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CentrePiece

The Centre's magazine features new research and policy ideas from the CEP. Written for non-specialist readers, CentrePiece articles are analytical, rigorously-evidenced and showcase the latest economic methods. Published three times a year.

By Raphael Whittle
CentrePiece Summer 2024: The failing planning system

A failure to build enough houses has widespread economic consequences. This month's CentrePiece cover story explains how employment, productivity and equality have been damaged.
Illustration from CentrePiece Summer 2024
How climate change concerns affect voters

Maria Cotofan, Karlygash Kuralbayeva and Konstantinos Matakos examine how spikes in temperature influence political behaviour and how age groups respond differently.

Latest CentrePiece articles

CentrePiece article
in brief... Could a new policy institution help solve the UK’s productivity problem?

Comparatively sluggish productivity growth is one of the UK’s biggest policy challenges. Past strategies to solve the problem have lacked both sustained commitment and proper evaluation. Anna Valero and Bart van Ark call...Read more...

Anna Valero and Bart van Ark

20 June 2024

CentrePiece article
How climate change concerns affect voters

The effects of climate change have become far more noticeable in recent years, with abnormally high temperatures recorded across the world. Maria Cotofan, Karlygash Kuralbayeva and Konstantinos Matakos examine how spikes...Read more...

Maria Cotofan, Karlygash Kuralbayeva and Konstantinos Matakos

20 June 2024

CentrePiece article
in brief... Why representation in economics matters

To inspire the next generation of black economists, how important is it for them to see people like themselves working in the profession? Felicia Odamtten, an economist at the Resolution Foundation and founder of The Bla...Read more...

Felicia Odamtten

20 June 2024

CentrePiece article
The national minimum wage: 25 years on

It is now just over a quarter of a century since a national minimum wage was introduced in the UK. Once a source of controversy due to fears that it would lead to fewer jobs, the policy has instead proved to be highly su...Read more...

Stephen Machin

20 June 2024

CentrePiece article
Police workload linked to victim statement withdrawals

Partners or family members are responsible for nearly half of the women killed each year in the UK, and many of these deaths follow long periods of domestic abuse. Yet in recent years, the rate of statement withdrawal by...Read more...

Tom Kirchmaier and Ekaterina Oparina

20 June 2024

CentrePiece article
The economic costs of the failing planning system

Paul Cheshire began to investigate the economic effects of the UK’s planning system 40 years ago. Here he draws on a recent public lecture – and panel discussion with Stephen Aldridge, Kate Barker and Simon Wolfson – to ...Read more...

Paul Cheshire

20 June 2024

CentrePiece article
Online tutoring can transform education for disadvantaged youngsters

Online tutoring can transform education for disadvantaged youngsters Online tutoring has emerged as an effective strategy for narrowing the educational gaps that were exacerbated by the pandemic. Lucas Gortazar, Claudia ...Read more...

Lucas Gortazar, Claudia Hupkau and Antonio Roldan Mones

20 June 2024

CentrePiece article
A generation scarred by the Covid-19 pandemic

The impact of the pandemic on education means that pupils in England are on course for lower GCSE grades well into the 2030s. Lee Elliot Major, Andrew Eyles, Esme Lillywhite and Stephen Machin say that the school system ...Read more...

Lee Elliot Major, Andrew Eyles, Esme Lillywhite and Stephen Machin

20 June 2024

CentrePiece article
Do large firms generate positive productivity spillovers?

The potentially negative effects of market concentration on consumers and workers has received much attention, but Mary Amiti, Cédric Duprez, Jozef Konings and John Van Reenen find that big firms can also promote product...Read more...

Mary Amiti, Cedric Duprez, Jozef Konings and John Van Reenen

20 February 2024

CentrePiece article
In brief... The discussion of immigration needs to improve

Those who believe in a more open, liberal approach to immigration often frame their argument as being on the side of ‘good economics’ versus ‘bad politics’. Alan Manning explains why the arguments presented as ‘good econ...Read more...

Alan Manning

20 February 2024

CentrePiece article
How much is your time worth?

Wages indicate how much people want for their time at work, but how can we find out what value they place on time spent doing other things? Christian Krekel and George MacKerron analyse over two million responses to a sm...Read more...

Christian Krekel and George MacKerron

20 February 2024

CentrePiece article
How where you live affects your pay

Tackling inequality between regions within a country has become a political priority across much of the advanced world. Luis Bauluz, Pawel Bukowski, Mark Fransham, Annie Seong Lee, Neil Lee, Margarita Lopez Forero, Filip...Read more...

Luis Bauluz, Pawel Bukowski, Mark Fransham, Annie Seong Lee, Neil Lee, Margarita Lopez Forero, Filip Novokmet and Moritz Schularick

20 February 2024

CentrePiece article
Ending stagnation

What can be done to address Britain’s relative economic decline over the past decade and a half? The final report of the Economy 2030 Inquiry presents an ambitious strategy for reversing decades of under-investment, by t...Read more...

20 February 2024

CentrePiece article
Gender gaps from labour market downturns

How quickly do men and women find work after mass lay-offs due to workplace closures? Research by Ria Ivandic and Anne Sophie Lassen reveals that women face a greater risk of unemployment than men and lose a larger share...Read more...

Ria Ivandic and Anne Sophie Lassen

20 February 2024

CentrePiece article
Claudia Goldin: the economics of women and the labour market

The study of gender was far from mainstream in economics when Claudia Goldin began her research on women and work in the 1980s. Barbara Petrongolo discusses the impact of the 2023 economics Nobel laureate in shaping toda...Read more...

Barbara Petrongolo

20 February 2024

CentrePiece article
CEP Insights: Places and...

CEP research on cities and regions examines the drivers of spatial disparities - what leads certain parts of the country to be richer and others poorer? It explores the impact on economic development and policies that ma...Read more...

20 October 2023

CentrePiece article
In brief... What girls study influences their offspring's health at birth

Educational reform can have a powerful impact on people's health with benefits for the next generation. Pilar Cuevas-Ruiz, Cristina Borra and Almudena Sevilla show how....Read more...

Cristina Borra, Pilar Cuevas-Ruiz and Almudena Sevilla

20 October 2023

CentrePiece article
In brief... The pandemic of 1918: effects on religiosity and innovation

When faced with catastrophic events, do people turn to religion or science? Enrico Berkes, Davide Coluccia, Gaia Dossi and Mara Squicciarini find that both reactions can occur at the same time: people affected by the flu...Read more...

Enrico Berkes, Davide M. Coluccia, Gaia Dossi and Mara P. Squicciarini

20 October 2023

CentrePiece article
Scars of war

Deaths of soldiers in wartime naturally have a powerful impact on the communities from which they come. Research by Edward Pinchbeck, Felipe Carozzi and Luca Repetto reveals how losses in the first world war have reverbe...Read more...

Felipe Carozzi, Edward W. Pinchbeck and Luca Repetto

20 October 2023

CentrePiece article
The rising tide of school absences in the post-pandemic era

New research reveals that school attendance in the UK is still well below the pre-pandemic norm. Andrew Eyles, Esme Lillywhite and Lee Elliot Major outline the scale of continued absenteeism among pupils across the count...Read more...

Lee Elliot Major, Andrew Eyles and Esme Lillywhite

20 October 2023

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