The Institute for Fiscal Studies is a research institute which exists to provide top quality economic analysis independent of government, political party or any other vested interest. IFS exerts substantial influence through publications, the media, close contacts with civil servants and regular meetings with Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet members. The IFS promotes effective economic and social policies by understanding better their impact on individuals, families, businesses and the government's finances. Their findings are based on rigorous analysis, detailed empirical evidence and in-depth institutional knowledge. James Mirrlees is Professor Emeritus of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinty College. He was previously Edgeworth Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford (1968-95). In 1996 he won the Nobel Prize for Economics for fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information. He is currently Distinguished Professor-at-Large in the Chinese University of Hong King and Distinguished Professor at the University of Macau.