Institute for Fiscal Studies

The Institute for Fiscal Studies
Formation	1969
Legal status	Non-profit company
Purpose/focus	Economic and public policy research
Location	London, United Kingdom
Director	Paul Johnson
Main organ	IFS Council (President - Rachel Lomax)
Affiliations	Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Website	The Institute for Fiscal Studies

The Institute for Fiscal Studies is an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It is politically independent and produces both academic and policy-related findings.

The Institute's aim is to "advance education for the benefit of the public by promoting on a non-political basis the study and discussion of and the exchange and dissemination of information and knowledge concerning national economic and social effects and influences of existing taxes and proposed changes in fiscal systems."

It is located in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the British Museum and University College London (UCL).

History

The Institute came into existence because four financiers - a banker and Conservative Party politician (Will Hopper), an investment trust manager (Bob Buist), a stockbroker (Nils Taube) and a tax consultant (John Chown) - were appalled at the way in which the 1965 Finance Act became law. James Callaghan, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, had made a speech announcing his intentions to make far-reaching changes to the tax system, including the introduction of a capital gains tax and a corporation tax. Nils Taube commissioned John Chown to prepare a professional analysis of the speech. Despite his warnings about the dire consequences of implementation of the government’s proposals, John Chown stated, “the same half-baked proposals were rehashed in the Budget Speech, and the Finance Bill, when published, read as if the draftsman had simply been given the Callaghan speech and been told to turn it into legislation”.

In 1967 a brainstorming weekend took place at The Bell, Aston Clinton. In the same year the Charter for Tax Reform was published in The Times and Jeremy Skinner and Halmer Hudson joined the group. Will Hopper has recalled that the idea of a research institute did not take shape until some time later at a dinner which was attended by Bob Buist, John Chown, Nils Taube and himself on 30 July 1968 at the Stella Alpina restaurant, 32 North Audley Street, London, at which a decision was made to found the Institute. The Institute was formally incorporated on 21 May 1969.

As well as research, the Institute had wider, unspoken objectives. The founders did not just want to start an Institute; they wanted to change British fiscal strategy. In particular, they wanted:

• to alter the climate of opinion within which changes to the British tax system were considered;
• to improve the procedures by which changes in the tax system were effected;
• to help create a more rational tax system.

In 1971 a Council of the Institute was formed, with President Sir Richard Powell (civil servant), Vice-Presidents Roy Jenkins (Labour Party) and Selwyn Lloyd (Conservative Party). In the same year an Executive Committee was formed, with Will Hopper as Chairman, Halmer Hudson as Secretary and Buist, Chown, Skinner and Taube as Members. In 1972 the first full-time staff of the Institute were appointed. In 1974 the Institute moved from Bell Yard to Chandos Place. In 1975 the Meade Committee began its enquiries under the leadership of James Meade. In 1978 the Meade Report was published. In the same year the Institute moved to Castle Lane. In 1979 the Fiscal Studies publication was launched and the Working Paper series began. In 1980 the Armstrong Report was published. In 1982 the Report series was launched and the first Green Budget was issued. In 1984 The Reform of Social Security document was published by the Institute. In 1985 the Institute moved to Tottenham Court Road. In 1987 the Capital Taxes Group was established. In 1990 the Institute moved to Ridgmount Street. In 1991 the ESRC Centre was inaugurated. In 1994 the Tax Law Review Committee was established.

Research

Areas of research covered by the Institute include public finance and spending, pensions and saving, company taxation, consumer behaviour and poverty and inequality. Although most of the Institute's research is UK-focused, recent work has also looked at international development policies, for instance at education and nutrition programmes in Colombia.

The Institute is home to or a partner in the following research centres:

• Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP)
• Centre for Analysis of Youth Transitions (CAYT)
• Centre for the Economics of Education
• Centre for the Evaluation of Development Policies (EDePo)
• Tax Law Review Committee (TLRC)
• English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
• Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice (cemmap)
• Centre for Economic Research on Ageing (CERA)

Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy

Since 1991 the Institute has hosted an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) research centre, the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP). The CPP is directed by Professor Richard Blundell and co-directors, Professor Orazio Attanasio, Professor James Banks, Professor Rachel Griffith, Professor Costas Meghir. The CPP carries out core analytical research to enable informed microeconomic analysis of major public policy issues, from productivity growth to poverty reduction, and from promoting employment to ensuring sound public finances. Its focus is on the careful modelling of individual, household and firm behaviour, combining cutting-edge empirical analysis with detailed understanding of policy options and implementation. The CPP acts as a national resource for analysis of emerging policy challenges and draws on extensive collaboration with leading researchers in the UK, Europe, North America and the developing world. It has an established record of effective dissemination to and interaction with policymakers, civil society, the business community, academics and the general public - with an aim to seek to broaden and strengthen those links.

Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice

The Institute hosts the Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice (Cemmap), a joint venture between the Institute and the UCL Department of Economics. Cemmap's activities include:

• conducting research and organising conferences, symposia, workshops and training courses;
• developing and applying methods for modelling individual behaviour, the influences on it and the impact of policy interventions; and
• maintaining an extensive network of fellows in the UK and abroad.

Cemmap has organised over 50 training courses and 15 masterclasses and is home to one of the world's leading working papers series in the field of microeconometrics with over 100 titles, many of which are published in leading journals.

Cemmap was founded in 2000 with a grant from the Leverhulme Trust and since 2007 has been an ESRC research centre.

Publications

The Institute produces a peer-reviewed quarterly journal, Fiscal Studies, which publishes articles submitted by a range of academics and practitioners in the field.

See also

• Taxation in the United Kingdom
• List of UK think tanks

External links

• The Institute for Fiscal Studies
• Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP)
• Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice (cemmap)
• The Economic and Social Research Council
• UCL Department of Economics