ESRC Institute for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy
Lead Research Organisation:
Institute for Fiscal Studies
Department Name: IFS Research Team
Abstract
Our goal at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is to promote effective economic and social policies by better understanding how policies affect individuals, families, businesses and the government's finances. The ESRC Institute at IFS acts as a national resource to conduct and disseminate world-class research to inform policy. We aim to: (a) make major scientific progress in understanding how individuals and firms behave and how they react to government policy and their broader economic and institutional environment; (b) ensure this knowledge is used to have substantial positive impact on the operation and evaluation of policy across a broad range of areas; and (c) operate as a national resource to build technical and policy capacity by exploiting and collecting new types of data, collaborating internationally and with those in other relevant disciplines, and training a new generation of highly skilled researchers. These objectives contribute directly to promote and support the production and application of world-class, independent social science.
Our research agenda covers a broad range of topics and is designed to address major challenges the UK and other economies face in ensuring the resilience of households, firms and the broader economy. It will continue to evolve in response to the changing policy landscape. Our agenda is organised around five interconnected themes: inequalities and living standards; tax and benefit reform; human capital and productivity; the challenges of an ageing population; and demands on public expenditure and public services.
Our research focuses on the impacts of policy and importantly on the mechanisms through which those impacts arise. This means we need to: model how people make decisions through their lives and the interactions between different economic actors; understand the context within which decisions are taken; use appropriate evaluation methods, and develop new ones where they do not exist; and develop new data and measurement tools where needed.
Our main focus is on policy in the UK, but we also work with and inform policy debates in the US, Europe, and low- and middle-income countries. We regularly interact with researchers worldwide, exploiting our unique team-based research environment for capacity building in empirical policy research.
Our research agenda covers a broad range of topics and is designed to address major challenges the UK and other economies face in ensuring the resilience of households, firms and the broader economy. It will continue to evolve in response to the changing policy landscape. Our agenda is organised around five interconnected themes: inequalities and living standards; tax and benefit reform; human capital and productivity; the challenges of an ageing population; and demands on public expenditure and public services.
Our research focuses on the impacts of policy and importantly on the mechanisms through which those impacts arise. This means we need to: model how people make decisions through their lives and the interactions between different economic actors; understand the context within which decisions are taken; use appropriate evaluation methods, and develop new ones where they do not exist; and develop new data and measurement tools where needed.
Our main focus is on policy in the UK, but we also work with and inform policy debates in the US, Europe, and low- and middle-income countries. We regularly interact with researchers worldwide, exploiting our unique team-based research environment for capacity building in empirical policy research.
Planned Impact
Who benefits from this research and how will they benefit?
A key objective for the ESRC Institute at IFS is to ensure that the knowledge gained through our research has substantial positive impact on the operation and evaluation of policy across a broad range of areas including taxation, labour markets, welfare, pensions and, more recently, education, productivity, public finances, health and development. In order to achieve this, we engage directly with policymakers, at a national, regional and local level in the UK, as well as with policymakers overseas and in international organisations. ESRC funding ensures that IFS can make its contribution to the policy debate in an informed and non-partisan way.
In order to facilitate the democratic scrutiny of existing and proposed policies, we engage with those in civil society with an interest in policymaking. This includes MPs, campaigning organisations, business people, members of the public and the media. As well as contributing to current debates, we aim to provide an educational resource for students and young people to contribute more widely to the long-term public understanding of economics and the role that social science has to play in the shaping of better policy.
What do we do to engage with these groups?
Our networks of policymakers are both wide and deep, and we continue to strengthen these, with co-funding from our IAA, e.g. through round-table events involving researchers and civil servants at different stages of their career. The fact that the ESRC Institute sits within IFS means that researchers have access to a strong communications team, providing contacts and expertise in engaging with the media, policymakers and wider community.
These networks lead to continued two-way feedback between researchers and policymakers, allowing us to (a) bring the messages and findings of our specific research studies to the attention of policymakers, (b) deliver more general research-based messages and advice founded on state-of-the-art evidence and knowledge, (c) understand the evolving needs of policymakers and so inform the design of our research agenda and (d) establish a policy debate in government and the media based on rigorous research evidence.
We regularly talk to officials in government departments, including HMT, HMRC, ONS, DWP, DH, DfE, Cabinet Office, BEIS, DfID, DIT and DCLG, and in the OBR. We work with local government and representative organisations such as the LGA and CIPFA and with devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff. Our work with international policymakers includes international finance institutions (e.g. the World Bank), government officials and NGO staff. Researchers sit on numerous advisory boards, as well as taking part in face-to-face discussion with policy contacts.
The ESRC Institute at IFS will be at the forefront of public engagement, directly and via the media. As well as aiming our outputs at the top academic journals, we serve the public and media directly through publishing straightforwardly written and open-access briefing notes, reports and observations (blogs) as well as writing for newspapers and engaging directly with print and broadcast journalists. We receive well over 1,000 mentions a year in hard-copy UK national newspapers and more than 20,000 on news sites. The website now has 1.3 million page views per year. We are present on Twitter (33.7k followers) and Facebook and produce videos to disseminate our research to a wide audience.
We are expanding our wider educational role, through a series of public lectures to be held in venues across the UK, and by creating and curating a range of online resources aimed directly at the public, to include a website addressing questions about tax using a range of media, including video. Working with partners such as the Royal Economic Society, we are creating materials aimed at school and university students to help promote diversity in economics.
A key objective for the ESRC Institute at IFS is to ensure that the knowledge gained through our research has substantial positive impact on the operation and evaluation of policy across a broad range of areas including taxation, labour markets, welfare, pensions and, more recently, education, productivity, public finances, health and development. In order to achieve this, we engage directly with policymakers, at a national, regional and local level in the UK, as well as with policymakers overseas and in international organisations. ESRC funding ensures that IFS can make its contribution to the policy debate in an informed and non-partisan way.
In order to facilitate the democratic scrutiny of existing and proposed policies, we engage with those in civil society with an interest in policymaking. This includes MPs, campaigning organisations, business people, members of the public and the media. As well as contributing to current debates, we aim to provide an educational resource for students and young people to contribute more widely to the long-term public understanding of economics and the role that social science has to play in the shaping of better policy.
What do we do to engage with these groups?
Our networks of policymakers are both wide and deep, and we continue to strengthen these, with co-funding from our IAA, e.g. through round-table events involving researchers and civil servants at different stages of their career. The fact that the ESRC Institute sits within IFS means that researchers have access to a strong communications team, providing contacts and expertise in engaging with the media, policymakers and wider community.
These networks lead to continued two-way feedback between researchers and policymakers, allowing us to (a) bring the messages and findings of our specific research studies to the attention of policymakers, (b) deliver more general research-based messages and advice founded on state-of-the-art evidence and knowledge, (c) understand the evolving needs of policymakers and so inform the design of our research agenda and (d) establish a policy debate in government and the media based on rigorous research evidence.
We regularly talk to officials in government departments, including HMT, HMRC, ONS, DWP, DH, DfE, Cabinet Office, BEIS, DfID, DIT and DCLG, and in the OBR. We work with local government and representative organisations such as the LGA and CIPFA and with devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff. Our work with international policymakers includes international finance institutions (e.g. the World Bank), government officials and NGO staff. Researchers sit on numerous advisory boards, as well as taking part in face-to-face discussion with policy contacts.
The ESRC Institute at IFS will be at the forefront of public engagement, directly and via the media. As well as aiming our outputs at the top academic journals, we serve the public and media directly through publishing straightforwardly written and open-access briefing notes, reports and observations (blogs) as well as writing for newspapers and engaging directly with print and broadcast journalists. We receive well over 1,000 mentions a year in hard-copy UK national newspapers and more than 20,000 on news sites. The website now has 1.3 million page views per year. We are present on Twitter (33.7k followers) and Facebook and produce videos to disseminate our research to a wide audience.
We are expanding our wider educational role, through a series of public lectures to be held in venues across the UK, and by creating and curating a range of online resources aimed directly at the public, to include a website addressing questions about tax using a range of media, including video. Working with partners such as the Royal Economic Society, we are creating materials aimed at school and university students to help promote diversity in economics.
Publications
Adams-Prassl A
(2020)
The COVID-19 Economic Crisis.
in Fiscal studies
Britton J
(2020)
Health and Employment amongst Older Workers*
in Fiscal Studies
Attanasio O
(2020)
JEEA-FBBVA LECTURE 2019: Consumption Insurance in Networks with Asymmetric Information: Evidence from Tanzania
in Journal of the European Economic Association
Costa Dias M
(2020)
The gender pay gap in the UK: children and experience in work
in Oxford Review of Economic Policy
Bartfeld J
(2020)
SNAP Matters - How Food Stamps Affect Health and Well-Being
Blundell R
(2020)
Could COVID-19 Infect the Consumer Prices Index?
in Fiscal studies
Banks J
(2020)
The Mental Health Effects of the First Two Months of Lockdown during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK *
in Fiscal Studies
Griffith R
(2020)
The Impact of COVID-19 on Share Prices in the UK.
in Fiscal studies
Grantham-McGregor S
(2020)
Group Sessions or Home Visits for Early Childhood Development in India: A Cluster RCT.
in Pediatrics
Swain J
(2020)
Approaching Retirement After a Working Life in Poverty
in Journal of Population Ageing
Description | 'JPI MYBL EWG' Unequal ageing: life-expectancy, care needs and reforms to the welfare state |
Amount | £265,970 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/W001594/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2021 |
End | 05/2024 |
Description | A comprehensive evaluation of the short and medium term impacts of Sure Start |
Amount | £181,623 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EDO /FR-000000372 |
Organisation | Nuffield Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 12/2022 |
Description | A personnel approach to firms and workers' behavior - with a focus on gender inequalities |
Amount | £98,113 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/X005895/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2022 |
End | 09/2023 |
Description | An international tax data laboratory (ITD-Lab) for studying taxes, firms and development |
Amount | £1,404,422 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MR/V025058/1 |
Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 03/2026 |
Description | Analysing tax, benefit and public spending trends and proposals in the context of the Scottish Parliamentary Elections, 2021 |
Amount | £25,704 (GBP) |
Organisation | Scottish Policy Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2021 |
End | 05/2021 |
Description | COVID and the UK nations' fiscal frameworks: impacts, performance and lessons |
Amount | £80,637 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/W00173X/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | Children of the property boom: house price increases and the intergenerational transmission of wealth |
Amount | £69,318 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/S007253/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2022 |
End | 09/2023 |
Description | Consumption dynamics and the insurance value of benefits |
Amount | £258,609 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/W005891/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2022 |
End | 06/2024 |
Description | Covid and Society |
Amount | £8,415 (GBP) |
Organisation | The British Academy |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 11/2020 |
Description | Covid-19 and childcare: local impacts across England |
Amount | £22,990 (GBP) |
Organisation | Nuffield Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | Deaton Review Country Studies: A Trans-Atlantic Comparison of Inequalities in Incomes and Outcomes over Five Decades |
Amount | £177,060 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/X000656/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 03/2024 |
Description | Diversity and Productivity: from Education to Work (DaPEW) |
Amount | £1,634,799 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/W010224/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2022 |
End | 05/2025 |
Description | Dynamics in private pension saving across the income distribution |
Amount | £155,735 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/X000362/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2023 |
End | 03/2025 |
Description | Early retirement ages and employment before and during Covid-19 |
Amount | $57,705 (USD) |
Funding ID | G-2019-12400 |
Organisation | Alfred P. Sloan Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United States |
Start | 06/2021 |
End | 06/2022 |
Description | Early years modelling |
Amount | £15,505 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Sutton Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2021 |
End | 07/2021 |
Description | Estimating classroom peer effects in Ecuadorian elementary schools |
Amount | £36,232 (GBP) |
Organisation | Spencer Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United States |
Start | 04/2022 |
End | 11/2022 |
Description | Fiscal Commission, Northern Ireland Executive |
Amount | £75,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Department of Finance |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 02/2022 |
Description | Green Budget 2021-2023 |
Amount | £350,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Citigroup Inc |
Sector | Private |
Country | United States |
Start | 06/2022 |
End | 06/2024 |
Description | Green Budget 2022-2025 |
Amount | £458,824 (GBP) |
Organisation | Nuffield Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2022 |
End | 05/2026 |
Description | Improving health and development through play - Evaluation of a comprehensive ECCE programme at scale in Ghana |
Amount | £1,054,592 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MR/V035312/1 |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | Intergenerational transfers, insurance, and the transmission of inequality |
Amount | £771,063 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/V001248/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 09/2023 |
Description | Living standards, poverty and inequality 2021-2023 |
Amount | £235,008 (GBP) |
Organisation | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 08/2023 |
Description | Living standards, poverty and inequality 2021-2023 |
Amount | £235,008 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 210101A |
Organisation | Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 08/2023 |
Description | Machine learning methods for studying the trajectories of young offenders in administrative data |
Amount | £171,441 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/V006452/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | Medical spending risk among the elderly by race and gender |
Amount | $118,750 (USD) |
Organisation | Social Security Administration |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 08/2022 |
End | 09/2023 |
Description | Mental health and peer effects in primary schools: implications for future educational achievement and labour market success |
Amount | 1,599,751 kr. (DKK) |
Organisation | Rockwool Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Denmark |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 12/2024 |
Description | Minimum wages, taxes and transfers, and low-income workers |
Amount | £395,374 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/X008339/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2023 |
End | 12/2025 |
Description | New index number methods in consumer price statistics |
Amount | £14,950 (GBP) |
Organisation | Office for National Statistics |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 06/2021 |
Description | Northern Ireland Fiscal Commission: evidence |
Amount | £74,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Department of Finance |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2021 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | Pension saving over the lifecyle |
Amount | £249,336 (GBP) |
Funding ID | WEL /FR-000000374 |
Organisation | Nuffield Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 09/2022 |
Description | Productivity, Wages and the Labour Market |
Amount | £1,743,980 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/W010453/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 03/2025 |
Description | Public policy in food markets: understanding advertising and choice inter-dependencies |
Amount | £428,322 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/V013513/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2024 |
Description | Retirement pensions and disability insurance for the 21st century |
Amount | $95,000 (USD) |
Organisation | Social Security Administration |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 08/2021 |
End | 09/2022 |
Description | Saving, spending and financial resilience in the wake of the pandemic |
Amount | £85,819 (GBP) |
Organisation | Nuffield Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2021 |
End | 08/2022 |
Description | Skills Bootcamps Evaluation Wave 2 and 3 |
Amount | £70,830 (GBP) |
Organisation | Department for Education |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2022 |
End | 03/2024 |
Description | Skills at work: an analysis of the interaction between training and occupations in the labour market |
Amount | £89,591 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/V011162/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | Social care reform |
Amount | £6,250 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Health Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2022 |
End | 01/2022 |
Description | Spending across stages of education |
Amount | £230,812 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EDO /FR-000022637 |
Organisation | Nuffield Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2023 |
Description | The COVID-19 shock: continuity and change in labour markets and employment policies in Japan and the UK |
Amount | £339,690 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/W01159X/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2022 |
End | 01/2025 |
Description | The dynamic effects of health on the employment of older workers |
Amount | $95,000 (USD) |
Organisation | Social Security Administration |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 08/2021 |
End | 09/2022 |
Description | The long run impact of the Education Maintenance Allowance |
Amount | £228,257 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EDO/FR-000023448 |
Organisation | Nuffield Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2022 |
End | 08/2024 |
Description | To what extent does funding follow need? An analysis of the geographic distribution of public spending in England |
Amount | £36,252 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 2965529 |
Organisation | The Health Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2022 |
End | 06/2022 |
Description | Understanding the role of liquid wealth, family financial transfers, and pensions in household insurance |
Amount | £224,837 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/W002671/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 02/2024 |
Description | Unfree Time: women's labour, leisure, and the persistence of seclusion |
Amount | £254,438 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2022 |
End | 01/2025 |
Description | Vocational training, on the job training, and resilience to the Covid-19 shock |
Amount | $69,426 (USD) |
Organisation | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United States |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | Welfare integration, labour supply and take-up |
Amount | £259,244 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/V003704/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2022 |
Description | Welfare integration, labour supply and take-up |
Amount | £259,244 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/V003704/1 |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2022 |
Description | Which universities are best for social mobility? |
Amount | £40,150 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Sutton Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2021 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | Work skills for life: a work readiness programme to prepare the transition from secondary school |
Amount | kr 100,000 (NOK) |
Organisation | Research Council of Norway |
Sector | Public |
Country | Norway |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2024 |
Description | Young mothers progression |
Amount | £5,085 (GBP) |
Organisation | Nuffield Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2022 |
End | 11/2022 |
Description | A shock to come at the end of furlough? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation on the end of furlough. (Cribb J. & Waters T.) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15501 |
Description | Comparisons of school spending per pupil across the UK |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation about school spending in the UK (L. Sibieta) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15764 |
Description | Could NHS waiting lists really reach 13 million? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation on NHS waiting lists. (Stoye G., Warner M. & Zaranko B.) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15557 |
Description | Event - Challenges for levelling up 04 February 2022 | 10:00 - 11:00 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | This week, the Government has published their 'Levelling Up White Paper', outlining twelve missions to be achieved by 2030 across pay, employment, education and health. This comes against a backdrop of large and persistent regional inequalities that will take a long period of focus to fix. At this event, IFS researchers put the White Paper in context by outlining the current pattern of taxes and public spending around the country and presented new work that looks at geographic inequalities in labour market outcomes (published as part of the flagship IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities, funded by the Nuffield Foundation). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Event - Going solo: self-employment in today's labour market 19 November 2020 | 10:00 - 11:00 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Self-employment in the UK has risen dramatically. In 1975, 8% of workers were self-employed; this had increased to 12% by 2000, and 14% by 2019. This increase has been entirely driven by a rise in 'solo self-employment' - own-account workers without employees - who now account for 85% of the self-employed. At this event, we will discuss findings from a new report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation as part of the IFS Deaton Review on Inequalities, that explores the nature of the rise of self-employment, what it tells us about the state of our labour market, and how the Covid-19 crisis has affected the self-employed. Speakers include: James Bloodworth, journalist and author of Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain Giulia Giupponi, Assistant Professor, Bocconi University Stephen Machin, Director, Centre for Economic Performance and Professor of Economics, London School of Economics Xiaowei Xu, Senior Research Economist, Institute for Fiscal Studies |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1868 |
Description | Event - Green Budget 2021 12 October 2021 | 09:30 - 11:30 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The IFS Green Budget 2021, in association with Citi and with funding from the Nuffield Foundation, will analyse the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, its economic legacy, and the big decisions confronting Chancellor Rishi Sunak as he prepares for his upcoming Budget and Spending Review and aims to secure a lasting recovery, tackle inequalities that have widened over the past 18 months, and deliver on the Government's other objectives and priorities. The findings from chapters covering the economic and fiscal outlook and the forthcoming Spending Review will be presented at the event, alongside which the book will be launched. Green Budget chapters covering pressures on the NHS, the outlook for local government, the end of the furlough scheme, and tax policies to help achieve net zero carbon emissions will be released in the run up to publication of the book. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1929 |
Description | Event - Green Budget corporate member breakfast 12th October 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | 17 attendees for this corporate member briefing event. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Event - IFS Green Budget 2020 13 October 2020 | 10:00 - 11:30 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The IFS Green Budget 2020, in association with Citi and with funding from the Nuffield Foundation, will analyse the huge economic trauma since the March Budget, the much heightened uncertainty over the path of the economy in coming years, and the big decisions confronting Chancellor Rishi Sunak as he continues to decide how policy should respond to support households, business and public services in the coming year and beyond. The findings from chapters covering the economic and fiscal outlook will be presented at the event, alongside which the book will be launched. Green Budget chapters covering the forthcoming Spending Review, the levelling up agenda, and options for changes to working-age benefits given the temporary measures in place in 2020-21, will be released in the run up to publication of the book. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1853 |
Description | Event - IFS Green Budget 2020: Options for the temporary Covid benefit increases 09 October 2020 | 10:00 - 10:45 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | In the immediate wake of the pandemic, the government brought in a series of temporary expansions to the welfare system at a cost of £9 billion. In this webinar, IFS researchers will discuss the options the government faces as it considers unwinding, adjusting, or making permanent these temporary giveaways; and the opportunities this moment presents to address issues with the system that existed prior to the onset of the crisis. After IFS researchers have presented the findings of the report, Stephen Timms MP, Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, will give a response. This event is part of a series of events launching this year's IFS Green Budget, in association with Citi and with funding from the Nuffield Foundation. The Green Budget will be officially launched at a webinar covering the economic and fiscal outlook on 13 October. Find out more here. Co-funding for this chapter and event was provided by UKRI under grant reference ES/V00381X/1. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1857 |
Description | Event - IFS Green Budget corporate member briefing 13th October 2020 - Online |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | 16 Corporate Members attended this briefing. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Event - IFS Green Budget: Challenges for the Spending Review and levelling up 02 October 2020 | 10:00 - 11:00 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Chancellor Rishi Sunak faces a difficult balancing act at this year's Spending Review. Major public spending decisions will be made amidst the ongoing fallout from COVID-19, with the end of the Brexit transition period looming on the horizon, and with great pressure for austerity to be brought to a decisive end. The Spending Review is also a natural point to lay out the beginnings of a coherent 'levelling up' agenda. What can we expect for public services? Which areas might the government target for 'levelling up', and how? How might COVID-19 and Brexit complicate the picture? At this event, IFS researchers will present the findings of two chapters of the forthcoming Green Budget, addressing the big questions around the 2020 Spending Review and 'levelling up'. This event is part of a series of events launching this year's IFS Green Budget, in association with Citi and with funding from the Nuffield Foundation. The Green Budget will be officially launched at a webinar covering the economic and fiscal outlook on 13 October. Find out more here. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1854 |
Description | Event - Jobs for all? What happens when the furlough scheme ends 30 September 2021 | 11:00 - 12:00 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | After a year and a half, the furlough scheme (officially the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme) is set to end on 30 September 2021. Government data shows that, at its peak almost 9 million people have been supported by the scheme. But while most have been moved off the scheme, at the end of July a further 1.6 million remain on furlough or flexible furlough. Employers will therefore need to make decisions about managing their return to work when the scheme ends (potentially covering the full cost of their employment for the first time in 18 months), and, in particular, will need to decide whether to take back their furloughed workers or make them redundant. For those who find themselves no longer in work, who they are, what education and skills they have, what stage they are at in their careers and the buoyancy of the labour market in the area where they live or work will all be crucial in determining their ability to gain suitable employment. At this IFS briefing we look at the latest vacancies data and recent labour market trends to identify the types of workers who might find difficulty in finding suitable employment once the furlough scheme ends, and we will discuss the challenges facing the labour market in the coming months. We draw on a wealth of IFS research to do this, including analysis for the IFS Green Budget, which has been produced with funding from the Nuffield Foundation and in association with Citi. Speakers include: Jonathan Cribb (IFS) Xiaowei Xu (IFS) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1932 |
Description | Event - Men and women at work: the more things change the more they stay the same? 06 December 2021 | 09:30 - 10:30 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Men and women have historically held very different roles inside and outside the household, and with respect to paid and unpaid work. These have influenced, and been shaped by, power relations between men and women and socialization into different roles by parents and communities. In recent decades we have seen major changes in gender norms within families and societies and in women's political, social and economic roles - not least their mass entry into the labour force. And yet we still see huge differences in how men and women use their time and in their economic outcomes. After having children gaps in labour force participation and pay between men and women increase markedly and never close again, even if mother's careers do pick up momentum again many years later once child-rearing is over. This online event presents new evidence on economic inequalities between men and women. It investigates how far patterns of work and pay have changed over time, how this relates to changing education levels of men and women, and what the causes of the persistent gaps are. It asks whether and how policy can enable women's careers and men's caring roles, and reduce the risk of poverty among those who face interruptions in paid work. And it will reflect on what needs to be done to ensure the ability of women and men to enjoy fulfilling home and working lives, and the potential wider effects on society and the economy. Speakers include: Alison Andrew, Institute for Fiscal Studies Fran Bennett, University of Oxford Lucinda Platt, London School of Economics After the presentations, there will be plenty of time for questions. The event will draw on research undertaken as part of the IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1950 |
Description | Event - The price we pay for carbon: can taxes take us to net zero? 09 November 2021 | 14:00 - 15:00 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Solving climate change will entail innovation, substantial behavioural change, and considerable economic cost. This online event will focus in on the role of tax in achieving that historic transition, asking: what is the current state of UK environmental policy, what more needs to be done, and how can we ensure a fair transition to net zero? Chaired by IFS Deputy Director Helen Miller, it will feature a series of short talks from IFS researchers and policy experts exploring the most pressing economic challenges facing the UK on the road to net zero, including: Isaac Delestre, IFS Tim Lord, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change Anna Valero, LSE's Centre for Economic Performance Talks will be followed by time for your questions.The IFS presentation will draw on the IFS Green Budget chapter on tax policies to help achieve net zero carbon emissions, which has been produced with funding from the Nuffield Foundation and in association with Citi. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1941 |
Description | Event - Under pressure: What do Covid-19 and social care reforms mean for local government? 07 October 2021 | 11:00 - 12:00 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The upcoming Spending Review follows a decade of austerity and unprecedented new financial pressures and service responsibilities for councils as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has pushed up councils' spending and reduced their local revenues, with the UK and devolved governments having had to provide substantial top-ups to councils' grant funding over the last 18 months to help them weather this storm. Some of these pressures are likely to persist into the medium-term, and will come on top of underlying increases in the demand for and cost of council-provided services. And a range of reforms to councils' funding arrangements and responsibilities are set to take effect over the next few years - or should be considered by the UK and devolved governments. At this IFS briefing, chaired by the MJ's Heather Jameson, we will discuss: How the COVID-19 crisis has affected councils' finances in England and Wales; The medium-term outlook for council funding in England and Wales; The issues the government needs to consider with forthcoming reforms to the council funding system; and What social care reforms may mean for councils' finances. This marks the launch of our new IFS Green Budget chapter on councils' finances, which has been produced with funding from the Nuffield Foundation and in association with Citi. Speakers include: Kate Ogden IFS David Phillips, IFS Joanne Pitt, CIPFA Cian Sion, Cardiff University |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1933 |
Description | Event - What's the impact of trade on inequality? 17 November 2021 | 15:30 - 17:00 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | The growth of international trade, and of trade between lower-income countries and high-income countries in particular, has had profound effects on the labour markets and even the politics of high-income countries. This online event will focus in on what economists have learned about how trade affects inequality in rich countries over the past two decades: Why did some countries like Germany apparently adjust better to recent waves of globalization than other countries like the US and the UK? How did trade with low income countries affect the prices of goods bought by rich and poor consumers? What impact did import competition have on public attitudes towards trade and political outcomes in rich countries? How might changes in trade patterns and barriers following Brexit affect inequality among workers in the UK? And what does previous evidence suggest the main challenges of Brexit might be for the UK labour market? Chaired by IFS Director Paul Johnson, it will feature a series of short talks from leading experts on international trade, including: David Dorn, Professor at the University of Zurich Pinelopi Goldberg, Professor at Yale University and former chief economist at the World Bank Peter Levell, Associate Director at IFS Talks will be followed by time for your questions. The presentations will draw on a chapter on "Trade and Inequality in Europe and the United States" written as part of the wide-ranging IFS Deaton Review into inequalities funded by the Nuffield Foundation. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1946 |
Description | Event - What's wrong with inequality? 23 September 2021 | 15:00 - 16:30 | Online only |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | When should inequalities in society be of ethical concern, and a target of public policy, and why? Which inequalities do people find most and least worrisome in the UK, and which do people relate to most closely from their personal experience? How do people differ in the way they think about the fairness of inequality and the role of government in tackling it? To what extent do people disagree about the facts of how substantial inequalities are and the reasons that they have arisen? Can their minds be changed by presenting them with new information? These will be among the questions discussed as we present new work undertaken for the ground-breaking IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities, funded by the Nuffield Foundation. We examine people's attitudes towards inequalities and how these fit with different traditions of philosophical thought on the topic. These will be the first of many detailed studies from the Review to be released over the coming months. This event will be chaired by Paul Johnson, IFS Director, and will feature an introduction by Tim Gardam, Chief Executive of the Nuffield Foundation, followed by talks from: Sir Angus Deaton, Princeton University; Bobby Duffy, The Policy Institute, King's College London; Debra Satz, Stanford University; and Stefanie Stantcheva, Harvard University. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1928 |
Description | IFS Annual Lecture: Jean Tirole (TSE) - "The common good after Covid" 16 September 2021 | 18:30 - 20:00 | One Birdcage Walk, London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Professor Jean Tirole, Honorary Chairman of the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), will give the 2021 IFS Annual Lecture on "The common good after Covid". Jean Tirole is member-founder of the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) and of the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST). He is also affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he holds a position of Visiting Professor, and the Institut de France. He has published over two hundred articles in international peer-reviewed journals, as well as twelve scientific books. Published in English in 2017, his latest book, entitled "Economics for the Common Good", is accessible to a wide audience and available in a number of languages. Jean Tirole was awarded (solo) the Nobel Prize in economics in 2014 for his analysis of market power and regulation. He is also laureate of numerous other international distinctions, including the inaugural Yrjö Jahnsson prize of the European Economic Association (1993), the inaugural Frontiers of Knowledge Award of the BBVA Foundation (2008), the CNRS gold medal (2007) and Northwestern University's Nemmers prize (2014). His research covers industrial organization, regulation, finance, macroeconomics and banking, and psychology-based economics. Professor Tirole was one of the two chairs of the recent Tirole-Blanchard commission, set up by French President Emmanuel Macron, which looked at the major economic challenges facing France and other similar economies. He recently presented his findings at an IFS event, which you can view here. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/events/1922 |
Description | New IFS student finance calculator shows: no easy choices for student finance reform |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation on student finance reforms. (B. Waltmann & J. Britton) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15626 |
Description | One and only: Chesney Hawkes was number 1 the last and only time homes were valued for council tax |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation on council tax. (Waters T. & Sturrock D.) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15388 |
Description | Pensioner families would provide ten times more of the revenue from an income tax rise than from a NICs rise |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation on pensions. (Adam S.) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15594 |
Description | Press Event: Green Budget press briefing 11th October 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | 45 attendees for this Press Briefing. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Press Event: IFS Green Budget: Press Briefing 12th October 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Press Briefing |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | The Chancellor should reform alcohol taxes in the Budget |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation on UK alcohol taxes. (K. Smith) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15761 |
Description | The growing gap between state school and private school spending |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation on UK private and public school spending. (L. Sibieta) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15672 |
Description | The rise and fall of borrowing through the pandemic: how does the UK compare? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation on borrowing in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic. (C. Emmerson & I. Stockton) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15763 |
Description | What is the case for carbon taxes in developing countries? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Observation titled: What is the case for carbon taxes in developing countries? (A. Advani, D. Prinz, A. Smurra & R. Warwick) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15817 |
Description | What might rising interest rates mean for different generations? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | IFS Observation on intergenerational effects of interest rates (D. Sturrock) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15769 |