Public finances
We analyse tax, spending and wider economic policy, looking at how it can most effectively be designed, implemented and where government falls short.
Latest analysis
See allLiz Truss blaming the deep state is an excuse for failure
Liz Truss's deep state delusions are undermining any serious argument she might make.
Where next for levelling up?
This short paper highlights five key challenges that any government seeking to reduce regional inequalities will need to address.
Twenty-five years on: what the national minimum wage teaches us about radical change
The national minimum wage is a case study in how to effectively design and deliver policy.
Forthcoming and recent events
Does the Treasury wield too much power over government?
Treasury Permanent Secretary James Bowler joined us to discuss the department's role in government.
Inside Briefing LIVE: The general election budget?
Our spring budget 2024 podcast special.
Government 2024: IfG's annual conference
The IfG brought together influential speakers and experts to explore the key questions for government in 2024.
How can devolution contribute to regional growth in England?
Jim McMahon MP, Shadow Minister for English Devolution and Local Government, joined us to discuss what ‘good’ devolution looks like.
Key explainers
Current UK fiscal rules
What are the government’s current fiscal rules and is it on track to meet them?
Fiscal rules in the UK since 1997
Fiscal rules are restrictions on fiscal policy set by a government to constrain its own decisions on spending and taxes.
Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the UK’s official independent economic and fiscal forecaster.
Budgets
Governments require parliament’s approval to spend money, as well as to raise revenue in the form of taxes.
Budgets
Before and after major fiscal events we look at the key issues facing the government and assess the main choices it makes, drawing on expertise from across the Institute.
Find out moreThe Treasury
Does the Treasury wield too much power over government?
Treasury Permanent Secretary James Bowler joined us to discuss the department's role in government.
Treasury ‘orthodoxy’
The Treasury wields too much influence across government and dominates strategic thinking at the centre.
'Orthodoxy' is not the issue: the Treasury’s outsized power creates problems for government
Excessive power, rather than ‘orthodox’ thinking, is the main problem with the Treasury.
The next government must break its silence on departmental spending on day one
The later the election, the more urgent it will be for the next government to take decisions over spending
How can government ensure it learns effectively from the past in making public finance decisions?
This event discussed The Way the Money Goes: The Fiscal Constitution and Public Spending in the UK.
Tackling rising inflation and slowing growth
The economic crisis facing the UK is very different to the 2008 financial crash and the early 1990s recession – which means a very different response
Levelling up
‘Levelling up’ from the centre
A new central government approach is needed to reduce regional inequality.
How the government can make progress on levelling up despite tight budgets
The government must do more than just revert to its levelling up white paper’s policy positions if it wants to address regional inequalities.
What levelling up policies will drive economic change?
Levelling up will not deliver the changes promised by Boris Johnson unless the next PM’s government is more ambitious in tackling regional inequality.
Will the levelling up missions help reduce regional inequality?
The government’s levelling up missions fall short of what is needed to level up.
Our work
Regulation
We look at how government uses regulation to achieve its objectives and how rules can most effectively be designed and implemented through regulators.
Budgets
Before and after major fiscal events we look at the key issues facing the government and assess the choices it makes, drawing on expertise across IfG.
Levelling up
We assess the government’s approach to levelling up, whether it is well-defined and whether it can succeed where other governments have failed.
Tax policy making
How is evidence used in tax policy making?
A key tenet of good policy making, including on tax, is use of the best available evidence.
Overcoming the barriers to tax reform
The UK tax system needs substantial reform, but recent governments have shied away from it because of public resistance.
How to be a tax-reforming chancellor
The tax system is in desperate need of reform. The new government’s majority gives it an opportunity that none has had for the last decade and a half.
Better Budgets: making tax policy better
The Government must change the way it makes tax and budget decisions.
Our public finances team
Gemma Tetlow
Chief Economist
Four things we learned from Rachel Reeves’ Mais lecture
Thomas Pope
Deputy Chief Economist
Where next for levelling up?
Olly Bartrum
Senior Economist
Four things we learned from Rachel Reeves’ Mais lecture
Rebecca McKee
Senior Researcher
The Conservatives and Labour need to get serious about tackling regional inequality
Giles Wilkes
Senior Fellow
Four things we learned from Rachel Reeves’ Mais lecture
Jeremy Pattison
Research Assistant