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John Van Reenen, an innovation expert and former Downing Street policy adviser under Tony Blair’s New Labour government, will head the body, which is expected to sit within the heart of the Treasury. Sources close ... Read more...
11 July 2024
From ending zero-hours contracts to boosting benefits, Britain's new government wants to shift power back to staff. Stephen Machin, Alan Manning and Jonathan Wadsworth explain how the power balance stands now. ... Read more...
07 July 2024
Political forecasting is a thankless task, especially so in today's Britain. Even still, it's worth looking at what may improve a particular party's chances in the 12 December election. One factor ... Read more...
05 November 2019
In a context made even more complicated by the situation in Ireland, the economists of the Center for Economic Performance of the LSE underline that the Brexiters also neglect the economic benefits of integration in the ... Read more...
25 September 2019
Britain is lurching towards an economic, political and moral disaster, writes John Van Reenen.... Read more...
26 August 2019
It is harder to quantify the emotional impact of losing a plant where generations of the same families had worked for a century. From the beach, the idle works hulk over the skyline. Research by Sascha Becker, Thiemo Fet... Read more...
06 June 2019
The 2018 Italian election had a notable geographic split in voting behaviour, with Lega having more support in the north of the country and the Five Star Movement proving more successful in the south. Monica L... Read more...
20 March 2018
An authoritative report last year by a team under MIT trade expert John Van Reenen for the Centre for Economic Performance estimated that a WTO option would cut British living standards by 2.7pc over time... Read more...
01 February 2018
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‘This paper estimates the welfare effects of Brexit in the medium to long run, focusing on trade and fiscal transfers. We use a standard quantitative general equilibrium trade model with many countries a... Read more...
23 October 2017
Recent research by London School of Economics academic George Ward shows that how people feel about their lives influences how they vote in elections. He believes that subjective measures of well-being are bet... Read more...
20 October 2017
…A paper in the latest American Economic Review (AER) provides an intriguing perspective on the issue. Tim Besley of the LSE and two Swedish colleagues carried out a very detailed empirical analysis ... Read more...
16 August 2017
A London School of Economics report in June showed that Britain was one of just three out of 28 countries that saw wages fall in real terms between 2007 and 2015. The only country where wages fell more... Read more...
09 August 2017
Private sector workers too have seen a significant drop in real term wages in recent years, with an LSE study estimating an effective 10% decrease since the financial crisis to 2015. ... Read more...
07 August 2017
According to Richard Layard, one of the study's leaders, "evidence shows that the things that matter most to happiness and misery are social relationships and mental and physical health." In his ... Read more...
10 July 2017
In the days since the fire, Grenfell Tower has been held up as a tragic symbol of the social ills facing Britain: a detached political class; nearly seven years of a government-led austerity program that has s... Read more...
23 June 2017
By Philippe Aghion and Benedicte Berner Emmanuel Macron’s one-man revolution in French and European politics continued this weekend, as he will soon be able to add a huge parliamentary majority ... Read more...
15 June 2017
Theresa May and the Tories’ ‘wage pain’ is leaving millions of people struggling to make ends meet warned Britain’s largest union, Unite as official figures out today (Wednesday 14 June... Read more...
14 June 2017
Snippet: ... Analysis from the London School of Economics shows that constituents with more young voters experienced marked increases in turnout compared to the 2015 election. Similar analysis has shown that t... Read more...
Article by Philippe Aghion and Benedicte Berner Emmanuel Macron’s one-man revolution in French and European politics continued this weekend, as he will soon be able to add a huge parliamentary majorit... Read more...
13 June 2017
But this election turned out to be much more than Brexit. “Economics is as much about humanity as policy”. Professor Swati Dhingra of the London School of Economics, in her article Salvaging Brexit... Read more...
Article by Thiemo Fetzer That the Labour party got 40% of the vote – against all odds – is being attributed to a higher turnout among young voters. Thiemo Fetzer‘s analysis finds that olde... Read more...
11 June 2017
In total, the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) calculates, it would be best for the British economy to remain part of the EU’s common market. Related publications ‘#GE2017Economists: The... Read more...
10 June 2017
Snippet: ...ana. “Without a strong mandate, Europe can ignore the UK’s demands. Even the UK’s threat to pull out of negotiations will now appear hollow and lacking the support of the British ... Read more...
09 June 2017
A year ago, in June 2016, the British voted on their country's EU membership. Economists and financial markets were in bright turmoil and warned of the consequences of a Brexit. Today, twelve months later,... Read more...
08 June 2017
The London School of Economics (LSE) has published a report assessing all of the party manifestos and how respective policies will affect key voter issues. Intended to be "objective, brief and non-tech... Read more...
For the first time in years, UK voters have a real choice between economic models The Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics has published a series of election analyses, looking a... Read more...
06 June 2017
Article by Swati Dhingra Unlike some other countries – the US and France spring to mind – trade has not been a major issue in recent UK elections. This reflected both EU membership and a broad p... Read more...
Demography and education are a much better explanation of the ‘Leave’ vote in the June 2016 Brexit referendum than the decline in public services or recent immigration. These are the conclusions of... Read more...
According to a London School of Economics (LSE) paper, Brits were the worst off when it came to their real wages, with pay falling by more than five percent between 2007 and 2015. Researchers for the presti... Read more...
05 June 2017
Following years of government budget cuts, parents are now turning to crowdfunding websites in order to provide basic school supplies. Appeals have been launched on websites including Justgiving.com for online... Read more...
Brexit In fact is a trauma that breaks the vertical chain of production of the value that ties the United Kingdom to the EU, with consequences not apparent immediately. Quantifying these costs is therefore a d... Read more...
The UK has suffered the biggest drop in average real wages of any OECD country except depression-wracked Greece, according to a pre-general election analysis published by the London School of Economi... Read more...
All of the UK’s main political parties now highlight the importance of an ‘industrial strategy’ with the aim of improving economic growth and achieving more balance in how its gains are distr... Read more...
30 May 2017
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee claims that nominal wage growth will return close to 4% by 2019 are "rather implausible and over-optimistic", according to two respected academics at the Cen... Read more...
The LSE study also states that immigration is not to blame for lower pay and prospects of low skilled workers. Academics behind the research said lower pay and prospects for UK workers was the result of the 20... Read more...
The parties all recognised funding shortfalls, rising costs, demographic pressures, increased expectations, and changes in health technology and medical practice, the London School of Economics Centre for Econ... Read more...
25 May 2017
Increases in policy uncertainty "foreshadow declines in investment, output and employment in the United States," according to the developers of the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, professors Scott... Read more...
22 May 2017
Increases "in policy uncertainty foreshadow declines in investment, output, and employment in the United States," the three professors who created the index wrote in a 2016 paper. The index was creat... Read more...
18 May 2017
Strong economic outlook may help cushion Trump through Washington turmoil Economists such as Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University Professor who’s been tracking the rising degree of uncertainty in rec... Read more...
17 May 2017
There are three reasons to be sceptical about the Bank’s forecasts for the growth in earnings in future years, and hence the recovery in real wages. One is that unemployment may not stay as low as 4.5 pe... Read more...
A dedicated tax is the only way that we can be sure the government is reflecting public wishes, says Richard Layard, but John Appleby argues it would not protect funding from economic uncertainty Yes—... Read more...
08 February 2017
"The idea of trade wars these days, what politicians have in mind is really a 19th-century or early 20th-century conception of trade," said Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, a trade economist at the London S... Read more...
31 January 2017
“I’m pretty skeptical Trump’s policies will reverse this process,” said John Van Reenen, a professor of economics at MIT who studies how technology and innovation affect profits and wag... Read more...
20 November 2016
The commonly held belief that immigrants hold down the wages of native workers is also doubtful. The economic literature is mixed although a paper by Marco Manacorda, Alan Manning and Jonathan Wadsworth of the... Read more...
17 November 2016
Dr Swati Dhingra interviewed, talking about the potential international implications of a Trump White House as well as initial reactions from (Brexit) UK. The interview was broadcast by CKWX News on the Ne... Read more...
16 November 2016
In her address to the Conservative party conference, the home secretary delivered a pointed speech saying that ''there is no case, in the national interest, for immigration of the scale we have experienced over the last ... Read more...
06 October 2015
Primary colours But, when it comes to the truth, Sala i Martin has refused to discuss publicly with Luis Garicano, another heavyweight, Professor at the London School of Economics. The worst has been disappointing argum... Read more...
21 September 2015
Nobel Prize winning economist Christopher Pissarides of the London School of Economics said Greece still ... This article was published online by The National Herald on September 10, 2015 Link to article here [subsc... Read more...
10 September 2015
Garicano: ''budgets will be 25,000 million'' The leaders of citizens believe that the General State budgets drawn up by the people's Party for 2016 hides a hole of more than 25,000 million. So Luis Garicano, Francisco d... Read more...
09 September 2015
A large body of empirical evidence suggests either that reasonable minimum wages do not destroy jobs at all, or that they do not destroy very many. The evidence is, of course, mixed and contested. Much of it comes from t... Read more...
10 July 2015
Article by John Van Reenen The most eye-catching announcement in today's budget was the National Living Wage. Now, this might be nothing more than a big hike in the minimum wage, but such increases can be beneficial. ... Read more...
09 July 2015
In the freedom to make life choices, too, India performs poorly. There are many inherent inhibitions in this freedom, mainly for women. Richard Layard, director of the Wellbeing Programme at the London School of Economi... Read more...
05 June 2015
... 400 000 emplois publics supprimes La realite est pourtant que son mandat a ete divise en deux parties. L'essentiel des mesures de rigueur a ete realise dans les deux premieres annees: hausse de la TVA, reduction dras... Read more...
07 May 2015
Javier Ortega, of the Centre for Economic Performance, interviewed on the UK 2015 General Election and issues of austerity. The interview was broadcast by Capital Radio Madrid (Spain) on May 6, 2015 Link to the broadca... Read more...
06 May 2015
John Van Reenen, director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, brings a summary of factors that may influence the choice of the ballot box. The interview on Capital Radio Madrid (Spa... Read more...
05 May 2015
The Conversation is fact checking political statements in the lead-up to the May UK general election. Statements are checked by an academic with expertise in the area. A second academic expert reviews an anonymous copy o... Read more...
28 April 2015
CEP Director Professor John Van Reenen reveals the economic policy he would put in his election manifesto. The interview was recorded for Share Radio on 28 April 2015 Link to the interview here Related links John... Read more...
Both labour and its opponents make too much of a new policy Labour made two housing policy commitments over the weekend, only one of which was interesting. The uninteresting one was the promise to cut stamp duty for fir... Read more...
27 April 2015
London School of Economics professor John Van Reenen said Britain was also suffering from government inaction over infrastructure such as high-speed broadband, roads and airports. This article was published online by ... Read more...
26 April 2015
In a significant repositioning of Labour's views on immigration, Ed Miliband on Saturday pledged a series of measures to control immigration if his party is voted to power. Jonathan Wadsworth of the London School of... Read more...
19 April 2015
A recent study from the Centre for Economic Performance has measured the impact on the UK economy of leaving the EU, which as the second chart shows is still the UK’s biggest trading partner. The study conclu... Read more...
There are signs that inequality in the UK is beginning to rise again following tax and benefit changes introduced since 2010, an economic analysis has found. The study by the Centre for Economic Performance found the... Read more...
17 April 2015
Article by Ian Preston, Andrew Street, Claudia Hupkau, David Chivers, Peter Beresford and Simon Burgess The Conversation's Manifesto Check, where academics subject each party's election manifesto to unbiased, expert scr... Read more...
If Britain's top economists were in charge, what policies would they implement? Tim Harford sets the challenge. "Low productivity is the number one problem Britain faces" says Van Reenen. "Even before the crisis, it l... Read more...
Article by Sandra McNally The Conservative Party manifesto makes the following commitments in the area of school-age education: •A good primary school place for your child with zero tolerance for failure. •... Read more...
16 April 2015
A Labour/SNP coalition would mean massive tax increases for higher earners, big companies, banks and others. A fascinating paper by Alan Manning, published by the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic ... Read more...
On paper, the Conservatives should reap dividends from a sharp recovery in Britain's economy which outpaced the world's other big, rich nations last year. Employment has surged, including in the West Midlands wher... Read more...
Article by Claudia Hupkau The Conversation's Manifesto Check deploys academic expertise to scrutinise the parties' plans. The Liberal Democrats have announced their vision for skills policy over the next parliament in ... Read more...
15 April 2015
Article by Hilary Steedman Welcome to The Conversation's Manifesto Check, where academics from across the UK subject each party's manifesto to unbiased, expert scrutiny. The Conservative manifesto skates over some unco... Read more...
Article by Maria Goddard, Anand Menon, Christine Merrell, Claudia Hupkau, Hilary Steedman, Ian Preston, Jonathan Perraton and Steve Higgins Welcome to The Conversation's Manifesto Check, where academics subject each par... Read more...
13 April 2015
Article by Hilary Steedman and Claudia Hupkau Hilary Steedman, London School of Economics and Political Science Labour's election manifesto promises four initiatives in the area of skills and apprenticeships; the Compu... Read more...
01 April 2015
31 March 2015
It looks good for the Tories, the economy is recovering and employment is up. BUT, as an LSE economist put it, ''When viewed over the longer term, the state of the UK economy is not pretty''. ... Why is this? Two reasons... Read more...
The possible spending plans of Labour and the Tories illustrate the fact that there are real choices to be made at the election, writes John Van Reenen. When viewed over the longer term, the state of the UK economy is n... Read more...
30 March 2015
Then there is the vital question of productivity. As Professor John van Reenen from the LSE observes, ''What the Chancellor didn't mention is that UK GDP per person is 16 per cent lower than we would have expected on pr... Read more...
27 March 2015
Since the global financial crisis, workers' real wages and family living standards in the UK have suffered to an extent unprecedented in modern history. The one group in society for whom living standards have risen since... Read more...
26 March 2015
The big squeeze in UK living standards after the 2008 crash has been driven by a historically large squeeze in real wages (wages taking into account inflation). This was all set out in a new report from the Centre for Ec... Read more...
Article by Sandra McNally With education policy set to play an important part in the May general election campaign, debates around the future direction of the school system will take place against the backdrop of fast-p... Read more...
24 March 2015
The government made three arguments for accelerated austerity. None was persuasive. Here are three indicators of the extent to which the economy has gone ex-growth: real gross domestic product per head at the end of 201... Read more...
19 March 2015
Article by John Van Reenen Public service spending is in for a rollercoaster ride. The implication of the Autumn Statement was that public service spending would be cut to levels not seen since 1948. Now they will be 36... Read more...
The story of the first coalition government in Britain since the second world war is the story of austerity and thwarted deficit reduction plans. It is the story of a delayed economic recovery. It is the story of falling... Read more...
15 March 2015
It is likely that there will be tax increases after the election whoever wins, concludes a new report from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), based at LSE, in the latest in a series of background briefings on the... Read more...
13 March 2015
John Van Reenen examines the spending plans of the three major parties over the next Parliament, finding that, while all are currently planning for continued and severe austerity, the Conservatives' plan would bring down... Read more...
12 March 2015
11 March 2015
Article by Professor John Van Reenen, Director of the Centre for Economic Performance All elections since 1992 have been followed by net tax increases of around £5 billion in today's money. It is therefore incumbe... Read more...
Discover the Government to catapult the economy and the stock market in Spain In a double election year in Spain, what is the best option to boost economic growth and improve our living conditions? ... We also believe... Read more...
10 March 2015
Spain prepares for bipartisanship in a crowded election year His economic program, developed by a professor at the London School of Economics, Luis Garicano, reassures companies. It also has support from the media. ... Read more...
Immigration and security minister James Brokenshire responded ... ''Uncontrolled, mass immigration makes it difficult to maintain social cohesion, puts pressure on public services and can force down wages.'' But even a m... Read more...
03 March 2015
A new report from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) shows that there is no evidence of a negative impact of immigration on jobs, wages, housing or the crowding out of public services. The author, Professor Jonath... Read more...
27 February 2015
Political risk is back on the worry list for economists, with opinion polls increasingly suggesting neither of the two main parties will win an outright victory in May's general election. More than 60 per cent of 85 e... Read more...
01 January 2015
The 2010 General Election is shaping up to be the closest in living memory with a three-horse race between the main parties. It is also an extremely important election as there are tremendous economic problems facing the... Read more...
04 May 2010