Finance
Our publications cover a range of financial topics, including tax, economics, funding agreements and public finance.
The medium term fiscal outlook for Local Government in Wales
This report reveals the challenging picture faced by local government as spending pressures continue to mount.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Welsh Budget Outlook 2022
The third annual budget outlook report sets out the latest forecasts for devolved and local spending, and explores the difficult set of policy options that governments face in the next five years.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Presentation: Autumn Statement
Presentation slides from a Welsh Local Government Association Budget Seminar.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Presentation: Wales' Fiscal Future
Presentation slides from a Wales Fiscal Analysis party conference event.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Spring Statement 2022: Implications for Wales
A combination of tax policy changes and energy price increases will leave average Welsh households £315 a year worse off, even after the measures announced yesterday and in February have been applied.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
When ends don't meet: a cost-of-living update
Energy price hikes and tax rises will leave Welsh households an average £600 a year worse off, even after measures to assist cost-of-living are applied. This report shows that the poorest households will be hit hardest and price rises will further limit their ability to purchase essential goods and services.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Welsh Budget Outlook 2021
This comprehensive report sets out the outlook for devolved and local spending, analyses spending pressures, examines the budgetary impact of devolved and local taxes, and explores policy options over coming years.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
UK Government Budget and Spending Review 2021: Implications for Wales
The Welsh budget is set for a £1.6bn boost in 2022-23 as a result of the 2021 UK budget, according to this budget analysis.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Welsh Budget Update: Outlook ahead of Spending Review 2021
In this Welsh Budget Update ahead of the Spending Review 2021, researchers indicate that over the next three years, day-to-day spending on public services in Wales is set to grow by approximately 3% per year on average in real terms.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Covid-19 in Wales: The mental health and wellbeing impact
This briefing investigates the significant impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the mental health of people in Wales.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Presentation: Senedd Election Briefing 2021
Presentation slides from a Wales Fiscal Analysis election briefing event.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Welsh Election 2021: Fiscal outlook and challenges for the next Welsh Government
This briefing is the last in a series exploring the fiscal outlook for the next Senedd term and the challenges facing the next Welsh Government. Our findings in this briefing point to a challenging and uncertain outlook.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Local Government and the Welsh Budget: Data Tables
Data tables to accompany the report, "Local Government & the Welsh Budget", including projections of spending pressures, revenues and the funding gap.
Local Government & the Welsh Budget: Outlook and challenges for the next Welsh Government
This report finds that based on current UK Government spending plans, funding for Welsh local authorities will fall short of the amount required to meet spending pressures over the next Senedd term.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
The NHS and the Welsh Budget: Outlook and challenges for the next Welsh Government
As well as assessing pre-pandemic trends in NHS spending and underlying spending pressures from an ageing population, the report analyses how the Covid-19 pandemic will cause significant additional funding pressures for the NHS over the course of the next Senedd term.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Railway Infrastructure in Wales
This report finds that under a fully devolved system, Wales could have received an extra £514m investment in its rail infrastructure between 2011-12 and 2019-20. The report has been submitted as evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee’s inquiry into rail infrastructure in Wales.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
UK Budget 2021: the implications for Wales and the Welsh budget
This briefing looks at the impact of the 2021 UK Budget on Wales and its public finances, as well as assessing future levels of Welsh funding implied by the Chancellor's spending plans.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Welsh Budget Update: analysis of the budget position for 2020-21 and the Draft Budget for 2021-22
This briefing assesses the Welsh budget position for 2020-21, before analysing the allocations in the Draft Budget for 2021-22, the local government settlement, and the latest devolved tax forecasts and policies.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Welsh Budget Outlook 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to breathtaking levels of additional spending by both the Welsh and UK governments, to support individuals, businesses, and public services through the crisis. This report attempts to take stock following the UK government’s Spending Review and ahead of the Welsh Government’s Draft Budget for 2021-22.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Welsh Budget Briefing
Presentation slides from a Wales Fiscal Analysis budget briefing event.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
The future of care in Wales
Presentation slides from a Wales Fiscal Analysis webinar on older adult social care.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Funding the 'firebreak' and beyond: COVID-19, the Welsh budget and supporting the Welsh economy
This report from the Wales Fiscal Analysis team reveals the costs of COVID-19 related business support and public health interventions, as well as assessing the huge budget uncertainties facing the Welsh Government.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
The cost of free personal care: Lessons from Scotland
This Wales Fiscal Analysis briefing paper examines the financial lessons that can be learnt from Scotland's introduction of 'free personal care', and estimates the cost of implementing that policy in Wales.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
The future of care in Wales: Resourcing social care for older adults
This Wales Fiscal Analysis report identifies four key issues with which future policy in Wales must grapple; namely the level of resourcing required to deliver effective care services, the currently fragmented nature of service provision, low pay and high staff turnover, and the difficulty in projecting and meeting future demand.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Covid-19 and the Welsh economy: working from home
This briefing analyses data from Labour Force Survey and Understanding Society data to determine the share of employees who can work from home in Wales, and the average gross weekly pay of those workers by industry and occupation.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Covid-19 and the Welsh economy: shutdown sectors and key workers
Using Labour Force Survey data, this briefing investigates the groups and economic sectors in Wales most significantly affected by the current pandemic, based on a set of economic and demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and income levels.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Covid-19 and the Welsh Government Budget: Update No.2
This briefing analyses the additional funding included in the Welsh Government's May 2020 supplementary budget, as well as the additional allocations made in response to COVID-19.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Covid-19 and the Higher Education Sector in Wales
This Wales Fiscal Analysis Briefing Paper reveals a stark series of findings pointing to a dramatic loss of tuition fee income for the Higher Education sector in Wales as a result of Covid-19.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Covid-19 and the Welsh Government Budget: Update No.1
This briefing provides an update on the Welsh Government’s budgetary response to the Covid-19 pandemic to date and how these measures and further packages will be funded. The last section analyses how the crisis has highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of Wales’ fiscal framework and suggests possible urgent reforms which may aid an effective budgetary response to the crisis.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
The Welsh Budget: implications from UK Budget 2020 and the fiscal response to COVID-19
This short briefing analyses the implications of the UK Budget 2020 measures and subsequent announcements on the Welsh Government budget. The analysis is the first of several outputs looking at the fiscal impact of the unprecedented situation regarding COVID-19.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Wales' Fiscal Future: A path to sustainability?
This provides a sober assessment of Wales’ current fiscal position as part of the UK, considers what would need to change for the fiscal deficit to reduce, and finally explores some of the fiscal and economic implications of Welsh independence. While not a comprehensive assessment, it is hoped this report will stimulate an informed and wide-ranging debate.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
The Welsh Budget 2020
This Wales Fiscal Analysis presentation was given to audiences in Cardiff and Bangor, analysing the 2020-21 Welsh Government budget.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Modelling behavioural responses to changes in Welsh Rates of Income Tax: Written Evidence
This Written Evidence was submitted to the Welsh Parliament Finance Committee inquiry into the impact of variations in national and sub-national income tax.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Austerity is over - for now
This Wales Fiscal Analysis briefing paper analyses the 2020-21 Welsh Government Draft Budget.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Hey Big Spender?
This briefing paper assesses the fiscal implications for Wales of party manifestos for the 2019 UK General Elections.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Trends in local government finance: October 2019
This briefing paper summarises recent trends in local government revenue and expenditure using the latest outturn data published for the 2018-19 financial year and presents the outlook for future years.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
UK Spending Review 2019: the implications for Wales
This Wales Fiscal Analysis briefing sets out the implications for Wales of the UK Government's 2019 Spending Review.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Public spending on the justice system for Wales
As part of the Wales Governance Centre’s project on Justice and Jurisdiction in Wales, this report examines the current scale and composition of public spending on the justice system for Wales.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Government Expenditure and Revenue Wales 2019
The 2019 edition of GERW, an analysis of Wales’ public spending, public sector revenues and the nation’s overall fiscal balance published by Wales Fiscal Analysis.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
The Public Sector in Wales
In this Wales Fiscal Analysis report, Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre reveals that in 2018, 20% of employees in Wales were working in the public sector, down from a peak of 27.4% in 2009.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Devolving Welfare: How well would Wales fare?
This report, submitted as evidence to a National Assembly committee inquiry, examines the financial implications of devolving the welfare benefits to Wales in line with Scotland.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Trends in the Welsh Income Tax base: an update
On April 6th, Welsh income taxpayers began paying the Welsh Rates of Income Tax. This report analyses what the latest trends mean for the Welsh income tax base and future Welsh Government budgets.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Spring Statement Briefing, March 2019
This briefing looks at what the March 2019 Spring Statement and forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) tell us about future Welsh budgets and Welsh public services.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Cut to the bone? An analysis of Local Government Finances in Wales, 2009-10 to 2017-18, and the outlook to 2023-24
This report from our ‘Wales Fiscal Analysis’ project shows that Welsh local authorities received £918.5m less from Welsh Government grants in 2017-18, compared to 2009-10.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Counting Consequentials: Analysing the Welsh Government Final Budget 2019-20 and Local Government Settlement
This briefing by the Wales Fiscal Analysis team looks at the changes from the Draft Budget in October, the implications for Welsh Government departmental spending and local authorities, and briefly assesses the outlook for future Welsh budgets beyond 2019-20.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
The Welsh Tax Base: Risks and Opportunities after Fiscal Devolution
Written by our researchers for the Wales Centre for Public Policy, this report highlights that the performance of the Welsh economy will directly impact potential future tax receipts.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Welsh Government Budgetary Trade-offs: Looking Forward to 2021-22
Public services in Wales could be facing another four years of cuts according to this report, jointly published by two think tanks based at the University.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Fair Funding for Taxing Times? Assessing the Fiscal Framework Agreement
Published by our researchers and the Institute for Fiscal Studies, this report assesses the new funding agreement between HM Treasury and the Welsh Government.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Barnett Squeezed? Options for a Funding Floor after Tax Devolution
This report assesses three options for the floor, and considers how such a floor might interact with the Welsh block grant after taxes are devolved to Wales from April 2018.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
For Wales Don’t (Always) See Scotland: Adjusting the Welsh Block Grant after Tax Devolution
In this paper, we analyse the different methods of adjusting the Welsh Block and how these could affect the Welsh Government’s budget and budgetary risks after tax devolution.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Devolving Stamp Duty and Landfill Tax to Wales
The report proposes a decoupling of the London and South East England property market from the calculation of Wales’ eventual budget settlement to mitigate the more extreme budget consequences of devolving Stamp Duty to Wales.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Estimating Wales’ Net Contribution to the European Union
The report is a part of our ongoing research projects in public finance and the impact of the European referendum in Wales.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Government Expenditure and Revenue Wales 2016
A comprehensive multi-year analysis of Wales’ public spending, public sector revenues and the nation’s overall fiscal balance published by the Wales Governance Centre.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
Income Tax and Wales: The Risks and Rewards of New Model Devolution
This report demonstrates that the method chosen to reduce the Welsh block grant to account for the additional income tax revenues has the potential to cause losses of hundreds of millions of pounds each year to the Welsh budget.
If this document cannot be read by your assistive software, you can request an accessible version by emailing web@cardiff.ac.uk. Please include the assistive tools you use and the format you require.
We organise lectures, debates, receptions and conferences, most of which are free and open to the public.