ABSTRACT
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is a widely respected microeconomic research institute. It covers a number of public policy areas including tax and benefits. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has a difficult job deciding what constitutes 'normal' times in terms of government spending. In post-war times, the accepted wisdom has been that government spending during a recession is good. The OBR was formed in May 2010 to provide independent authoritative analysis of the UK's public finances. The tortuous process of trying to sort out the Greek financial mess with severe austerity measures has depressed not only the Greek people but has spawned a growing movement of people who want to follow an alternative path to deficit reduction. In December 2015, against a background of economic recession, the Greek parliament narrowly approved the 2016 Budget that included tax increases and public spending cuts in pensions and defence.
