Institute for Fiscal Studies
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Our job is to analyse and inform economic and social policy decisions and to help policymakers – and those who hold them accountable – understand the impact that their choices will have on individuals, households and businesses.
We are a team of economists working in collaboration with other academic institutions and experts from the public services, third sector and business.
We count a number of the world’s leading economists among our researchers, and many of our experts go on to make up the next generation of policymakers, academic scholars and business leaders. Our culture of inclusivity, excellence and independence reaches beyond our staff to shape the future of economics and policy development. Source
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| Scope | National |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Country | United Kingdom |
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Recent Articles
Search ArticlesWhich places have the highest standard of living?
How much do living standards vary across the country? People care deeply about disparities across space, with surveys suggesting that individuals rank place-based inequalities as the most significant form of inequality in the UK (ahead of income, gender or intergenerational differences). But what makes households in one area more affluent and in another area less affluent? The challenge of measuring living standards Living standards across areas can be measured in many ways.
Where and how does the government spend its money?
Bee Boileau Research Economist Bee joined the IFS in 2021 as a Research Economist and works in the Retirement, Saving and Ageing sector. Max Warner Senior Research Economist Max joined the IFS in 2020 as a research economist in the Healthcare Sector, with a focus on the NHS labour force and adult social care in England. Ben Zaranko Associate Director Ben joined the IFS in 2017 and works across a range of areas, including UK fiscal policy and the productivity of the health and social care system.
Subjective expectations and demand for contraception
One-quarter of married, fertile-age women in Sub-Saharan Africa report not wanting a pregnancy and yet do not practice contraception. We collect detailed data on the subjective beliefs of married, adult women not wanting a pregnancy and estimate a structural model of contraceptive choices. Both our structural model and a validation exercise using an exogenous shock to beliefs show that correcting women’s beliefs about pregnancy risk absent contraception can increase use considerably.
The impact of labour demand shocks when occupational labour supplies are heterogeneous
As technological advances accelerate and labour demands shift, the ability of workers to reallocate across occupations will be crucial for shaping labour market dynamics, inequality, and effective policy design. In this paper, we develop a tractable equilibrium model of the labour market that incorporates heterogeneous labour supply elasticities to different occupations and across different occupation pairs.
Combined impact of minimum wage and tax increases may reduce opportunities for young people
This week will see significant increases to both minimum wages and employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) take effect. The National Living Wage (NLW), which applies to those aged 21 or over, is rising by 3.4% in real terms (6.7% nominal) today to £12.21 per hour.
Policies to help people manage defined contribution pension wealth through retirement
Key context The challenges for people managing defined contribution (DC) pension wealth through retirement are stark. People face significant uncertainties that can materially affect their standard of living: over how long they (and their spouse) are going to live, the asset returns they will receive, the rate of inflation through retirement and the way in which their cognitive capacities, and broader health, will evolve.
Individuals’ challenges managing pensions through retirement
Bee Boileau Research Economist Bee joined the IFS in 2021 as a Research Economist and works in the Retirement, Saving and Ageing sector. Jonathan Cribb Associate Director Jonathan is an Associate Director and Head of Retirement, Savings and Ageing sector, focusing on pensions, savings and later-life economic activity. Carl Emmerson Deputy Director Carl, a Deputy Director, is an editor of the IFS Green Budget, an expert on the UK pension system and sits on the Social Security Advisory Committee.
Costly attention and retirement
In UK data, I document the prevalence of misbeliefs regarding the State Pension eligibility age (SPA) and these misbeliefs’ predictivity of retirement. Exploiting policy variation, I estimate a lifecycle model of retirement in which rationally inattentive households learning about uncertain pension policy endogenously generates misbeliefs. Endogenous misbeliefs explain 43%-88% of the excessive (given financial incentives) drop in employment at SPA.
Housing wealth, marital stability and labor supply: an intertemporal analysis
We study how house price shocks affect marital stability and household labor supply. We address this question using a dynamic collective household model with limited commitment. We find that positive house price shocks increase the divorce rate, and that leverage ratios such as loan-to-income (LTI) and loan-to- value (LTV) determine the transmission of house price shocks on divorce. Given its importance, we then analyze a tightening of the credit market through the LTI-limit.
Evaluation for impact
Christine Farquharson Associate Director Christine's research examines inequalities in children's education and health, especially in the early education and childcare sector.