Fiscal policy, monetary policy and intergenerational inequality in the UK

Understand this issue

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

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

Policy analysis

Which places have the highest standard of living?

comment

Measuring living standards using average household spending gives a starkly different picture of regional inequalities than using average income.

11 April 2025

Today’s ONS figures highlight uncertainty around fiscal forecasts

comment

Public finance data out today show that borrowing overshot the official forecast made at last month's Spring Statement by £15 billion.

23 April 2025

Where and how does the government spend its money?

calculator

Explore how and where the government spends money, and how this has changed over time, in all regions and nations of the UK

10 April 2025

Academic research

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

Police infrastructure, police performance, and crime: evidence from austerity cuts

working paper

Focusing on a wave of austerity cuts, I show that police station closure increased violent crimes in census blocks near the defunct stations.

27 March 2025

Does the reference period matter when evaluating the effect of SNAP on food insecurity?

journal article

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the cornerstone food assistance program in the United States.

1 December 2024