Rowena Crawford

Annuity choices and income drawdown: evidence from the decumulation phase of defined contribution pensions in England

We provide new empirical evidence on the importance of defined contribution pension wealth in England, and the nature of annuitization decisions taken by older adults who retire with such sources of wealth. Other things equal, financial literacy, and numeracy in particular, are important factors governing individuals’ choices over whether to shop around for an annuity as opposed to taking the ‘path of least resistance’ option and purchasing from their original pension fund provider. This has important policy and welfare implications given that buying an annuity on the open market has significant financial benefits for most people. In the context of the increasing reliance on private provision for retirement, the importance of individuals having the financial literacy to successfully navigate complex financial decisions late in life should not be underestimated.

Fiscal Challenges and Opportunities for an Independent Scotland

This paper looks at some of the key fiscal questions related to Scottish independence, drawing on detailed analysis of household survey data, official data on public spending and revenues, and using a model of the UK and Scotlands public finances over the next half a century. We examine how and why public spending on, and revenues raised from, Scotland differ from the average across the UK, and how Scotlands fiscal position might be expected to evolve over the next 50 years under current policies.

Wage regulation and the quality of police applicants

Pay structures may not reflect differences in individual productivity and effort; in particular, public pay regulation can distort labour markets. We analyse the impact of nationally regulated pay on the quality of applicants to be police officers across England and Wales, exploiting a unique dataset of individual test scores from the national assessment required of all police applicants, and combining this with data on local labour markets and policing conditions. National wage setting impacts on the quality of police applicants through two channels: first, through spatial variations in the relative wage of policing compared to other occupations, and second, because national wages cannot compensate for local variations in the disamenity of policing. We also provide preliminary evidence on whether police recruit quality is associated with police force performance.