IFS Zooms In: The Economy

Since 2019, we’ve all heard a lot about levelling up. It makes sense that our politics is centered around it - of all types of inequality, the public seems most concerned about the geographical sort. But do the numbers back this up? How much of Britain’s inequality is generated by differing fortunes in different parts of the country? And what might an effective “levelling up” agenda look like?   In this episode, we speak to Xiaowei Xu, Senior Research Economist at IFS, James Banks, Professor of Economics at Manchester University.Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/inequality/Become a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We see inequalities all the time, whether at the school gates, the hospital, when travelling round the country and definitely when turning on the news. But why should we care about inequality? What has happened to inequality over recent decades? And can government do anything about it?We speak to Professor Sir Angus Deaton, an economist who is an expert on inequality and leads the IFS-Deaton Review, Debra Satz, a philosopher and Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, and Robert Joyce, Deputy Director at IFS and panel member of the IFS-Deaton Review.Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/inequality/Become a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inequalities are one of the defining issues of the modern age. We see inequalities all the time, whether at the school gates, the hospital, when travelling round the country and definitely when turning on the news.Over the next month on the IFS Zooms In, we are bringing you a mini-series looking at inequality in Britain. We’ll be looking at a range of issues, from what’s happened to inequality over the last several decades and why that might matter, to more specific issues such as the role parenthood plays in opening the gender pay gap, and whether the practices of big tech companies worsen inequality.We hope you’ll join us, starting next week, as the IFS Zooms In on inequality.Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're bringing you an episode from the archives, looking at the future of public sector pensions. We'll be back in two weeks with a new episode. -----------------------------------In an era where those in the private sector have seen their pension provision decrease, pensions in the public sector continue to look generous.But is this sustainable? Should we change the balance between pay and pensions for those in the public sector? What does the future hold for public sector pensions?This week, we speak to Lord Hutton of Furness, cabinet minister in the last Labour government and leader of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission, a review into public sector pensions commissioned by David Cameron, and by Carl Emmerson, IFS Deputy Director and expert on pensions.Support the IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/donate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past 13 years, successive governments have pledged to bring immigration down, but have failed to do so. Recently, the government announced that net immigration for 2022 was around 600,000. How many people are migrating and where are they coming from? How has Brexit shifted the dynamics of migration? What is the impact of migration on the wages of native-born workers? And what could government do if it wanted to achieve its target of reducing migration?In this episode, Paul speaks to Madeleine Sumption, a political scientist who is Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford.Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcastBecome a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the topic of working from home has been everywhere and has seemingly affected everything. From big companies calling workers back to the office and city centre food chains struggling, to house price jumps in rural areas and zoom fatigue, the transition to work from home is one of the biggest shifts in working patterns in the last century.But what evidence do we have on the success of remote working? Are people more or less productive at home? And what does the future hold?In this episode, Paul speaks to Professor Nick Bloom, a Professor at Stanford University, former IFS-er and leading expert on working from home. Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcastBecome a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past year, the UK has seen very high inflation, affecting households and businesses across the country.But what is actually wrong with inflation? How do we measure it? And what is the way out of it?We speak to Chris Giles, economics editor at the Financial Times and former IFS economist, and Peter Levell, Associate Director at IFS, both inflation experts.Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/pensions-reviewBecome a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From declining homeownership rates and low pension saving, to high numbers of self-employed people with no pensions at all, it seems that future generations face steep challenges in retirement.Recently, IFS launched a new review of the pensions system, supported by the Abdrn Financial Fairness Trust, to look into these issues and seek policy solutions to help politicians navigate these challenges.Joining us today to talk through the challenges facing the UK pensions system are Heidi Karjalainen, a researcher at IFS, and Jonathan Cribb, Associate Director at IFS, both who are involved in the review. Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/pensions-review Become a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To many, the start of the new tax year in April will seem quiet, more of the same with no big changes to the tax system announced by the government.But hidden beneath the surface lie a series of stealthy tax rises - freezes to thresholds which coupled with rising inflation are projected to raise around £30 billion for the Treasury over the next few years and hit household finances hard.Here to reveal the truth are Helen Miller, Head of Tax at IFS, and Tom Waters, Associate Director at IFS.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt recently outlined his Spring Budget, with big announcements on childcare, corporation tax, pensions and more.We dive into the detail and bring you our expert analysis on the Budget.Joining us are Ben Zaranko, public finances expert, Christine Farquharson, childcare expert and Helen Miller, tax expert.Find out more: www.ifs.org.uk/podcastBecome a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.