The House of Lords Economic Affairs committee has just published a report on the fiscal framework. One fairly major suggestion: that the government set out an additional fiscal target, in which debt as a share of GDP is lower in the third year of the forecast than in the first year in normal times

An SSAC report today highlights a huge difference in the treatment by the benefit system of young people aged 16-19 depending on if they remain in full time education or pursue an apprenticeship. What does this mean for apprenticeships? THREAD:

NEW: The government’s decision to abolish the Carbon Price Support is “a welcome, if small, step towards more uniform taxation of carbon emissions.” 📗 Read Stuart Adam, Isaac Delestre, @peterlevell.bsky.social and Bobbie Upton's response to the announcement here: ifs.org.uk/articles/res...

Many of the weirdest and worst features of our tax system are small things that distort incentives or contradict other objectives pursued elsewhere in the tax system. The government’s decision is a small step towards a more sensible approach to taxing carbon.

2. The gap between rich & poor areas is roughly a decade for lifespan & roughly 2 decades for good health Life expectancy: recovered a bit from pandemic era, but is still worse than before. So prolonged sliippage Healthy life: expectancy actually worse than pandemic era

1. Powerful visualisation of the cast-iron link between deprivation, health and lifespans One of the most important official data sets there is ... Full report here ... www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

One thing I find really striking on defence spending: the Strategic Defence Review was meant to be deliverable with *slower* defence spending than currently planned. The govt accepted all its recommendations. But it's long looked very ambitious to deliver within spending plans

Some incredibly important findings here for housing policy. The demand-side policies adopting the last couple of decades mostly helped relatively high earners

NEW: Upcoming changes to universal credit this April will have a significant impact on the incomes of millions of people. What changes are coming in and how will this affect incomes? @matthewoulton.bsky.social and Tom Waters explain: [THREAD]

1/ The labour market has seen significant changes in recent decades. With automation accelerating, more is coming. Can workers switch jobs fast enough to keep up? We study how reallocation across occupations shapes wages, employment and inequality. #EconSky New WP ⬇️ ifs.org.uk/publications...

NEW: A look ahead to the Spring Forecast @beeboileau.bsky.social, Carl Emmerson, @matthewoulton.bsky.social, Isabel Stockton & @benzaranko.bsky.social look at the Chancellor’s options in the upcoming Spring Forecast: [THREAD: 1/6]

4a/Where does this inequality arise? It turns out that most of the differences in inflation rates across households is not because of differences across categories or types, rather it is driven by differences in what exact products they buy *within* categories.

How to dodge a tariff My column this week for the @financialtimes.com 1st 300 clicks free to read... on.ft.com/3CDBKzA