📰 Think you know all about house prices and pay inequality? Think again. Perceptions take a while to catch up with reality and that presents a challenge for the new government - Paul Johnson in The Times and The Sunday Times today thetimes.com/business-money…

ICYMI - Ben Zaranko and I had new Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis out last week on the Home Office's budgeting for asylum costs in recent years. The graph below shows the repeated massive gaps between planned and actual spending. ifs.org.uk/articles/home-…

📰 "Home ownership rates among those aged 25 to 34 are almost exactly the same today, at about 40 per cent, as they were in 2010." Paul Johnson in The Times and The Sunday Times on house prices and income inequality, now free to read: ifs.org.uk/articles/think…

I am very happy to see this out! 🎉 Check also the R programmes and replication files on Github (shorturl.at/hO24S) or at the The Review of Economic Studies. For a thread on this paper, check out my earlier post (linked below)! 1/2

“There is almost nobody out there saying we need more taxes for public services and that means you… will actually have to pay a little bit more tax in order to achieve it.” Paul Johnson on raising taxes to achieve better public services. Listen here: linktr.ee/ifszoomsin

NEW: The government promises the ‘most ambitious’ programme of devolution in England ever. But it’s vital to fix council funding before or alongside such plans: the can-kicking must stop. Read David Phillips’ new comment on what needs to happen: ifs.org.uk/articles/devol…

My NEW @theIFS comment on why Angela Rayner needs to fix the local government finance system before or alongside any plans for further devolution is OUT. Failure to do so risks entrenching inequalities and undermining benefits of devo. Read: ifs.org.uk/articles/devol… A 🧵

Bigger cuts to overall funding in more deprived areas during the 2010s mean they receive a lower share of funding than they are assessed to need. Richer areas receive a higher share relative to needs – 13% more as of 2022-23. Likely exacerbates geographic inequalities. [4/6]

Another great piece from David Phillips on LG finance. The system is broken. Funding allocations have become increasingly random. Last govt failed to fix. Ambitions for devolution depend on fixing funding first.

My NEW @theIFS immediate response to Shona Robison MSP's Pre-Budget fiscal update. Ms Robison is right that HM Treasury hasn't fully funded pay & inflation pressures. But Scottish Government decisions have contributed to pressures too: CT freeze, benefits, pay etc. ifs.org.uk/articles/immed…

"More difficult decisions are likely next year and beyond given the difficult fiscal outlook." David Phillips gives an immediate response to the Scottish Finance Minister’s announcement of in-year spending cuts. Read the full response here: ifs.org.uk/articles/immed…

These are big in year spending cuts. It is a tight settlement from UK govt this year. But as David Phillips points out Scottish choices to freeze council tax and raise public pay and welfare benefits more than in rUK played a big role.

COURSE: New dates for the Cemmap Policy Evaluation Methods course are available now! This comprehensive course delves into the principles of research design and explores all main quantitative evaluation methods. Find out more and sign up here: cemmap.ac.uk/courses/

It's Pension Credit Week of Action! The government are running a campaign to encourage PC take up. But they could be even more ambitious in their approach 👇 gov.uk/government/new…

Our panel for tonight’s debate with Institute for Fiscal Studies on what should be in the business tax roadmap. If you miss it tonight the recording will be available online tomorrow. #ciotifsdebates

Key thing to watch at, or perhaps ahead of, the Budget. The new government's choice over what measure of debt to use in its fiscal rules could be one of the most consequential decisions this autumn. It gets very techy, very quickly, but it's no less important for that.

The number of pupils with Special Educational Needs is rising, with Government data reporting over 1.6 million SEND pupils in England. The number of pupils with Education Health & Care Plans (EHCP) increased by over 60% from 220,000 in 2015 to 360,000 in 2022. Source: Institute for Fiscal Studies

Great half hour on the public finances, fiscal rules and budget options. Do listen!

WATCH NOW: Last night's debate: What should be in the business tax roadmap? presenta.co.uk/CIOT/IFS/04092… Topics covered included the complexity of the current CT regime and why the 2010 roadmap was better than the 2016 one. David Gauke Helen Miller #ciotifsdebates

So exciting to be back at a lecture by Oriana Bandiera at LSE after almost 10 years! Presenting “Meaning at Work” with our very own IFS postdoc Virginia Minni Check it out 🔝