In this paper, we offer an in-dept investigation of NVQ qualifications, trying to shed some
light as to why a seemingly beneficial certification of skill appears to hurt labour market
prospects.
In this analysis we seek to shed light on the extent to which credit constraints may affect individuals
choices to stay in full-time education past the age of 16 and to complete higher education
(HE) qualifications in the United Kingdom, and on how this has varied between individuals
born in 1958 and in 1970.
In this Briefing Note, we present new evidence on the UK's innovative performance and provide a summary of government business support programmes aimed at fostering innovative activity and technology transfer.
This Briefing Note provides the first published estimates of the labour market impact of the new tax credits, and the tax and benefit reforms that precededthem, on families with children.
This study analyses the macro-economic impact of product market reforms undertaken in the European Union over the 1980s and 1990s by examining a large number of regulations and reforms across EU countries.
This report was commissioned through the Department for Work and Pensions' Families and Children Strategic Analysis Programme (FACSAP). It examines methods that could potentially be used to explore the link between mothers' demand for childcare and their employment.
In the run-up to the 2004 Spending Review, IFS has written a short briefing note, which considers the options for public spending during the years of the review (2005-06 to 2007-08), in light of what has already been announced and what we know about the government's priorities and past spending decisions.
This Briefing Note looks at the potential for the introduction of a 'fat tax' into the UK in an effort to reduce the growing prevalence of obesity in Britain. This Briefing Note looks at trends in UK obesity and examines evidence on eating habits and exercise in order to see whether trends here can account for what we see happening to obesity. We go on to review some of the key economic reasons behind why we might be concerned about obesity and why we might consider there to be a case for government intervention. We also discuss how food is currently taxed and the various ways in which a 'fat tax' might be introduced, looking at particular issues the government might need to address should it wish to introduce one. We finish by presenting some simple analysis of a hypothetical 'fat tax' in terms of how it might impact differently on the rich and the poor.
This report sets out what has happened to income and expenditure inequality in the 1990s and early 2000s, comparing the changes to previous decades. Although income is very often used for assessing living standards in this country, spending is often more informative, because many people can choose to borrow, save or run down their savings at any given time, in order to adjust their standard of living.
This report describes the survey that was carried out in 122 communities in rural Colombia bythe consortium formed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Econometria and SEI as the baselinefor the impact evaluation of Familias en Acción, a programme to foster the accumulation ofhuman capital in rural Colombia, run by the Colombian government.
The Higher Education (HE) Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons on the 31st of March 2004. Here we suggest one way in which the implementation of the proposals can be simplified.
