the rest of the UK. This is not 11 June 2019
GERS shows that Scotland's fiscal position continues to be weak but tells us much more as well Comment Today the Scottish Government released the latest version of Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) covering 2017–18. 22 August 2018
Weak public finance position implies more austerity for an independent Scotland Comment Analysis of the SNP’s Sustainable Growth Commission’s proposals 15 June 2018
Response to the Scottish Parliament call for views on funding of EU competences Report The Scottish Parliament's Finance and Constitution Committee is seeking views on how EU funding for agriculture, economic development and innovation m 24 April 2018
The SNP’s fiscal plans and Scotland’s fiscal position Comment On 30 May the SNP published their manifesto for the upcoming UK parliamentary elections 30 May 2017
The fiscal framework and the Scottish budget process: some thoughts Presentation The fiscal framework and the Scottish budget process: some thoughts 19 December 2016
Real-terms change in local government service spending by LA decile of grant dependence, 2009-10 to 2016-17, England, Scotland and Wales Resource This spreadsheet accompanies an Obervation on council-level figures on spending cuts and business rates income. 28 November 2016
A time of revolution? British local government finance in the 2010s Report This is the first report in a new multi-year IFS research programme examining these major changes to local government finance. 26 October 2016
Fiscal changes and challenges for the devolved governments Presentation Presentation given at the IPFIN 2016 conference - which brings together researchers from the Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies and the Scottish and 15 September 2016
