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The Autumn Statement explained
podcast
We analyse the Chancellor's 2023 Autumn Statement.
24 November 2023
The Autumn Statement 2023 explained in 90 seconds
explainer
Paul Johnson responds to Jeremy Hunt's 2023 Autumn Statement.
22 November 2023
Cake or biscuit? The UK's byzantine VAT system explained
podcast
This week, we dive into the oddities of the VAT system.
16 November 2023
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Guides, manuals, software and more Fiscal facts: public finances, tax and benefits
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Education spending: an engine for levelling-up?
event 11 December 2023
The launch of the 2023 IFS Annual Report on Education Spending in England, funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
Social mobility and wealth
conference 12 December 2023
At this in-person event, IFS researchers will share findings from ESRC-funded research on social mobility and its drivers.
Where next for the state pension?
event 13 December 2023
At this online event, IFS researchers will present findings from a major new report on the future of the state pension in the UK.
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Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy
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The ESRC has funded a research centre at IFS since 1991, recognised as a global centre of excellence and now with UKRI Research Institute status.
15 July 2022
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At IFS, we recruit and train top-quality economists and professional support staff. We aim to foster a respectful and inclusive working environment.
20 July 2022
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Topics

Consumption and prices

Our work in this area looks at how consumers respond to price signals and other incentives to change their borrowing, saving and spending behaviour, as well as how different households' welfare is affected by inflation and changes in indirect taxes.

Showing 61 – 80 of 726 results

How should the government influence what we eat?

Podcast

What role should the government play in influencing what we eat? And how can taxes and policy be designed to get us to eat more healthily?

22 October 2021

The Chancellor should reform alcohol taxes in the Budget

Comment

Press reports suggest that the Chancellor is planning an overhaul of the UK’s system of alcohol duties. The current system, which raises about £12 billion a year, is certainly ripe for reform.

19 October 2021

Optimal sin taxation and market power

Working Paper

This paper studies the design of sin taxes when firms exercise market power.

21 September 2021

MPCs in an economic crisis: spending, saving and private transfers

Working Paper

MPCs were directly elicited from a sample of UK adults in July 2020 using receipt of a hypothetical unanticipated, one-time income payment.

23 August 2021

The impact of a tax on added sugar and salt

Working Paper

We demonstrate the range of impacts a tax on added sugar and salt could have on purchases of food at home and out of the home in the UK.

15 July 2021

The dietary impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Working Paper

We use novel data on the food and non-alcoholic drink purchases to quantify the impact of the pandemic on the diets of British households.

1 July 2021

The decline of home cooked food

Working Paper

We consider a simple model of food consumption and time use which captures the driving forces behind the decline of home-cooked food.

14 June 2021

Preparing for a pandemic: spending dynamics and panic buying during the COVID-19 first wave

Journal article

We study consumer spending dynamics during one such time, the first infection wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, using household scanner data covering fast-moving consumer goods in the United Kingdom.

9 June 2021

Protecting sticky consumers in essential markets

Working Paper

This paper studies regulatory policy interventions aimed at protecting sticky consumers who are exposed to exploitation.

27 April 2021

Tax Evasion and the Minimum Wage

Presentation

Presentation of "Tax Evasion and the Minimum Wage" at the OECD Economics Department.

11 February 2021

MPCs through COVID: spending, saving and private transfers

Working Paper

MPCs were directly elicited from a representative sample of UK adults in July 2020 using receipt of a hypothetical unanticipated, one-time income payment. Reported MPCs are low, around 11% on average.

5 February 2021

Changing consumer behaviour has big implications for councils, not just businesses, and especially for those in major cities

Comment

Last week, the IFS published research on how the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on consumer spending and behaviour has varied across the country. In a new observation, we consider the implications of this research for local government.

21 December 2020

The geographic impact of the pandemic on household spending

Report

The past nine months have seen huge swings in households’ spending, both in total and across various goods and services. In this briefing note, we analyse the geographical patterns of these changes.

17 December 2020

High‐frequency changes in shopping behaviours, promotions and the measurement of inflation: evidence from the Great Lockdown

Journal article

We use real‐time scanner data during the COVID‐19 pandemic to investigate the drivers of the inflationary spike at the beginning of lockdown.

30 November 2020

Tackling heavy drinking through tax reform and minimum unit pricing

Report

The current system of alcohol taxes in the UK is incoherent.

20 November 2020

Prices in a crisis

Podcast

What do economists mean by inflation, how do they measure it, and is inflation the best way of understanding the changes in the price of goods?

17 November 2020

Spending and saving during the COVID-19 crisis: evidence from bank account data

Report

The measures taken to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, resulting from both policy and consumers’ changes in behaviour, have had major impacts on consumer spending patterns. In this briefing note, we explore how consumer spending has evolved, both during lockdown and in the recovery phase since.

29 October 2020

Grocery prices and promotions during the COVID-19 pandemic

Report

In this briefing note, we use comprehensive real-time data on grocery purchases and prices in Great Britain to show how inflation and promotional activity has evolved up until the beginning of August 2020.

21 October 2020

Preparing for a pandemic: spending dynamics and panic buying during the COVID-19 first wave

Working Paper

We study consumer spending dynamics during the first infection wave of the COVID-19 pandemic using household scanner data covering fast-moving consumer goods in the United Kingdom.

15 October 2020

High-frequency changes in shopping behaviours, promotions, and the measurement of inflation: evidence from the Great Lockdown

Working Paper

We use real-time scanner data in Great Britain during the COVID-19 pandemic to investigate the drivers of the inflationary spike at the beginning of lockdown and to quantify the impact of high-frequency changes in shopping behaviours and promotions on inflation measurement.

5 October 2020

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Showing 61 – 80 of 726 results