Ben joined the IFS in 2017. His work has two main strands. The first is research into the design, performance and distributional implications of the health and social care system. The second is detailed analysis of UK government fiscal policy and spending decisions. Since 2021, he has also been an editor of the IFS Green Budget, which examines the major economic challenges and policy trade-offs facing the Chancellor ahead of the Budget each year. Before joining the IFS, Ben worked in the private sector as an actuarial consultant.
Education
MSc (Distinction) Economics, University College London, 2020
BA (1st Class) Economics and Management, University of Oxford, 2016
In its upcoming Resource Spending Review, the Scottish Government will have to choose between spending cuts, tax rises, or hoping for extra UK government funding.
It is disappointing that the UK government has ‘taken back control’ only to stick to an arbitrary, poorly designed, out-of-date funding allocation mechanism.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak responded to the OBR's latest economic and fiscal forecast on Wednesday 23 March. IFS researchers presented their initial analysis of the Chancellor's announcements on the public finances at a live-streamed press briefing the following day.
The allocation of public spending is one the most direct levers for ‘levelling up’ health, wealth and well-being. But is policy aligned with the government’s stated aims?
IFS Senior Research Economist Ben Zaranko writes for The Conversation on how the UK's lower defence spending has allowed successive governments to pay for a growing welfare state without a higher tax burden.
The Levelling Up White Paper is just the latest of efforts to tackle regional inequalities. What does it tell us about this government’s approach? And how likely is it to succeed where others have failed?
