IFS Zooms In: The Economy

This week, we bring you this year's IFS annual lecture delivered by Professor Jean Tirole, Honorary Chairman of the Toulouse School of Economics. In his talk, he discusses how economics can be used to shape narratives and help solve the biggest crises facing our societies and governments.Support the IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individual Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, all eyes are on the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) summit in Glasgow as world leaders meet to accelerate action on climate change. The UK is legally committed to reducing the net greenhouse gas emissions that arise from UK-based activities to zero by 2050, but action to reduce emissions will need to happen on a global scale to be effective. What policies should governments worldwide introduce to combat climate change? How should carbon taxes be designed to ensure a cost-efficient and fair transition to net zero?This week, IFS Director and Climate Change Committee member Paul Johnson is joined by Alice Pirlot, Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation, and IFS Associate Director Peter Levell.Support the IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individual Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The food we eat and the way it is produced impacts not only our health and lifestyles, but also our carbon footprints.The recent National Food Strategy report commissioned by the government and published this summer proposes measures to improve our health, reduce strain on the NHS and make our food culture healthier and more sustainable. 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?This week, Paul is joined by Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of the restaurant chain Leon and leader of the National Food Strategy report, and IFS Associate Director and expert on food taxes Kate Smith.Find out more about the IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/Support the IFS: https://www.ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individual Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we published the IFS Green Budget, our flagship publication analysing at the outlook for the economy and the opportunities and challenges facing the Chancellor ahead of the autumn budget.We speak to Benjamin Nabarro, Senior Associate at Citi Research, and Carl Emmerson, Deputy Director at IFS, to discuss the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the Chancellor aims to secure a lasting recovery and deliver on the government’s other objectives and priorities.The IFS Green Budget is produced in partnership with Citi, and is funded by the Nuffield Foundation.Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/green-budgetSupport the IFS: https://www.ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individualCiti disclosures: https://ir.citi.com/yFS39VEXTHB9LB42vdE1xZP0VjyL9LOxpaO4LN%2FamW770hu2OdhPQCEXd0aPMduZrBygj%2FbvVgE%3D Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From HGV drivers, to strawberry pickers, to doctors and nurses, the UK seems to be facing labour shortages across many different industries.As the pandemic recedes, and the impacts of Brexit begin to reveal themselves, the government have insisted that this is part of the transition to a 'high-wage economy'. What is happening in the labour market? Which sectors are facing the biggest challenges? And what can policy-makers do to help?This week, we're joined by Jonathan Cribb and Xiaowei Xu, IFS experts on labour markets and jobs.Support the IFS: https://www.ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individual Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a year and half of lockdowns, schools and their students face a vast array of challenges.From mental health issues and childhood obesity to teacher shortages and exam results, the education system has been placed under incredible strain over the past year.This week, we speak with Birgitta Rabe, education expert at the University of Essex and Luke Sibieta, a research fellow at IFS who studies education policy, to dig into the issues and see what we can do to fix the education system.Support the IFS: https://www.ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individual Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For decades, social care has been in need of reform.Last week, the Prime Minister announced an extra tax to fund social care in England, and help the NHS recover after the pandemic, and changes to the way the social care system works.In this episode, featuring Natasha Curry, Deputy Director of Policy at the Nuffield Trust, and Ben Zaranko, IFS economist, we dig into the new announcement, what it means, whether it will work and how it will affect people's care.Support the IFS: https://www.ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individual Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**This is a rerun from September 2020. The government announced some tax increases in Budget 2021. We discuss those here: https://ifs.org.uk/budget-2021**The financial support given to individuals and businesses and the costs of managing the pandemic have left us with the biggest peacetime deficit in British history.As the economy reopens, and the coronavirus begins to have less of a hold on our lives, the government will need to start thinking about how to return the deficit to a more sustainable level. Many have suggested that the Chancellor might think about raising taxes in the near future to tackle this deficit.In this episode, recorded last autumn, our resident tax expert, Helen Miller, helps pick apart the options for raising taxes - and whether they are effective.Support the IFS: https://www.ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individual Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, students across the country are getting back A Level and GCSE grades. In the past higher education was considered a one-way ticket to better and higher paying jobs, now many question whether they will get better jobs, and have a quality of life higher than that of their parents.Social mobility is never far from the front pages; education, geographic and intergenerational inequalities and jobs affect everyone.This week we bring you a conversation from September last year, with Lindsey MacMillan, Director of the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities and Anna Vignoles, Director of the Leverhulme Trust where we explore issues around social mobility.Support the IFS: https://www.ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individual Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The government has pledged to make 'levelling up' a core part of their policy agenda. To achieve this, they have promised increased investment spending and infrastructure spending.What is investment spending? Why is investment so much lower now than it was 40 or 50 years ago? How does this relate to the levelling up agenda?This week, we are digging into the archives. In this episode from last year we spoke with Professor Sir Tim Besley, Professor of Economics at LSE and member of the National Infrastructure Commission, and Ben Zaranko, Research Economist at IFS.Support the IFS: https://www.ifs.org.uk/about/membership/individual Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.