Ben joined the IFS in 2017. His work has three main strands. The first is detailed analysis of UK government fiscal policy, including the design of the fiscal framework, the choice of fiscal targets, and the impact of spending decisions. The second is research into the performance, productivity and distributional implications of the health and social care system. The third is research into the economics of the justice system and its wider impacts. He was previously an editor of the IFS Green Budget between 2021 and 2023. 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
On 5 September we will know which of the two is the next Conservative Party leader - and therefore Prime Minister - so their visions for tax and spending matter.
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It is disappointing that the UK government has ‘taken back control’ only to stick to an arbitrary, poorly designed, out-of-date funding allocation mechanism.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.