Health and social care

Since the November 2001 Pre-Budget Report, there has been much speculation surrounding how much the UK spends on health and how much more it would need to spend in order to reach the average level of spending seen across European Union countries. An aspiration to increase UK health spending to the average European level was first made by the Prime Minister in January 2000. In addition, the Labour Party manifesto states that 'over time we will bring UK health spending up to the EU average'. More recently, the Prime Minister has confirmed that he would like to see UK health spending reach the European average by 2005. This short note compares the level of health spending in the UK with that overseas and discusses how much more the UK is likely to need to spend on health if it is to meet the Prime Minister's stated target.

Market failure can affect the choices that individuals make about education. Christine Frayne, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, looks at the economic arguments.

The demand for certain types of health care services depends on decisions of both the individual and the health care provider.

Childcare subsidies are typically advocated as a means to making paid employment profitable for mothers, but also have important ramifications for the use and quality of paid childcare. Even if one is concerned primarily with the quantity aspect, the quality dimension cannot be ignored. This paper provides an exposition of the potential biases in estimates of price elasticities with respect to quantity that do not allow for quality variation or for the possibility of non-linear pricing structures.

The private health care sector forms a relatively small part of the system of health care in this country, but its importance has grown in recent decades.

Allocation of Resources to English Areas, Individual and Small Area Determinants of Morbidity and Use of Healthcare Resources

How does pharmaceutical marketing influence doctors prescribing behaviour?

This paper investigates the impact of pupil-teacher ratios on later life earnings. We find no impact on the earnings of men, but a lower pupil-teacher ratio does increase the earnings of women – particularly low ability women.

This commentary examines the role of both the public and private sectors in delivering healthcare in the UK. How does the UK compare with other countries? What is the role of private finance in the delivery of healthcare? What variations in NHS quality are seen across the UK? How much additional pressure is there likely to be on the NHS budget in future as a result of an ageing population?

In this paper a rich and innovative dataset, the International Adult Literacy Survey, is used to examine the impact of functional literacy on earnings.

In this paper a rich and innovative dataset, the International Adult Literacy Survey, is used to examine the impact of functional literacy on earnings.

This paper uses pooled cross-section data on recent school leavers in Ireland to model the determinants of labour market status and wages for young adults.

This paper exploits an unusual policy reform that had the effect of reducing the direct cost of schooling in Ireland in the late 1960s.

This paper analyses levels of low literacy across twelve countries using the International Adult Literacy Survey.

We use British birth cohort panel data to examine the impact that degree level qualifications and other higher education qualifications have on the earnings of individuals in the medium to longer term.