Latest Publications

The fourth paper in our 2015 Spending Choices series examines the spending commitments made by parties before the election; the effect of these commitments on other budgets; and, the purpose of protection or 'ringfencing' specific spending areas from cuts.

The third paper in our Spending Choices series examines what types of government spending are good for economic growth; what the different parties have committed to post-2015; and, which areas the next government will need to focus growth-friendly spending on.

In this update of our original spending choices briefing we find that meeting deficit reduction targets is now much more dependent on greater productivity growth than has so far been assumed

In the lead up to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, our briefing reveals the scale of the deficit waiting for the next Government with newly updated numbers.

The Social Market Foundation has published a briefing document entitled Osborne's New Choice ahead of the Autumn Statement exploring the Chancellor's plan to target a surplus on the structural current budget by 2017/18.

This series of essays explores the crisis of legitimacy in working age welfare. It examines the policy options for what to do about financial support for the unemployed.

Social Impact Bonds are an innovative way of commissioning public services. Private or philanthropic investors provide the upfront finance, with government only paying them a return if and once social outcomes are achieved. However, the number of Social Impact Bonds currently underway is small, and our analysis finds that they are unlikely to appeal to mainstream investors unless some major hurdles can be overcome.

This briefing looks at the scale of cuts being made to current spending at the June 2013 Spending Review in the context of the entire fiscal consolidation, and shows that despite the difficulties of making the £11.5bn of cuts required, this Spending Review represents only a fraction of the remaining £33bn consolidation needed to get the public finances back on track by 2018.

At the Budget the Chancellor announced his intention to set a limit on a significant proportion of public spending in order to tackle the 'growth of spending on welfare benefits' in the years ahead. This paper explores the implications of such a cap for pensions and working age welfare.