IFS is the UK’s leading independent economics research institute. We analyse and inform economic and policy decisions with academic rigour and absolute independence.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is the UK’s leading independent economics research institute.

6 days ago · Kate Ogden, Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said: “The government yesterday published the final local government finance settlement, which confirmed final funding allocations for English councils in 2025–26.Their total budgets are set to be £64.2 billion, which is 4.8% of total government spending.

Jul 25, 2024 · 1. Introduction. This report explores how material living standards in the UK have evolved over the past few years. We use the latest official data, covering the years up to 2022–23, to describe key trends in incomes, poverty and deprivation during …

IFS is Britain’s leading independent microeconomic research institute. Its research remit is one of the broadest in public policy analysis, covering subjects from tax and benefits to education policy, from labour supply to corporate taxation. Our research not only has an impact on policy makers, think tanks and practitioners, it has also gained a worldwide reputation for academic rigour, and ...

10 hours ago · Key findings. Spending on the justice system of England and Wales has increased in recent years. The total MoJ budget in 2025–26 (of £13.5 billion in today’s prices) is set to be around one-third higher in real (inflation-adjusted) terms than in 2019–20 (£10.1 billion).

How would you fund the NHS? Research from IFS and the Health Foundation projects a large funding gap in the NHS over the next 15 years. Depending on whether you keep the NHS providing the level of service it does today or implement some improvements (meeting waiting list targets, and tackling some of the underfunding in mental health services for example) we estimate that the government will ...

Jan 9, 2025 · 2025 will be a pivotal year for FE. With a new government in office and a Spending Review on the horizon, decisions in the coming months will shape the funding landscape through to 2028.

Jan 28, 2025 · The early years of the IFS. The Institute for Fiscal Studies came into existence because four professional people from the world of finance — a banker (Will Hopper), an investment trust manager (Bob Buist), a stockbroker (Nils Taube) and a tax consultant (John Chown) — were appalled by the way in which the 1965 Finance Act, introducing capital gains tax, reached the Statute Book.

Oct 2, 2024 · Fiscal Studies is a forum for original contributions in public and applied economics. Its goal is to promote a broad and rigorous discussion of public policy, contributing to advancing the academic understanding of policy design and its impacts, and to informing policymaking and its public debate.