Peter Levell

Money Box - Future of Pensions and Heat Networks - BBC Sounds A wide-reaching report makes recommendations about the future of pensions.

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...

Gautam Vyas, Research Economist at the IFS, ESCoE Research Associate, and an author of the paper, said: “People care deeply about regional inequalities, but rankings of living standards across areas depend greatly on how you measure them. Our findings challenge the conventional wisdom that the typical London household enjoys higher living standards than their counterparts across the country. Rather, it seems that a combination of higher housing costs and differences in saving behaviour implies that high incomes do not translate into higher consumption spending for Londoners.”

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

Helen Miller appointed as new Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies | Institute for Fiscal Studies The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is delighted to announce that Helen Miller has been appointed as its next Director.

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...

The way UK inflation is worked out is changing – and it will matter for everyone Gathering data on consumer prices and the products we’re really buying will become far more precise, giving a better picture of how we deal with rising costs.

Fascinating (no, really!).

Do tariffs work? | Institute for Fiscal Studies We discuss the economic consequences of tariffs, why governments use them, and whether they actually achieve their intended goals.

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-...

Exposure to air pollution in England, 2003–23 | Institute for Fiscal Studies We set out how air pollution (PM2.5) has changed across England and explore inequalities by ethnicity, income deprivation, region and age.

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!

A longstanding puzzle in macroeconomics is why individuals with similar levels of available liquidity can have very different marginal propensities to consume (MPCs). We use a new approach to better investigate differences in consumer behaviour in response to hypothetical, one-off gains and losses: using open-ended questions and text analysis to understand the motives underlying consumers decisions. High-liquidity individuals with high MPCs often cite mental accounting motives. Apparently illiquid individuals report a range of coping mechanisms in response to a loss, including labour supply responses, relying on friends and family and selling possessions. This implies greater effective liquidity than narrow financial measures indicate.

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 📉📈

The outlook for the public finances in the new parliament | Institute for Fiscal Studies We describe the fiscal outlook and set out the unenviable but important choices – which could define the parliament – confronting Rachel Reeves.

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

Thanks!

@theifs.bsky.social?

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.

Hello! I work at the IFS. I work on labour and consumption (and inflation) + some stuff on housing and geography.

I really enjoyed this book