This morning the ONS published its first estimates of the public finances over the whole of the financial year 2020-21. Borrowing is estimated to have reached £303 billion, or 14.5% of national income. This is £52 billion less than the £355 billion forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility at the Budget in early March. However, it is a staggering £248 billion, or 12.1% of national income, higher than forecast just before the financial year began – and more to the point, just prior to the economic impact of Covid-19 started to be felt in the UK – in March 2020.
Each year early career economists at IFS deliver a day of public economics talks, aimed at A-level and undergraduate students who have an interest in economics or might want to pursue a career in public policy research. As part of this year’s Festival of Social Science, we live streamed a selection of lectures from the series.
IFS, Discover Economics, and the Economics Observatory present Generation-COVID: a webinar for 15-17 year olds exploring what Covid-19 means for the future of the economy. What will be the impact of disruption to schools? Will the way we work change forever? Our panel of economists will answer your questions on Covid-19 and the economy.
The share of people staying on in education beyond the age of 18 has grown substantially in the UK since the 1980s. Yet until now, evidence on the effect of these qualifications on subsequent earnings has been limited. This event presented key findings from three pieces of research published in 2020 by the IFS on returns to education.
A socially mobile country provides equal opportunities for everyone, across big cities and small towns, and regardless of whether your parents are rich or poor. This event looked at the state of mobility across England and explored policy options for any government committed to a levelling up agenda.
This year's Spending Review is likely to be the most difficult to date. At this event, Ben Zaranko looked ahead to the upcoming Spending Review, and outlined the options, opportunities and challenges facing the Chancellor. He was joined by Graham Atkins from IfG, who looked at the impact of Covid on public services.
The COVID-19 crisis has been a perfect financial storm for councils, pushing up spending and hitting local income streams. This event explained how the COVID-19 crisis has been affecting local finances and economies, how councils have been responding, and key issues for the next few years as we seek to recover.
