At the beginning of the current recession a common narrative was that spending cuts were always better than tax increases and that fiscal austerity could actually cause the economy to grow. These claims were based more upon anecdotes and strongly held opinions than rigorous analysis. Five years on...

There is evidence of polarisation in the literature, a polarisation between the economics and sociological literature. On the one hand the economics literature has largely ignored patterns of declining working hours for low paid workers. Though the economics literature has given attention to topics...

Households contribute to financing the exchequer in a number of ways. Household’s direct tax contributions from earnings, through income taxes, USC and social insurance, are apparent; albeit that we tend to have greater knowledge of benchmark taxation rates (both effective and marginal) than the...