Distributional analysis

Understand this issue

Drastic times need drastic action: breaking the 50-year tax taboo

comment

Rachel Reeves should consider increasing the basic rate, just as Denis Healey did in 1975 

14 April 2025

Average household consumption spending before and after housing costs, and mean weekly per-capita income, in different local authorities, 2018–2019

data item

Londoners may have the highest average incomes, but their household spending once you account for housing costs is lower than other regions.

11 April 2025

Rank of local authorities by average household income compared to rank by average consumption after housing costs

data item

On average, London local authorities rank at the top of the income distribution, but are bottom of the net-of-housing consumption distribution.

11 April 2025

Policy analysis

Council tax hikes will do the heavy lifting

comment

IFS Senior Research Economist Kate Ogden writes in Municipal Journal about what the 2025 Spending Review will mean for public services and councils.

17 June 2025

IFS Deaton Review: Inequalities in the 21st Century special session at the RES 2025 Annual Conference

announcement

This year's RES Conference features a special session on the IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities with key IFS contributors to the review.

16 June 2025

Immediate response to today's Scottish Fiscal Commission economic and fiscal forecasts

comment

Updated forecasts for tax revenues and benefit spending imply a more challenging funding outlook for the Scottish Government.

29 May 2025

Academic research

Landfill tax and recycling

journal article

This paper provides new empirical evidence on the role of landfill taxes in reducing landfill waste and promoting recycling.

6 May 2025

Focal pricing constraints and pass-through of input cost changes

working paper

I show that the adoption and extent of focal pricing practices in an industry in general do not lower average pass-through of input cost changes.

2 May 2025

Small area consumption estimates for local authorities in Great Britain

working paper

In this paper, we estimate average equivalised consumption measures across local authority districts in Great Britain.

11 April 2025