Policy Research and Influence
An important part of my work at the IFS is to disseminate research findings, and to engage with policymakers and interested individuals in order to enrich the economic policy debate. I have made around 180 appearances on UK and international media (radio and TV) to discuss my research and connected policy areas.
Below are links to a selected number of my policy research reports and articles, categorised by research area.
The Pensions Review
The Pensions Review is a multi-year project assessing the future of financial of retirement in the UK, culminating in a set of recommendations for improvement of the UK pensions system published in July 2025.
Introductory report: "Challenges for the UK pensions system: the case for a pensions review" (with Emmerson, Johnson, Karjalainen, and O'Brien) IFS Report 255
Final recommendations: to be published July 2025.
Detailed reports:
"The future of the state pension", 2023, (with Carl Emmerson, Pauk Johnson, and Heidi Karjalainen) IFS Report 291
"Pensions: Five key decisions for the next government", 2024 , (with Heidi Karjalainen and Laurence O'Brien) IFS Report 328
"Understanding retirement in the UK" IFS Report 284
Pensions (general)
"Understanding pension saving among the self-employed" (with Heidi Karjalainen) IFS Report 248
"The planned increase in the state pension age from 67 to 68" IFS Comment 2023
"The effect of increasing the state pension age from 65 to 66 on labour market activity" (with Carl Emmerson and Laurence O'Brien) IFS Working Paper 2022/07
"Who leaves their pension after being automatically enrolled?" (with Pascale Bourquin and Carl Emmerson), 2020, IFS Briefing Note BN272.
"The changing generosity of the UK state pension system to the self-employed" (with Mihai Alexandru Codreanu, Rowena Crawford and Carl Emmerson). IFS Report R182
"Requiring Auto-Enrollment: Lessons from UK Retirement Plans", (with Carl Emmerson), Center for Retirement Research Issue Brief, March 2019, No. 19-6
Public sector pay
"Recent trends in public sector pay", 2024, (with Laurence O'Brien) IFS Report R305
"Public sector pay and employment: where are we now?", 2019, (with Alex Davenport and Ben Zaranko) IFS Briefing Note BN 263
"Public sector pay in the UK" 2014 (with Carl Emmerson and Luke Sibieta) IFS Report R97
Housing
"Homeownership for young adults has recovered to 2010 levels" IFS Comment, 29th May 2024
"Housing costs and income inequality", 2023, (with Thomas Wernham and Xiaowei Xu) IFS Deaton Review country studies project
"Who is most affected by rising mortgage interest rates", (with David Sturrock), IFS Comment, 2nd September 2022
"Our House"- a five part BBC Radio 4 documentary series on housing in the UK, August 2019
"How housing has divided the young", Article for BBC news website (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news), 15th August 2018
"The decline in homeownership among young adults" (with Andrew Hood and Jack Hoyle), IFS Briefing Note BN 224
Labour Markets, inequality and welfare
"Inequality in the UK: 1968 to 2021", 2023, (with Richard Blundell, Thomas Wernham and Xiaowei Xu) IFS Deaton Review Country Studies Project
"The policy menu for school lunches: options foroptions and trade-offs in expanding free school meals in England" (with Christine Farquharson, Andrew McKendrick, and Tom Waters) IFS Report R253
"Who is excluded from the government's Self Employment Income Support Scheme and what could the government do about it?" 2021 (with Paul Johnson and Isaac Delestre), IFS Briefing Note BN316
"Who are business owners and what are they doing?", (with Helen Miller and Thomas Pope), 2019, IFS Report R158
"Recessions, income inequality and the role of the tax and benefit system", (with Andrew Hood and Robert Joyce), 2016, IFS Report 137.
Retirement
"Is worsening health leading to more older workers quitting work, driving up rates of economic inactivity" (with Bee Boileau) IFS Comment
"The rise in economic inactivity among people in their 50s and 60s" (with Bee Boileau) IFS Report 345
"Changing patterns of work at older ages", 2021, (with Rowena Crawford, Heidi Karjalainen and Laurence O'Brien), IFS Report.
Education and health
"Reforms to apprenticeship funding in England" (with Neil Amin-Smith and Luke Sibieta)
"Teenage pregnancy in England", 2013, (with Claire Crawfor and Elaine Kelly)
"Reading and maths skills at age 10 and earnings in later life: a brief analysis using the British Cohort Study", 2013, (with Claire Crawford) CAYT Report Number 3
"Gap year takers: uptake, trends and long term outcomes", 2012 , (with Claire Crawford)