NEW PODCAST: Did inflation cause the cost of living crisis? 🎧 @helenmiller.bsky.social, @peterlevell.bsky.social and former Bank of England MPC member David Miles investigate inflation: what it is, why it's been high recently, who it hits hardest and more. Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/did...

Are you an outstanding communicator who knows loads about the UK public finances? Are you attracted by the prospect of a public voice, and the chance to work alongside brilliant economists at the country's finest think tank? We'd like to hear from you: app.beapplied.com/apply/4t6eys...

Here's a starter pack of IFS economists posting on BlueSky. Make sure you're following them all for the top-quality economic analysis on labour markets, inequality, public finances, healthcare, education and more! go.bsky.app/NYPwMB

Excited about discussing regional inequalities at the Fiscal Studies symposium event next week! We've got a star-studded lineup of @andyburnham.bsky.social, Paul Collier, Philip McCann, @lindseymacmillan.bsky.social, @amcanning.bsky.social and more. Summary of new papers below 🧵👇

How have rising house prices in the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s affected young people's social mobility? Sign up for our event with @helenmiller.bsky.social and @peterlevell.bsky.social at 10am on Monday on new research on how rising house prices affected inequalities ⬇️ ifs.org.uk/events/what-...

Absolutely delighted our research has won the ONS' Research Excellence prize for impact! I always say to people that the ideal @theifs.bsky.social work is rigorous enough to publish in top journals, and relevant enough to be on the front page. I think we've ticked that box here!

Late to this but really excellent news. And for those interested in economic measurement, the call for the @escoeorg.bsky.social annual conference (19-21 May, KCL London) is now open. Keynotes by Carol Corrado, Xavier Jaravel and Canada's Chief Statistician. Submit by 12 January.

Congratulations to Christine and her collaborators - great to see this fine body of work get the recognition it deserves!

More on the productivity hedgehog here observer.co.uk/news/busines...

There will be lots of speculation about tax over the next 6 weeks, for better or worse. This chapter is a plea for the government to think about how to make the system work better, rather than just raise the taxes which pose fewest short-term political hurdles. Some highlights:

Next seminar: @peterlevell.bsky.social (Institute for Fiscal Studies) joint work with Martin O'Connell and Kate Smith will be presenting "The welfare effects of price shocks and household relief packages: evidence from an energy crisis" on Oct 15, 12.00 CET. www.bde.es/wbe/en/areas... #bdeResearch

New at JIE: "Household responses to trade shocks" by Aitor Irastorza-Fadrique (@aitor-if.bsky.social), Peter Levell (@peterlevell.bsky.social), Matthias Parey doi.org/10.1016/j.ji...

NEW: Honouring the NATO commitment to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035 would reshape the British state. @maxwarner.bsky.social & @beeboileau.bsky.social's new IFS Green Budget chapter, funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org, examines the past and future of UK defence spending: [THREAD:]

Do join us for this!

Had a good chat on @moneybox.bsky.social with @paullewismoney.bsky.social about our Pensions Review work and what we should do about the triple lock and automatic enrolment – you can listen to it here: bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Really looking forward to this - it's going to be great!

A nice write up of our research as part of @escoeorg.bsky.social on local consumption spending. More info (and interactive graphics!) here! ifs.org.uk/articles/whi...

How much do living standards vary across the country? ESCoE/ @theifs.bsky.social work finds that measuring living standards using average household spending gives a starkly different picture of regional inequalities than using average household income tinyurl.com/bfzajkr5 @peterlevell.bsky.social

Congratulations to @helenmiller.bsky.social on her appointment as the next director of the IFS! Give her a follow! ifs.org.uk/news/helen-m...

Fascinating (no, really!).

NEW PODCAST: Do tariffs work? @pjtheeconomist.bsky.social and @peterlevell.bsky.social discuss the economic consequences of tariffs, why governments use them, and whether they actually achieve their intended goals. ➡️ Listen to the podcast here: ifs.org.uk/articles/do-...

Our IFS report on air pollution is out! Good news first: air pollution (PM2.5) has HALVED in England since 2003, with a big drop during Covid. There's no rebound post Covid, somewhat puzzlingly. We use DEFRA data, monitoring station data shows the same thing. (1/7) ifs.org.uk/publications...

Our paper on cheapflation is now an ESCoE discussion paper

Check at our tool to see how house prices, and the housing stock, has changed in your local area

Don't forget to tune in to Abdoulaye's seminar today at 15:30 London time! #EconSky

My colleague @maxwarner.bsky.social is new to BlueSky- follow him for excellent research on the evolving state of the NHS!

On the economics job market? Opportunities for PhDs to join as Research Economists in labour/crime, public finance, and education/nutrition/health at the IFS @theifs.bsky.social econjobmarket.org/positions/10... #EconSky

Are you on the economics job market? Opportunities for PhDs to join as post docs (one and three year post docs available) @theifs.bsky.social econjobmarket.org/positions/10... #EconSky

This is a great opportunity for students wanting to learn more about a career in economics research. Come along to find out more!

Delighted to be on the Scientific Committee for next year's annual ESCoE conference which will take place at King's College London from 21-23 May 2025. We've launched the Call for Papers today with more details here: www.escoe.ac.uk/events/escoe... Take a look and get involved!

New CEPR Discussion Paper DP19628 What would you do with £500? (...in your own words) Thomas Crossley (University of Michigan), @peterlevell.bsky.social (@theifs.bsky.social), Sofía Sierra Vásquez (EUI) cepr.org/publications... 📉📈 #EconSky #CEPR_MG #CEPR_PE

Looks like it’s going to be a big budget today. Read my colleagues’ excellent insights here!

A tip for those interested in household finance - follow @micmachf.bsky.social to get the latest seminar announcements! #EconSky 📉📈

NEW: The new Chancellor has inherited an unenviable public finance situation. Our IFS Green Budget, supported by the Nuffield Foundation and in association with Citi, lays out the fiscal choices ahead: [THREAD: 1/10] ifs.org.uk/publications...

A reminder of this week's Micro Macro Household Finance Seminar on Friday. 15:30 London time/16:30 CET/10:30 EDT Richard Audoly will be presenting work on "The Life-Cycle Dynamics of Wealth Mobility" with discussions by Fatih Guvenen and Moritz Kuhn. Register here tinyurl.com/2f9xutub #EconSky

If you want to know what's inside our paper on cheapflation, but are short on time, you can always read the VoxEU column! cepr.org/voxeu/column...

House prices are not a good measure of housing costs

For economists interested in new work in the area of household finance: You can now follow posts from the Micro Macro Household Finance Seminar Series on BlueSky. #EconSky

Enjoyed my first time hosting the IFS podcast - do have a listen for my colleagues' insights into the financial crunch facing universities and the options for a Labour government trying to deliver on its opportunity mission.

This is the actual IFS account - give them a warm Bluesky welcome (and a follow)! Follow this one and not any imitators.

I really enjoyed this book

Nice write up of our work … and er sorry! “I'll be honest, it's not the most newsletter-friendly document I've ever read, containing phrases such as "non-homothetic preferences" and the following equation: Pit = β0 + X t β1tDt + X t β2tDt × Cheapi + αi + εit.” www.standard.co.uk/comment/infl...

Top income inequality and tax policy | IFS Deaton Review | Oxford Open Economics academic.oup.com/ooec/article...

UK inflation rises less than BOE expected to 2.2% in July from 2% the previous 2 months. Underlying price pressures weaker: Services inflation fell sharply to 5.2% from 5.7% Core inflation decreased to 3.3% from 3.5% Wage growth eased to 5.4%, a near 2-year low. www.ons.gov.uk/economy/infl...

1/ Food and drink prices have risen by around a third since January 2021. 📈 That hit poorer households harder, because necessities take up more of their spending. But is that the end of the story? Our new paper does a deep dive into grocery prices over this period. tinyurl.com/2dm64wjv

Great to see the work I did with Elaine Drayton and David Sturrock featured in the Economist. Housing supply elasticities in England are low, especially in London and the South East, as we document here tinyurl.com/4hpxn3rw