How can we make government more productive?

IFS Zooms In: The Economy

From healthcare to education to local government, the public sector delivers essential services—but how can it stay effective and efficient with tightening budgets and rising demand?

In this episode, we examine the UK government’s push to improve public sector productivity. Rachel Reeves is enlisting private sector leaders to tackle inefficiencies in Whitehall, while Wes Streeting has proposed NHS reforms to boost output. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, President-elect Trump has stirred debate by appointing Elon Musk to a new ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ to slash costs.

Are public services keeping pace with private sector innovations? What’s driving productivity trends in the UK? And how can policies create better outcomes for everyone?

We’re joined by Ben Zaranko, Associate Director at IFS, and Sam Freedman, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and former senior policy adviser to Michael Gove, to unpack these questions and more.

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