Romanian SMEs can directly benefit from the Sectoral Operational Programme 'Increase of Economic Competitiveness' (SOP IEC) and some parts of the Regional Operational Programme (ROP) in the period 2007 2013. Research commissioned by the Directorate General for Regional Policy of the European...

Ukraine is a big country with a developed multimodal transport infrastructure that includes a network of roads, railways, airports and seaports, as well as pipelines. In addition, the country has significant infrastructure for electricity generation and distribution, and for gas transportation....

This study analyses financial sustainability of the Finnish public sector. Current tax rates are unlikely to yield sufficient tax revenue for financing public expenditure under an ageing population. In the base alternative we assume that the European crisis does not worsen and that productivity...

The challenging fiscal situation facing the next government means that both Labour and the Conservatives are looking for ways to improve public services without large increases in spending. Improving the productivity of public services is often proposed as a way to achieve this. This follows the...

This "explainer" looks at how the parties' proposals would affect Scotland and Wales, covering tax, spending, public finances and the constitution.

The current generation of pensioners has, in general, been better served by the UK's mix of state and private pension provision than earlier generations were. Pensioners today have disposable incomes - once you take account of housing costs and children - that on average are similar to those...

This chapter of our second annual Budget Report looks beyond 2024-25 to the medium-term outlook for the Scottish Government's funding, and the implications of the funding picture for the choices and trade-offs faced when allocating funding between areas of the budget. The Scottish Government had...

The Scottish Government's Budget for 2024-25 takes place at a time of particular uncertainty about the future funding environment. UK government spending plans both for the coming year and for later years seem likely to be topped up, but when and by how much is unclear. The current UK government...

Health spending, and the performance of the NHS, will feature prominently in the upcoming general election campaign. Many different factors matter for NHS performance and for the wider health of the population, but one important factor is the level of spending on health services. In this IFS...

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will announce his second Budget, and fourth fiscal event, on Wednesday 6 March. This will possibly be the final fiscal event of the current parliament. With the big rise in tax revenues as a share of national income since 2019 only being partially offset by the cuts to...