
Why are universities struggling, what happens if they go bust and what can government do to help? What other challenges do the HE and FE sectors face?
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Over recent months, we’ve heard lots of stories about the pressures on university finances, and concern that some universities may go bust.
We’ll discuss why this is, what happens if a university goes bust and whether government can do anything to fix the problem. We’ll also discuss longer-term challenges facing the higher and further education sectors.
We're joined by Jack Britton and Christine Farquharson, IFS education experts.
Zooming In: discussion questions
Every week, we share a set of questions designed for A Level economics students to discuss, written by teacher Will Haines.
1. Why are universities facing financial challenges?
2. Are there any potential risks to the government if they were to offer financial support to universities?
3. Evaluate the potential economic benefits of a more educated society.
Host

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.
Participants

Associate Director
Christine's research examines inequalities in children's education and health, especially in the early education and childcare sector.

Associate Director
Jack's main interests lie in human capital accumulation and discrete choice dynamic modelling.
Podcast details
- DOI
- 10.1920/pd.ifs.2024.0022
- Publisher
- Institute for Fiscal Studies
Suggested citation
. (2024). Why are universities in financial trouble? [Podcast] Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/articles/why-are-universities-financial-trouble (accessed: 19 July 2025).
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