Podcasts by IFS Zooms In: The Economy
Go beyond the 24-hour news cycle and get objective, independent analysis from the researchers behind the work. Hosted by Institute for Fiscal Studies Director, Paul Johnson. Every second Wednesday.
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How to tax the rich? from 2023-02-24T12:31:27
From non-doms to offshore investment vehicles - how the rich are taxed, and how they avoid it, has been all over the headlines.
But who are the 1%? How much tax do they pay? And should...
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Why are older workers leaving the workforce? from 2022-11-02T12:00:57
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.
How can we fix the childcare system? from 2022-06-16T08:29:19
Early education and childcare can have a critical impact both on helping children to develop and in supporting parents, especially mothers, to work.
In recen...
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How should the government tax electric cars? from 2022-05-19T15:15:09
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...
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The future of student loans from 2022-05-04T10:09:11
Since 2012, students have been paying considerably higher tuition fees, and borrowing more money in the form of student loans.
The average graduate racks up a total a...
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How should we tax multinational corporations? from 2022-04-06T02:00:49
Taxing multinational corporations more fairly is often presented in the media is a no-brainer - an open goal for government to increase tax revenue and cut down on tax avoiding behaviour.
Spring Statement: inflation, living standards and uncertainty from 2022-03-25T06:30:24
The current economic environment is shaped by inflation and a rising cost of living crisis. During this period of uncertainty, the Chancellor gave his Spring Statement, outlining his plans for t...
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Is the UK spending enough on defence? from 2022-03-09T12:54:12
Since we were last on air, Russia has invaded the Ukraine, and defence has come to the fore of the public conversation.
How much does the UK spend on defence? How has this changed over...
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Should people be saving more for retirement? from 2022-02-10T16:37:43
In a world of rising housing costs, rising energy bills and increasing taxes, saving for retirement may be at the back of many people's minds. But decisions around when and how much to save can ...
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What should the government do about rising energy prices? from 2022-01-26T12:00
The UK is engulfed in a cost of living crisis, from rising inflation to flat-lining wages and incoming tax rises. In addition, energy prices are set to rise steeply, affecting households up and ...
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What you should be paying attention to in 2022 from 2022-01-12T11:41:57
Happy New Year and welcome to season three of the IFS Zooms In!
This week Paul is joined by four IFS experts, Robert Joyce, Helen Miller, Ben Zaranko and Christine Farquharson to discu...
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Has globalisation deepened inequality? from 2021-12-15T14:26:48
Many economies in Western Europe have experienced a sizeable increase in income inequality since the 1980s, and inequality has grown even more rapidly in the United States. This rising ineq...
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The common good after Covid from 2021-11-17T09:36:35
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 u...
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Can carbon taxes get us to net zero? from 2021-11-03T06:00
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...
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How should the government influence what we eat? from 2021-10-22T10:52:09
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 gove...
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SPECIAL: What should the Chancellor consider in his autumn budget? from 2021-10-13T09:13:58
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 bud...
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Job vacancies, labour shortages and a 'high-wage economy' from 2021-10-06T09:20:53
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...
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Vacancies, labour shortages and a 'high-wage economy' from 2021-10-06T09:20:53
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 o...
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How to fix the education system from 2021-09-22T09:13:25
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, t...
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Social care: what happens now? from 2021-09-15T09:04
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, a...
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HIGHLIGHT: When and how to raise taxes? from 2021-08-25T01:34
**This is a rerun from September 2020. The government announced some tax increases in Budget 2021. We discuss those here: Listen
HIGHLIGHT: The state of social mobility from 2021-08-11T02:01
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 ...
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How to reform - and fund - social care? from 2021-07-15T13:47:03
Ageing populations, rising care costs and COVID-19 have placed significant strain on an already struggling social care sector. Since assuming office in 2019, the Prime Minister has repeatedly pr...
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Behind the scenes at HM Treasury from 2021-06-30T11:47:06
Over the pandemic, the Treasury has spent hundreds of billions of pounds, from paying wages via the furlough scheme to funding the testing program. But how does decision-making work at the Treas...
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Location, location, location: how to reform council tax? from 2021-06-16T13:30:11
Everybody over the age of 18 who lives in a property in the UK is eligible to pay council tax. It's the fifth largest tax, raising up to £40bn a year in the UK, and it pays for local services su...
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Can the NHS recover from COVID? from 2021-06-02T08:31:49
'Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.'
More than ever, the COVID crisis has bought the NHS and the vital role it plays to the fore. However, after more than a year of unprecedented ...
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Are too many people going to university? from 2021-05-19T02:00:46
In September 1999, Tony Blair set a goal for 50% of young adults to attend higher education institutions in the UK. In 2019, twenty years after the policy was announced, university attendance ti...
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Has COVID transformed the labour market? from 2021-05-05T09:39:28
Since the start of the COVID pandemic, the government has stepped in to pay the wages of millions of workers through the furlough scheme. As restrictions ease, and economic life begins to recove...
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Are business rates killing the high street? from 2021-04-28T13:10:38
Business rates are charged on non-domestic properties, such as shops, offices, pubs, factories and warehouses, and raise around 3% government's revenue.
At the start of the COVID pande...
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HIGHLIGHT: Geographical inequalities in the UK from 2021-04-07T02:00
The COVID-19 crisis has brought to the fore increasing concerns about inequalities not only between different population groups – such as the gap between the rich and poor, young and old...
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The productivity problem from 2021-03-24T10:02:47
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...
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Universal Credit: The future of benefits? from 2021-03-10T03:00
Universal Credit is a benefit for working-age people, which combines six existing benefits payments into one payment. Launched in 2013, there are now about 5 million households claiming Universa...
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Budget 2021: The road to recovery? from 2021-02-24T03:00:26
The Spring 2021 Budget will be the first one since the UK entered a series of lockdowns and Great Britain left the EU's Single Market and Customs Union. The Chancellor has immediate decisions to...
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Catching up on lost learning from 2021-02-10T09:37:30
By the time the pandemic is over, most children across the UK will have missed over half a year of normal, in-person schooling. That’s likely to be more than 5% of their entire time in school. Listen
The economics of net zero from 2021-01-27T03:00
The UK has committed to achieving net zero by 2050. To achieve this, nearly all sections of the economy will have to undergo significant changes - from trade and transport, to agriculture and co...
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The state of inequality with Sir Angus Deaton from 2021-01-13T13:11:09
For many, inequality has become the dominant lens through which to understand our society. The coronavirus crisis and political upheavals in the US and UK have shone a harsh light on the increas...
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SPECIAL: Making sense of 2020 from 2020-12-16T09:00
It’s now cliché to say that 2020 has been unprecedented, but the COVID-19 crisis has turned the lives of billions of us worldwide upside down. From record-level UK government borrowing and a f...
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What's going on with Brexit? from 2020-12-02T14:44:42
As the UK has been dealing with coronavirus pandemic this year, we have also been moving closer to the realities of our new relationship with the European Union, and the end of the Brexit transi...
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Prices in a crisis from 2020-11-17T03:00:47
We often hear about inflation in the news, whether it has gone up or down, and how this impacts the price of everyday goods. But what do economists mean by inflation, how do they measure it, and is...
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What’s happened to benefits through the pandemic? from 2020-11-04T10:05:37
There has been significant analysis of the furlough scheme in the wake of COVID-19, but far less attention has been paid to the welfare system and how benefits are being affected by the pandemic. T...
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What's happening with government debt? from 2020-10-21T15:30:30
Government borrowing is never far from the headlines, and in the current crisis, has been a central mechanism for the government to fund its economic support measures. There are many questions arou...
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Counting the cost of COVID-19 from 2020-10-15T15:00:56
The COVID-19 pandemic and the public health measures implemented to contain it will lead to a huge spike in government borrowing this year. This week we released our annual Green Budget report anal...
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How is coronavirus affecting older workers? from 2020-10-07T02:00
Older workers are one group of people who are at risk of suffering serious and persistent consequences from the economic turmoil arising from the coronavirus pandemic. Previous research has shown t...
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University Challenge: COVID-19 and higher education from 2020-09-30T02:00:50
The COVID pandemic has created huge uncertainly for students returning to university. Have student numbers remained stable in the face of the COVID-19 crisis? Has the A Level results debacle had...
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Moving on up: the state of social mobility from 2020-09-23T02:08:19
A socially mobile country provides equal opportunities for everyone, across big cities and small towns, and regardless of whether your parents are rich or poor. Social mobility is never far fr...
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Taxing times ahead? When and how to raise taxes from 2020-09-16T15:05:06
The coronavirus pandemic has brought new and severe pressures on the UK economy. The challenge now facing Her Majesty’s Treasury will be how to balance the need for increasing revenues through...
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Childcare during the pandemic from 2020-09-09T09:31:31
The closures of childcare providers to most families during the COVID-19 crisis have underlined the importance of access to childcare, both to support paid work and to help shape young children’s e...
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What to expect when schools reopen? from 2020-08-26T13:42:24
While most things have changed in 2020, the end of the summer will once again see students preparing to go back to school. But this year’s return to school will be unlike any that has come before; ...
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A Level playing field? Exam results during the pandemic from 2020-08-17T13:08:19
Recently, students got their A Level results, despite having never sat an exam.
How did the government decide what grades to give students? What methodology did they use? How has this ...
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The potential consequences of Brexit from 2020-08-12T02:25:02
For the last five months the country has, understandably, been focused on the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is already having a huge effect on the economy, on emp...
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Catching up or falling behind? Geographical inequalities in the UK from 2020-08-05T02:00
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted concerns about inequalities. This is not only about gaps between rich and poor, young and old and between different ethnic groups. It is also about the differ...
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Keeping it in the family: inheritances and inequality from 2020-07-29T08:29:58
Recent decades have seen rising wealth-to-income ratios. In England, increases in wealth have been concentrated among older generations. Those born in the 1980s have accumulated no more wealth than...
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Have the Chancellor's policies been stimulating enough? from 2020-07-15T01:00
Last week - in the Summer Economic Update - the Chancellor announced another significant spending package. In normal times, even in times of recession, this package would have been seen as huge. Bu...
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Investment, infrastructure and levelling up from 2020-07-09T01:00
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 investme...
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Investment, infrastructure and levelling up from 2020-07-09T01:00
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 investme...
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Incomes before, during and after the pandemic from 2020-07-01T01:00
The effect of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy has been huge. National income fell by 20% in April, to a level last seen in the early 2000s. But the impact of this vast aggregate shock on the fin...
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The long shadow of Covid-19 on the economy and the public finances from 2020-06-24T02:00
We found out that the UK came close to insolvency in March as a result of the turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Thankfully, the country managed to avoid that. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 p...
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COVID-19: Are people in some parts of England more 'vulnerable' than others? from 2020-06-17T02:00
The COVID-19 crisis has affected every part of the country – and indeed many other countries. What sets this crisis apart is the many different ways that it is impacting families: while the virus i...
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The challenges facing further and higher education from 2020-06-10T01:00
Alongside widespread school closures, lockdown has also resulted in significant challenges for the higher and further education sectors. What will happen with universities and students next year? H...
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The long-run effects on health and healthcare from 2020-06-03T02:00
In this episode of IFS Zooms In, we'll be looking at the longer term impacts of the current crisis on the nation's health and on the delivery of healthcare. From pent up demand from those unable to...
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Who's looking after the kids? from 2020-05-27T07:56:30
The coronavirus crisis has caused drastic changes to most parents’ work lives and other responsibilities. Millions of adults have lost or are forecast to lose their jobs permanently; many more have...
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Getting people back into work from 2020-05-20T02:00
Governments are starting to ease restrictions to economic activity. The risks of easing these measures too soon, or in misguided ways, are obvious, not only for public health but also for the econo...
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The unequal effects of the pandemic from 2020-05-14T01:00
Wherever we look, it seems that inequalities are shaping people's experience of coronavirus and of the lockdown. Ethnic minorities are significantly more likely to die from coronavirus than their w...
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Is the government doing enough to support workers during the pandemic? from 2020-05-06T01:30
The government has offered unprecedented support to workers since the start of the lockdown in March. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced multiple schemes to tackle the economic impacts of the loc...
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IFS Zooms In: Coronavirus and the economy (Trailer) from 2020-05-01T16:05:01
Every Wednesday, researchers at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Britain's leading independent microeconomic research institute, will join IFS Director Paul Johnson to take a look at some of th...
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