IFS Zooms In: The Economy

This week, we're bringing you the IFS Annual Lecture, given this year by Baroness Minouche Shafik. In it she talks about what a new social contract for the 21st century would look like.Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/events/ifs-annual-lecture-baroness-minouche-shafikBecome a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a fall in the employment rate in the UK, driven by a rise in the rate of economic inactivity rather than in unemployment. What has been happening to older workers since the pandemic? Why are they leaving the workforce? Should government work to bring them back?We speak to Jonathan Cribb, Associate Director at IFS, and Beatrice Boileau, Research Economist at IFS to find out what has been happening with older workers.Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcastSupport IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK economy faces a series of challenging headwinds - high inflation, higher energy prices and a 'terms of trade' shock. These are squeezing household budgets and pushing up the cost of living. The adverse market reaction to the Chancellor's 'mini-budget' on the 23rd September has created further difficulties.In this year's Green Budget, our flagship annual report funded by the Nuffield Foundation in partnership with Citi, we explore the Chancellor's options for achieving fiscal sustainability.We speak with Carl Emmerson, IFS Deputy Director, and Ben Nabarro, Chief UK Economist at Citi, to take a broad view of the UK economy and the public finances, and see what a path forward might look like.Support IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In recent weeks, the new Prime Minister has argued that the UK has been too focused on redistribution.But what role does the benefit system play in redistribution? Has this changed over recent decades? And should benefits be uprated in line with inflation?Joining us are Charlotte Pickles, Director of Reform, and Tom Waters, IFS Senior Economist.Find out more: https://www.ifs.org.uk/podcastBecome a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Workers in the public sector have seen their pay squeezed over the last decade, and with inflation on the rise, disputes over pay look set to dominate the headlines this autumn.Across the public sector, we're hearing stories of hiring issues, staff retention and squeezed budgets. These issues all affect the morale of the workforce and the delivery of public services.What will the government do? How much would inflation matching pay increases cost? What would a longer-term plan to deal with these issues look like?This week we speak to Ben Zaranko, IFS expert on public finances and Delphine Strauss, Economics Correspondent at the Financial Times.Support IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membershipPublic sector pensions episode: https://ifs.org.uk/articles/future-public-sector-pensions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Liz Truss takes office, she is faced with a series of interlocking challenges - rising inflation, an energy crisis and a cost of living crisis.How can she tackle these in the short-term and put the country back on surer footing in the long-term?Paul speaks to IFS economists Ben Zaranko and Xiaowei Xu to assess the challenges facing the new Prime Minister.Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcastSupport IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

Early education and childcare can have a critical impact both on helping children to develop and in supporting parents, especially mothers, to work.  In recent months, reports of soaring childcare costs and staff shortages combined with the wider cost of living crisis have pushed government to act. But how expensive is childcare in the UK? How does it stack up against other countries? What can the government do to bring down costs? This week, we speak to Christine Farquharson, senior economist at IFS and expert on education and childcare and to Neil Leitch, Chief Executive of the Early Years Alliance.Support the IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/donate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**We will be back next week with a new episode **In the past decade, the UK has seen some of the slowest rates of productivity growth of the OECD countries, with output per hour and real wages no higher today than they were prior to the global financial crisis. Why is a high-tech, developed economy like the UK struggling to be more productive? What policies can government implement to get productivity growing again? And how can we spur innovation while also tackling issues like inequality?This week, we speak to John Van Reenen, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, and expert on innovation, firms and productivity.Support the IFS: https://www.ifs.org.uk/donate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2030, motorists in the UK won't be able to buy fossil fuel powered vehicles from showrooms anymore. To incentivise a shift to an all-electric future, the government is giving considerable tax breaks to the owners of electric vehicles (EVs) to stimulate uptake. However, as more and more people move away from fossil fuels, the government stands to lose billions of pounds in tax revenue - unless it decides to tax EVs. In this episode, we speak to Stuart Adam, IFS tax expert and Steve Gooding, Director of the RAC Foundation to discuss how the government could tax EVs in future.Support the IFS: https://ifs.org.uk/donate Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.