Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy

CPP underpins and is fundamental to IFS's research agenda and is of central importance to our ability to integrate research with policy analysis. ESRC Centre funding enables the IFS to maintain the combination of impartiality, rigour and authority that is essential if we are to continue to achieve wide-ranging impact on policy and to inform the public debate.

The overarching objectives of CPP are to: make major scientific progress in understanding how individuals and firms behave and how they react to government policy; have substantial impact on policy in the fields of taxation, labour market, education, welfare, pensions, and public finances; and build technical and policy capacity in a new generation of highly-skilled researchers.

ESRC funding for the CPP at IFS covers a wide range of the Institute's work; for more information see the research areas we work on at IFS.

Charles Bean, London School of Economics	Olympia Bover, Bank of Spain
Tom Clark, Prospect Magazine	Pierre Dubois, Toulouse School of Economics
Hilary Hoynes (Chair), Berkeley	Trevor Huddleston, Department for Work and Pensions
Thierry Magnac, University of Toulouse	Will Morris, PWC
Dave Ramsden, Bank of England	James Smith, RAND
Sharon White, John Lewis	James Ziliak, University of Kentucky

Journal publications over the past decade (2012-21)

Top five economics journals: 45
Top economics field journals: 129
Academic work at IFS underpins our impact on policy and society.

Key conference presentations in 2021 included

Rachel Griffith delivering the Royal Economic Society Past President’s Address
Richard Blundell’s presentation on ‘Inequalities in education, skills, and incomes: implications of the COVID-19 pandemic’ at the EEA-ESEM Congress 2021

Awards and recognition

IFS Research Fellow Alissa Goodman awarded CBE in Queen's birthday honours
IFS Associate Director Anne Brockmeyer awarded UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
IFS Research Associate Xavier Jaravel wins Le Monde's Best Young Economist 2021
Rachel Griffith and Carol Propper both made Dames in NY Honours

Press coverage in 2021

Front pages: 165
Press interviews: 249, including 17 on Today, 35 on LBC and 35 on BBC R4

Policy impact 2021

Hansard mentions: 149
Evidence to government committees: 12

Attendance at IFS events (49 events in 2021)

Policymakers: 1711
Academics: 1354
Business: 1436
Media: 100
Other: 1220

Directors

CPP is led by a team of six researchers, each with an outstanding academic record in their own right, supplemented by wide ranging policy experience. They are supported by the larger team of senior researchers at IFS and by an Advisory Committee, which provides intellectual oversight. The Centre attracts and retains talented researchers by providing high-quality training and a stimulating working environment and by maintaining an impressive global network of researchers.

Imran Rasul

CPP Director, IFS Research Director

Imran is Professor of Economics at University College London and Director of the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy at the IFS.

Richard Blundell

CPP Co-Director

Richard is Co-Director of the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP) and Senior Research Fellow at IFS.

James Banks

CPP Co-Director

James is Senior Research Fellow and Professor of Economics at Manchester, working on broad issues in the economics of retirement, savings and health.

Eric French

CPP Co-Director

Eric is the Montague Burton Professor of Industrial Relations and Labour Economics at the University of Cambridge and Professor of Economics at UCL.

Rachel Griffith

CPP Co-Director, IFS Research Director

Rachel is Research Director and Professor at the University of Manchester. She was made a Dame for services to economic policy and education in 2021.

Fabien Postel-Vinay

CPP Co-Director, IFS Research Director

Fabien is an IFS Research Director and a Professor of Economics at UCL. His work’s focus is on labour markets.

Featured researchers

IFS has a strong record in training excellent social scientists, some of whom continue to work at IFS for many years; others go on to use the skills they have acquired in academia, policymaking, business or the media.

See all our researchers here

Bee Boileau

Research Economist

Bee joined the IFS in 2021 as a Research Economist and works in the Retirement, Saving and Ageing sector.

Imran Tahir

Research Economist

Imran joined the IFS in 2019 and works in the Education and Skills sector.

Visitors, Research Fellows and Research Associates

Out network of Fellows and Associates includes leading academics and early-career researchers from the UK and overseas, who collaborate with IFS researchers across the broad range of our research agenda.

See all Fellows, Associates and Visitors here