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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.

Image from CentrePiece Summer 2021. Designer Raphael Whittle
CentrePiece Summer 2021
Growth, equality and sustainability

This year, CEP marks it's 30th anniversasry with a series of publications and events on some of the core research themes over three decades - how to increase wellbeing, reduce inequality and improve public policy-making. All feature in the latest issue of CentrePiece magazine. Read more...
Illustration from CentrePiece Summer 2021
The motherhood penalty for working women in Spain

Spain has seen a huge influx of women into the workplace in recent decades, but their experiencs of work remain very different from those of men. Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela explain there's scope for family-friendly policies to close gender gaps in the workplace. Read more...

All CentrePiece articles

CentrePiece article
Beyond income inequality: non-monetary rewards to work

Discussion of income inequality focuses primarily on wages with limited consideration of the non-monetary rewards to work, not least the satisfaction that employees experience in doing their jobs. Andrew Clark, Maria Cot...Read more...

Andrew E. Clark, Maria Cotofan and Richard Layard

15 June 2021

CentrePiece article
The motherhood penalty for working women in Spain

Spain has seen a huge influx of women into the workplace in recent decades, but their experiences of work remain very different from those of men. As Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela explain, there is scope for...Read more...

Claudia Hupkau and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

15 June 2021

CentrePiece article
in brief... Covid-19 and self-employment

The pandemic has had particularly damaging economic effects on self-employed people in the UK. CEP has now run three surveys to capture the experience of these workers during the crisis. Stephen Machin and Maria Ventura ...Read more...

Stephen Machin and Maria Ventura

15 June 2021

CentrePiece article
The impact of regulation on innovation

It is widely feared that private sector innovation is constrained by 'red tape'. Philippe Aghion and colleagues test that view on data from France, where firms of more than 50 employees face far heavier regulatory obliga...Read more...

Philippe Aghion

15 June 2021

CentrePiece article
UK house prices in Covid-19 times

The pandemic lead to increased demand for bigger homes and gardens. With housing supply limited by strict UK planning regulations and the market propped up by a stamp duty waiver and the furlough scheme, prices of detach...Read more...

Paul Cheshire, Christian A. L. Hilber and Olivier Schöni

15 June 2021

CentrePiece article
in brief... Competition and pass-through on the Greek islands

A fundamental issue in economics is how firms deal with unexpected cost increases, perhaps arising from taxes, exchange rate fluctuations or rising input prices: what drives the extent to which they pass the costs throug...Read more...

Christos Genakos and Mario Pagliero

15 June 2021

CentrePiece article
Going for growth that's sustainable and equitable

In the second anniversary lecture marking 30 years since CEP began, former director John Van Reenen focused on productivity, an issue that has been at the heart of the Centre's work for three decades. He sets out how tec...Read more...

John Van Reenen

15 June 2021

CentrePiece article
Ethnic minorities and the UK labour market

Contrary to the impression given by the Sewell Report, there has been little change in disparities in pay, employment and unemployment among different ethnic groups in the UK over the past 25 years. Indeed, as analysis o...Read more...

Alan Manning and Rebecca Rose

15 June 2021

CentrePiece article
Lockdown and the social life of big cities

The effects of Covid-19 on the social lives of city dwellers - being able to go to the pub, restaurants and theatre - may be more relevant for the future of cities than its impact on work. That's the implication of a tho...Read more...

Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt, Fabian Bald, Duncan Roth and Tobias Seidel

1 March 2021

CentrePiece article
Will coronavirus cause a big city exodus?

Big cities thrive because of the economic and social benefits of proximity – but proximity also helps to spread Covid-19. Does this mean an end to the urban revival of recent years – or do vaccines herald a return to nor...Read more...

Max Nathan and Henry G. Overman

1 March 2021

CentrePiece article
in brief... The long shadow of slavery

The politics and economy of the antebellum American South were dominated by those who practiced forced enslavement. Research by Luna Bellani, Anselm Hager and Stephan Maurer, which examines a database of Texas legislator...Read more...

Luna Bellani, Anselm Hager and Stephan E. Maurer

1 March 2021

CentrePiece article
Innovation policy to restore American prosperity

The new US administration has the opportunity to reset an economic model that has failed to deliver prosperity for millions of Americans for decades. John Van Reenen calls for a Grand Innovation Challenge Fund – federal ...Read more...

John Van Reenen

1 March 2021

CentrePiece article
in brief... Losses in lockdown: jobs, income, education and mental health

During the pandemic, many parents have had to cope with losing their jobs or part of their income at the same time as they are obliged to manage home schooling. Claudia Hupkau, Ingo Isphording, Stephen Machin and Jenifer...Read more...

Claudia Hupkau, Ingo Isphording, Stephen Machin and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

1 March 2021

CentrePiece article
In brief... Lockdown, recession and crime

What has happened to criminal activity in England and Wales during the pandemic? Tom Kirchmaier and Carmen VillaLlera explore the effects of lockdown and job loss on the kinds of crimes being committed – and the ability ...Read more...

Tom Kirchmaier and Carmen Villa-Llera

1 March 2021

CentrePiece article
Is Tokyo 2020 worth it?

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have been rescheduled to take place in July and August this year. Christian Krekel uses tools from the new science of wellbeing to assess whether the event should still go ahead and how likel...Read more...

Christian Krekel

1 March 2021

CentrePiece article
Build back happier

In CEP’s first anniversary lecture marking 30 years since the Centre began, founder director Richard Layard outlined the science of wellbeing and its implications for public policy. As society tries to recover from the c...Read more...

Richard Layard

1 March 2021

CentrePiece article
In brief... The lasting impact of epidemics

What can we learn about the potential effects of Covid-19 by looking at plagues of the past? According to Jeremiah Dittmar and Ralf Meisenzahl, history suggests that experiences of severe suffering can lead populations t...Read more...

Jeremiah Dittmar and Ralph R. Meisenzahl

2 November 2020

CentrePiece article
Lessons in resilience from extreme economies

Covid-19 has shifted attention away from day-to-day matters to a question that is more fundamental, yet rarely asked by economists: how can we ensure resilience in the most pressurised times imaginable? Richard Davies dr...Read more...

Richard Davies

2 November 2020

CentrePiece article
In brief... Monopsony in labour markets: what it is, why it matters

Many firms are able to exploit the fact that it is hard for workers to move from one employer to another, keeping wages lower than they would be in a competitive market. As Alan Manning explains, labour markets are becom...Read more...

Alan Manning

2 November 2020

CentrePiece article
Globalisation and pandemics: surprising interactions

Pandemics are only possible because of international travel. But perhaps surprisingly, in the absence of social distancing, a more globalised country will not necessarily suffer a worse outbreak. Pol Antràs, Stephen Redd...Read more...

Pol Antràs, Stephen J. Redding and Esteban Rossi-Hansberg

2 November 2020

CentrePiece article
Innovation in the time of Covid-19

Businesses have rapidly adopted new technologies and new ways of working in response to the massive disruptions caused by the pandemic. A CEP report by Capucine Riom and Anna Valero suggests that if such innovation conti...Read more...

Capucine Riom and Anna Valero

2 November 2020

CentrePiece article
In brief... Economics of skyscrapers

Many tall buildings appear to be out of scale given contemporary perceptions. But according to Gabriel Ahlfeldt and Jason Barr, the vast majority have a solid economic case for their construction....Read more...

Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt and Jason Barr

2 November 2020

CentrePiece article
Happier lives: exploring what matters

Can we teach people to live happier and more pro-social lives? Are there cost-effective and scalable interventions? And could the effects be sustained over time? Christian Krekel and colleagues have evaluated the impact ...Read more...

Christian Krekel, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Daisy Fancourt and Richard Layard

2 November 2020

CentrePiece article
In brief... City of dreams no more: Covid-19 in urban India

The pandemic has decimated livelihoods in urban India and created a new underclass of workers who are being pushed into poverty. A CEP report by Shania Bhalotia, Swati Dhingra and Fjolla Kondirolli calls for a national w...Read more...

Shania Bhalotia, Swati Dhingra and Fjolla Kondirolli

2 November 2020

CentrePiece article
Where is the land of hope and glory?

Children’s chances of doing well at school, going to university, getting a good job and owning a house are strongly influenced by their parents’ education, occupation and home ownership – but what about the impact of whe...Read more...

Brian Bell, Jack Blundell and Stephen Machin

2 November 2020

CentrePiece article
In brief...Apprenticeships after Covid-19

Guglielmo Ventura outlines the challenges for England's apprenticeship system as economic and social activity resumes...Read more...

Guglielmo Ventura

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
Covid-19 and the future of international supply chains

Frank Pisch analyses 'just-in-time' production networks to assess the prospects for world trade after Covid-19...Read more...

Frank Pisch

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
Covid-19 and social mobility

Lee Elliot Major and Stephen Machin propose urgent actions to tackle economic and educational inequalities in Britain...Read more...

Lee Elliot Major and Stephen Machin

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
Covid-19 and the work patterns of men and women

Claudia Hupkau and Barbara Petrongolo explore the impact of the pandemic on women's labour market prospects and ‘home production' responsibilities...Read more...

Claudia Hupkau and Barbara Petrongolo

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
Covid-19 and the future of self-employment

Jack Blundell reports how self-employed workers have been particularly hard hit by the crisis....Read more...

Jack Blundell

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
Covid-19 and Brexit: contrasting sectoral effects

Josh De Lyon and Swati Dhingra show that the UK sectors suffering less during lockdown are those most exposed to damage from leaving the European Union....Read more...

Josh De Lyon and Swati Dhingra

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
In brief...Tackling domestic violence using machine learning

Artificial intelligence could help to protect victims of domestic violence, according to research by Jeffrey Grogger, Ria Ivandic and Tom Kirchmaier...Read more...

Jeffrey Grogger, Ria Ivandic and Tom Kirchmaier

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
Domestic abuse in times of quarantine

Crime economists Ria Ivandic and Tom Kirchmaier look at data on domestic abuse calls to the police in London....Read more...

Ria Ivandic and Tom Kirchmaier

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
Climate change policy: the case for a Covid-19 carbon tax

Ralf Martin and John Van Reenen explain how taxing emissions could help to meet the costs of the crisis and encourage investment in clean innovation....Read more...

Ralf Martin and John Van Reenen

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
Build back better: key areas for a post-pandemic recovery

Anna Valero and colleagues lay out an action plan for the UK policy response to Covid-19...Read more...

Nick Robins, James Rydge, Nicholas Stern, Sam Unsworth, Anna Valero and Dimitri Zenghelis

15 July 2020

CentrePiece article
In brief...Pupil exclusion in academy schools

Schools in England that became academies before 2010 typically began to exclude significant numbers of their more disruptive pupils. Research by Stephen Machin and Matteo Sandi suggests that this was the result of the st...Read more...

Stephen Machin and Matteo Sandi

2 March 2020

CentrePiece article
TV superstars: how a new technology disrupted the entertainment industry

The rollout of television to virtually every household in the United States in the mid-twentieth century created a potentially huge audience for people working in the entertainment industry. As Felix Koenig explains, thi...Read more...

Felix Koenig

2 March 2020

CentrePiece article
In brief...Mismatched students and universities

Higher education has long been thought of as a tool to equalise opportunities. But according to research by Gill Wyness and colleagues, if we really want to improve the life chances of disadvantaged students, we need to ...Read more...

Gill Wyness

2 March 2020

CentrePiece article
The cost of being young: measuring intergenerational consumer prices

The UK's young adults are navigating a very different economic landscape to earlier generations, including low real wage growth, lower likelihood of owning their own home and the uncertain prospects of Brexit. Rahat Sidd...Read more...

Rahat Siddique

2 March 2020

CentrePiece article
In brief...Swings and silicon roundabouts: does cluster policy work?

Despite scepticism among researchers, policies to promote geographical clusters of firms in the same sector remain popular. Max Nathan evaluates a flagship programme set up a decade ago to accelerate the growth of Tech C...Read more...

Max Nathan

2 March 2020

CentrePiece article
People, places and politics: the challenge of 'levelling up' the UK

As has been much discussed since the election, economic performance varies widely among the towns, cities and regions of the UK. Henry Overman argues that policies to address these spatial disparities should be judged on...Read more...

Henry G. Overman

2 March 2020

CentrePiece article
The UK's self-employed workers: who they are and what they need

One in seven people in the UK workforce is now in self-employment – but this is a very diverse community. Jack Blundell is developing a typology of self-employed workers, which can then be used to assess differences in h...Read more...

Jack Blundell

2 March 2020

CentrePiece article
Can we be happier?

If the goal for society is the greatest possible all-round happiness, how can that be achieved? Richard Layard and George Ward outline the evidence on what explains the huge variation in people's life satisfaction – and ...Read more...

Richard Layard and George Ward

2 March 2020

CentrePiece article
In brief...Big city, bright future: why birthplace matters so much

How much does where you were born influence your future earnings? Analysing data from the British Household Panel Survey, Clément Bosquet and Henry Overman reveal that, on average, someone born in London in the 1970s ear...Read more...

Clément Bosquet and Henry G. Overman

1 November 2019

CentrePiece article
Generation gap: young Brits less likely to 'do better' than their parents

Doing better financially than your parents is an important marker of success, and for much of the last half century, real earnings growth in the UK was strong enough that most young people achieved this milestone. But re...Read more...

Jo Blanden, Stephen Machin and Sumaiya Rahman

1 November 2019

CentrePiece article
In brief...The long-term effects of financial distress in childhood

Is there a relationship between childhood circumstances and outcomes later in life? Andrew Clark and colleagues consider the cognitive and non-cognitive consequences for young adults whose families experienced major fina...Read more...

Marta Barazzetta, Andrew E. Clark and Conchita D'Ambrosio

1 November 2019

CentrePiece article
Business benefits of local universities: more skills and better management

Universities are widely seen as a source of strength for local economies. Research by Andy Feng and Anna Valero confirms their potential contribution to business: firms closer to universities tend to hire better managers...Read more...

Andy Feng and Anna Valero

1 November 2019

CentrePiece article
Structured management: how firms can hire and keep the best people

Firms' decisions about whom to hire and fire have big effects, not only on their own bottom line but also on the functioning of the labour market and the performance of the whole economy. Analysis of Brazilian data by Da...Read more...

Christopher Cornwell, Ian M. Schmutte and Daniela Scur

1 November 2019

CentrePiece article
Between communism and capitalism: long-run inequality in Poland

How has inequality in Poland evolved between communism and capitalism to reach one of the highest levels in Europe today? Pawel Bukowski and Filip Novokmet chart a century of data on Polish inequality, 1892-2015, to exam...Read more...

Pawel Bukowski and Filip Novokmet

1 November 2019

CentrePiece article
When machines replace people: individual consequences of occupational decline

What happens to people's careers when demand for their occupations declines, often as a result of technological change? Guy Michaels and colleagues' analysis of detailed occupational data on Swedish workers over several ...Read more...

Per-Anders Edin, Tiernan Evans, Georg Graetz, Sofia Hernnäs and Guy Michaels

1 November 2019

CentrePiece article
The gig economy and workers' preferences for steady jobs

Is the rise of gig work, freelancing, zero hours contracts and self-employment a result of people wanting such work or because they have no other choice? Nikhil Datta finds that while workers in the gig economy may like ...Read more...

Nikhil Datta

1 November 2019

CentrePiece article
Jihadi attacks, the media and anti-Muslim hate crime

Do international jihadi terror attacks lead to an increase in local anti-Muslim hate crimes? Analysing data from the Greater Manchester Police, Ria Ivandic, Tom Kirchmaier and Stephen Machin find that the Muslim populati...Read more...

Ria Ivandic, Tom Kirchmaier and Stephen Machin

1 July 2019

CentrePiece article
Healthy Minds: the positive impact of a new school curriculum

As the UK government prepares to make personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education compulsory, a recent trial shows how these subjects can be taught successfully. Grace Lordan and Alistair McGuire evaluate the ...Read more...

Grace Lordan and Alistair McGuire

1 July 2019

CentrePiece article
Workers' falling share of firms' profits

To what extent do UK companies share their profits with employees? Brian Bell, Pawel Bukowski and Stephen Machin find that rent-sharing is on a much smaller scale today than during the 1980s and 1990s – and that the decl...Read more...

Brian Bell, Pawel Bukowski and Stephen Machin

1 July 2019

CentrePiece article
Employee wellbeing: the impact on productivity and firm performance

Does having happier staff mean higher productivity and improvements in companies' bottom line? A study of over 1.8 million employees across 73 countries by Christian Krekel, George Ward and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve detects a...Read more...

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Christian Krekel and George Ward

1 July 2019

CentrePiece article
Firm size, productivity and pay in today's service economy

The evidence that bigger firms pay higher wages and have higher productivity is based mainly on manufacturing, which is only a small share of today's economy. Giuseppe Berlingieri, Sara Calligaris and Chiara Criscuolo re...Read more...

Giuseppe Berlingieri, Sara Calligaris and Chiara Criscuolo

1 July 2019

CentrePiece article
In brief...Globalisation and its discontents

CEP's Trade Week brought together researchers and policy-makers to discuss the recent trend towards protectionism, its causes and directions for future policy. Josh De Lyon and Elsa Leromain report....Read more...

Josh De Lyon and Elsa Leromain

1 July 2019

CentrePiece article
The impact of the 2018 trade war on US prices and welfare

What has been happening to the US economy as a result of the Trump administration's 2018 round of import tariffs? Research by Mary Amiti, Stephen Redding and David Weinstein estimates the effects of this change in US tra...Read more...

Mary Amiti, Stephen J. Redding and David E. Weinstein

1 July 2019

CentrePiece article
In brief...Brexit and outward investment by UK firms

Media reports have highlighted that some UK firms have started to move production abroad in anticipation of Brexit. CEP analysis confirms that there has indeed been a substantial increase in outward investments. The shif...Read more...

Holger Breinlich, Elsa Leromain, Dennis Novy and Thomas Sampson

1 July 2019

CentrePiece article
Trade and deskilling: how the post-referendum sterling depreciation hurt workers

The unexpected result of the Brexit referendum, working through the rapid depreciation of sterling, had a sizable negative impact on UK workers. New CEP work by Rui Costa, Swati Dhingra and Stephen Machin shows that the ...Read more...

Rui Costa, Swati Dhingra and Stephen Machin

1 July 2019

CentrePiece article
Sustainable growth in the UK

Anna Valero and colleagues urge the UK government to put action on climate change and sustainability at the heart of its growth strategy....Read more...

Ralf Martin, James Rydge and Anna Valero

1 March 2019

CentrePiece article
Measuring the economic costs of discrimination: insights from Nazi Germany

Kilian Huber and colleagues analyse the effects of the Nazis' purge of Jewish managers from German firms....Read more...

Kilian Huber, Volker Lindenthal and Fabian Waldinger

1 March 2019

CentrePiece article
The making of the modern metropolis: evidence from London

Stephen Redding and colleagues examine how the introduction of steam railways shaped the emerging metropolitan area of London....Read more...

Stephan Heblich, Stephen J. Redding and Daniel M. Sturm

1 March 2019

CentrePiece article
Trade and growth in the Iron Age

Stephan Maurer and colleagues investigate the growth effects of one of the first trade expansions in history: the crossing of the Mediterranean by the Phoenicians ...Read more...

Jan David Bakker, Stephan E. Maurer, Jörn-Steffen Pischke and Ferdinand Rauch

1 March 2019

CentrePiece article
In brief...What the Berlin Wall can teach us about urban development

Award-winning CEP research considers what can be learned from the division and reunification of Berlin....Read more...

Gabriel M. Ahlfeldt, Stephen J. Redding, Daniel M. Sturm and Nikolaus Wolf

1 March 2019

CentrePiece article
When innovation policy trumped protectionism: the Reagan years

Giammario Impullitti and colleagues show that it was the Reagan administration's innovation policy - not a retreat from globalisation - that promoted US growth....Read more...

Ufuk Akcigit, Sina T. Ates and Giammario Impullitti

1 March 2019

CentrePiece article
Europe's transformation after Gutenberg: the impact of new media and competition

Jeremiah Dittmar explores the effects of the printing press and the new forms of competition that accompanied its introduction....Read more...

Jeremiah Dittmar

1 March 2019

CentrePiece article
Second home investments

Investment in second homes has been surging around the world. Christian Hilber explores the underlying causes of this boom and the political backlash against wealthy investors. His analysis explains how one increasingly ...Read more...

Christian A. L. Hilber

2 November 2018

CentrePiece article
Aid: it’s not just about the money

For more than a decade, CEP research associate Peter Boone and his colleagues at Effective Intervention have been running health and education programmes in some of the poorest parts of the world. As he recounts here, th...Read more...

Peter Boone

2 November 2018

CentrePiece article
Social mobility and its enemies

Increasingly it seems that the rich and poor of Britain are destined to stay on the same rungs of the economic or social ladder for successive generations. A new book by Lee Elliot Major and Stephen Machin calls for an a...Read more...

Lee Elliot Major and Stephen Machin

2 November 2018

CentrePiece article
Developing an effective local industrial strategy

Local governments in the UK have been writing economic development plans for decades, mostly with limited success. So can the latest drive to boost national productivity through local efforts show that this time is diffe...Read more...

Naomi Clayton and Henry G. Overman

2 November 2018

CentrePiece article
Universities and industrial strategy in the UK

The UK’s higher education sector is a source of national strength with the potential to contribute to all areas of the government’s industrial strategy. Anna Valero and colleagues review the evidence on how the positive ...Read more...

Ghazala Azmat, Richard Murphy, Anna Valero and Gill Wyness

2 November 2018

CentrePiece article
Improving literacy through teaching assistants

Teaching assistants are employed in most primary schools in England, but until now, little has been known about what contribution they make to educational outcomes. Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela assess the i...Read more...

Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

2 November 2018

CentrePiece article
Apprenticeships in England: what do we know?

Increasing the quantity and quality of apprenticeships is high on the policy agenda in England. Research on this issue is a central focus of the Centre for Vocational Education Research (CVER). Sandra McNally summarises ...Read more...

Sandra McNally

2 November 2018

CentrePiece article
Higher education funding reforms in England

Reforms in higher education funding, which have taken England from offering free-of-charge, full-time undergraduate studies to being one of the most expensive systems in the OECD, have led to a reduction in the participa...Read more...

Ghazala Azmat and Stefania Simion

29 June 2018

CentrePiece article
in brief...Multinationals and the customs union

Leaving the customs union may lead multinationals to move out of the UK, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs. That is the conclusion of research by Paola Conconi. She explains that in a customs union, goods cross ...Read more...

Paola Conconi

29 June 2018

CentrePiece article
Costs of just failing high-stakes exams

School students who narrowly fail to achieve a grade C in their GCSE English exam at age 16 pay a high price, according to research by Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela and colleagues. Their study concludes that young people are n...Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

29 June 2018

CentrePiece article
Economic consequences of family policies

There is no compelling evidence that extended parental leave rights have a positive impact on female employment, according to research by Claudia Olivetti and Barbara Petrongolo, which analyses the labour market effects ...Read more...

Claudia Olivetti and Barbara Petrongolo

29 June 2018

CentrePiece article
Metal crime: the impact of prices, policing and policy

Metal prices are strong drivers of metal crime, according to research by Tom Kirchmaier and colleagues. Their study traces how, over the past ten years, big rises in commodity prices led to a boom in metal crime in the U...Read more...

Tom Kirchmaier, Stephen Machin, Matteo Sandi and Robert Witt

29 June 2018

CentrePiece article
In brief...The bedroom tax

The ‘bedroom tax’ – a UK government policy introduced in 2013 that cut housing benefits for social tenants deemed to have a ‘spare’ bedroom – saved some public money, according to research by Steve Gibbons and colleagues...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons, Olmo Silva and Maria Sánchez-Vidal

29 June 2018

CentrePiece article
Threats to scientific progress, past and present

A US boycott of Chinese researchers, as threatened by the Trump administration, could stifle scientific progress and technological innovation. That is the concern of Alessandro Iaria, Carlo Schwarz and Fabian Waldinger, ...Read more...

Alessandro Iaria, Carlo Schwarz and Fabian Waldinger

29 June 2018

CentrePiece article
Care homes: effects of the National Living Wage

The National Living Wage, which was introduced in 2016, has substantially raised wages at the bottom of the hourly wage distribution in care homes in England, a sector that employs a large number of low-paid workers. Acc...Read more...

Giulia Giupponi and Stephen Machin

29 June 2018

CentrePiece article
The price of Brexit

Writing in the summer 2018 issue of CentrePiece magazine, Thomas Sampson notes that the full economic consequences of the UK’s leave vote will not be realised for many years. But two years after the referendum, we can al...Read more...

Thomas Sampson

29 June 2018

CentrePiece article
Family firms: the problem of second-generation bosses

Although family firms are widely praised as the ‘backbone of the economy’, their productivity is often hampered by weak management. Research by Daniela Scur and Renata Lemos provides new evidence on the performance of ‘d...Read more...

Renata Lemos and Daniela Scur

1 March 2018

CentrePiece article
Brexit: the economics of international disintegration

Pro-Brexit rhetoric mixes up two distinct interpretations of what made people vote to Leave the European Union – and they have very different policy implications. As Thomas Sampson explains, those voters wanting to recla...Read more...

Thomas Sampson

1 March 2018

CentrePiece article
in brief...Empty homes, longer commutes

In areas of Britain where there are empty houses, planners typically allocate less land for development and make it more difficult to build or adapt houses. Research by Paul Cheshire, Christian Hilber and Hans Koster exp...Read more...

Paul Cheshire, Christian A. L. Hilber and Hans R. A. Koster

1 March 2018

CentrePiece article
Nursery attendance and children's outcomes

The UK government has expanded the popular ‘free entitlement’ to part-time early education and care from a universal 15 hours per week to 30 hours per week for working parents. But research by Jo Blanden and co-authors r...Read more...

Jo Blanden, Emilia Del Bono, Kirstine Hansen, Sandra McNally and Birgitta Rabe

1 March 2018

CentrePiece article
How 'local' are local labour markets?

If we want to create jobs in disadvantaged local areas, the idea of ‘local’ needs to be revisited. Alan Manning and Barbara Petrongolo explain the problem of thinking of geographical space as non-overlapping single labou...Read more...

Alan Manning and Barbara Petrongolo

1 March 2018

CentrePiece article
Lost Einsteins: who becomes an inventor in America?

Who are America’s most successful inventors – and what can we learn from their experiences in designing policies to stimulate innovation? To answer these questions, former CEP director John Van Reenen and his colleagues ...Read more...

Alex Bell, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova and John Van Reenen

1 March 2018

CentrePiece article
Poor productivity: an Italian perspective

Productivity growth has been slow in Western countries since the global financial crisis, but in Italy it has been stagnating for 25 years. Fadi Hassan and Gianmarco Ottaviano investigate inefficiency and misallocation i...Read more...

Sara Calligaris, Massimo Del Gatto, Fadi Hassan, Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano and Fabiano Schivardi

1 March 2018

CentrePiece article
Is there a payoff to apprenticeships for young people?

As part of an effort to transform the UK’s post-16 educational landscape, the government is aiming for a massive increase in the number of apprenticeships. Research by Chiara Cavaglia, Sandra McNally and Guglielmo Ventur...Read more...

Chiara Cavaglia, Sandra McNally and Guglielmo Ventura

1 March 2018

CentrePiece article
The labour market impact of refugee waves

Recent research has challenged the consensus that sudden inflows of refugees have little or no impact on natives’ wages and employment, claiming instead that there are uniformly large detrimental effects on natives witho...Read more...

Michael A. Clemens and Jennifer Hunt

1 November 2017

CentrePiece article
In brief ... Brexit: the impact on prices

Following last year’s referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union, there has been a significant rise in consumer prices, particularly food prices. Rising prices coupled with limited increases in nominal wages...Read more...

Josh De Lyon, Swati Dhingra and Stephen Machin

1 November 2017

CentrePiece article
Happiness at work

Work-life balance is a particularly strong predictor of people’s happiness. High degrees of job satisfaction can hide low levels of engagement at work. Happiness helps to shape job market outcomes, productivity and firm ...Read more...

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward

1 November 2017

CentrePiece article
Stamp duty, mobility and the UK housing crisis

The UK’s stamp duty land tax raises substantial revenues for the government, but it also contributes to the UK’s housing crisis by preventing households from moving to more suitable homes. That is the central conclusion ...Read more...

Christian A. L. Hilber and Teemu Lyytikäinen

1 November 2017

CentrePiece article
In brief ... Where top science gets done

Large-scale facilities like the Diamond Light Source synchrotron in Oxfordshire have the power to create concentrated geographical clusters of scientific research. According to new research scientists’ proximity to Diamo...Read more...

Christian Helmers and Henry G. Overman

1 November 2017

CentrePiece article
Dark web: the economics of online drugs markets

The online market for buying and selling drugs is resilient and seems to bounce back rapidly after the exit of a large platform like Silk Road. That is one of the findings of research by Stephen Machin and colleagues, wh...Read more...

V. Bhaskar, Robin Linacre and Stephen Machin

1 November 2017

CentrePiece article
Industry in Britain: an atlas

The UK’s financial services industry is not nearly as London-centric as the creative industries. Rather than the South East of England being the country’s productivity engine, it is a band stretching west from the capita...Read more...

Sandra Bernick, Richard Davies and Anna Valero

1 November 2017

CentrePiece article
In brief ... How the rise of the service economy narrowed the gender gap

The historical growth in the service sector since the Second World War has created jobs for which women have a comparative advantage, according to analysis by Rachel Ngai and Barbara Petrongolo. Their research shows how ...Read more...

L. Rachel Ngai and Barbara Petrongolo

1 November 2017

CentrePiece article
The growing inequality between firms

Some firms pay well while others don’t; and some are highly productive while many aren’t. New research describes an emerging pattern of increasing inequality of wages and productivity between firms in the manufacturing a...Read more...

Giuseppe Berlingieri, Patrick Blanchenay and Chiara Criscuolo

1 November 2017

CentrePiece article
In brief...Road to recovery? Economic benefits of new infrastructure

New investment in roads can produce economic benefits, even in mature infrastructure networks like the UK’s, according to research by Henry Overman and colleagues. At the same time, they argue, improved evaluation of new...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons, Teemu Lyytikäinen, Henry G. Overman and Rosa Sanchis-Guarner

3 July 2017

CentrePiece article
Airports and economic performance in China

China’s airport construction policy has been successful in boosting manufacturing output, according to research by Stephen Gibbons and Wenjie Wu. Their study also finds that productivity impacts have been greater for pri...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons and Wenjie Wu

3 July 2017

CentrePiece article
Home ownership and social mobility

There is much talk about the difficulties that many young people in Britain face in trying to acquire their first home. Research by Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin explores the links between home ownership and social mobil...Read more...

Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin

3 July 2017

CentrePiece article
In brief...Career opportunities

Students’ decisions about their education can be improved by providing them with more information, according to a report by Sandra McNally, which surveys the latest evidence on what advice is on offer and what works. She...Read more...

Sandra McNally

3 July 2017

CentrePiece article
Economics of a good night's sleep

Parents whose sleep quality is reduced by young children waking them in the night are less likely to work, work shorter hours and/or earn less than otherwise similar people who enjoy a good night’s sleep. The negative la...Read more...

Joan Costa-Font and Sarah Flèche

3 July 2017

CentrePiece article
Political legacies of Italian entertainment TV

To what extent are the media to blame for the rise of populist political leaders? Andrea Tesei and colleagues explore the impact of the light entertainment served up by Silvio Berlusconi's commercial TV network, Mediaset...Read more...

Ruben Durante, Paolo Pinotti and Andrea Tesei

3 July 2017

CentrePiece article
In brief...The value of good management

Management quality varies widely, even within a single firm, according to analysis of data collected from over 35,000 manufacturing plants in the United States. In their latest examination of the relationship between man...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom and John Van Reenen

3 July 2017

CentrePiece article
The end of free college in England

A growing movement in the United States is promoting 'free college' for young people. Richard Murphy, Judith Scott Clayton and Gill Wyness ask what can be learned about the likely outcomes from England's move in the oppo...Read more...

Richard Murphy, Judith Scott-Clayton and Gill Wyness

3 July 2017

CentrePiece article
Towards a new UK industrial strategy

The regulation of business has been a rollercoaster ride for the UK over the past 20 years. Drawing on their work with the LSE Growth Commission, Anna Valero and Richard Davies outline an opportunity to build a new syste...Read more...

Richard Davies and Anna Valero

3 July 2017

CentrePiece article
The roles of nature and history in world development

Vernon Henderson and colleagues explore fundamental determinants of the location of economic activity....Read more...

J. Vernon Henderson, Tim Squires, Adam Storeygard and David Weil

1 March 2017

CentrePiece article
Does teacher turnover affect young people's academic achievement?

Do educational results suffer in schools where there is a high turnover among the teaching staff? Shqiponja Telhaj and colleagues explore this question by analysing data from all state secondary schools in England....Read more...

Stephen Gibbons, Vincenzo Scrutinio and Shqiponja Telhaj

1 March 2017

CentrePiece article
In brief... What can be done to help low-achieving teenagers?

Young people who drop out of school are far more likely to experience unemployment and poverty than their peers. Experimental research by Eric Maurin and colleagues in deprived neighbourhoods of Paris shows the effective...Read more...

Dominique Goux, Marc Gurgand and Eric Maurin

1 March 2017

CentrePiece article
Superstar houses and the American mortgage frenzy

Clement Bellet shows how visible wealth inequality fuelled the US mortgage boom that preceded the financial crisis....Read more...

Clément S. Bellet

1 March 2017

CentrePiece article
Origins of happiness

Understanding the key determinants of people’s life satisfaction makes it possible to suggest policies for how best to reduce misery and promote wellbeing. A forthcoming book by Richard Layard and colleagues discusses ev...Read more...

Andrew E. Clark, Sarah Flèche, Richard Layard, Nattavudh Powdthavee and George Ward

1 March 2017

CentrePiece article
In brief... Is technology to blame for jobless recoveries?

Since the early 1990s, the United States has been plagued by weak employment growth when emerging from recessions – so-called ‘jobless recoveries’. Georg Graetz and Guy Michaels look at multiple recoveries elsewhere in t...Read more...

Georg Graetz and Guy Michaels

1 March 2017

CentrePiece article
Liberation technology: mobile phones and political mobilisation in Africa

Digital technologies have been widely used for political activism in recent years. In the first systematic test of their role as catalysts for political participation, Marco Manacorda and Andrea Tesei find that the growi...Read more...

Marco Manacorda and Andrea Tesei

1 March 2017

CentrePiece article
Larrikin youth: can education cut crime?

If young people spend longer in school, are they less likely to commit crimes? Stephen Machin and international collaborators examine the impact on youth crime of an educational reform in Australia that raised the minimu...Read more...

Tony Beatton, Michael P. Kidd, Stephen Machin and Dipa Sarkar

1 March 2017

CentrePiece article
Studying science: the impact of school curriculum on degree choice

An educational reform in England in 2004 that entitled higher ability school students to take the so-called ‘triple science’course contributed a third of the increased share of STEM graduates in England 2005-10. That is ...Read more...

Marta De Philippis

13 December 2016

CentrePiece article
In brief... Social mobility in the United States

There is considerable geographical variation in the opportunities available to disadvantaged children in the United States, according to research by Raj Chetty, who delivered the 2016 Lionel Robbins Memorial Lectures at ...Read more...

Maria Molina-Domene

13 December 2016

CentrePiece article
Spain's response to Brexit

Brexit puts at risk the close and mutually beneficial relationship that the UK and Spain have long enjoyed, according to Luis Garicano. With Spain unlikely to budge on freedom of movement and Gibraltar as a negotiating c...Read more...

Luis Garicano

13 December 2016

CentrePiece article
Primary academies in England

Attendance at a primary academy leads to no discernible improvement in pupils’ test scores, according to research by Andrew Eyles, Stephen Machin and Sandra McNally. This suggests that further extension of the academies ...Read more...

Andrew Eyles, Stephen Machin and Sandra McNally

13 December 2016

CentrePiece article
Four principles for the UK's Brexit trade negotiations

The first priority in the UK government’s plans for Brexit trade negotiations should be to agree a transitional deal to cover its relations with the European Union (EU) until a long-term agreement is reached. What’s more...Read more...

Thomas Sampson

13 December 2016

CentrePiece article
How universities boost economic growth

The expansion of higher education has helped to fuel economic growth around the world, according to research by Anna Valero and John Van Reenen. Analysing data on 15,000 universities in 78 countries for the period since ...Read more...

Anna Valero and John Van Reenen

13 December 2016

CentrePiece article
In brief... Fear of fracking: the impact on UK house prices

Shale gas offers the prospect of a low-cost energy future – but does extracting it invoke anxieties about the possibility of environmental catastrophe among local residents? Research by Steve Gibbons and colleagues detec...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons, Stephan Heblich, Esther Lho and Christopher Timmins

13 December 2016

CentrePiece article
Fracking: the boost to US manufacturing

Research by Rabah Arezki, Thiemo Fetzer and Frank Pisch shows that the surge in shale gas production – ‘fracking’ – since the early 2000s has not only made the United States the world’s largest producer of natural gas. I...Read more...

Rabah Arezki, Thiemo Fetzer and Frank Pisch

13 December 2016

CentrePiece article
In brief: Powerhouse of cards?

It is not yet clear whether the UK government’s commitment to a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ will survive the change of personnel at the top. But as Neil Lee explains, the idea of seeking to reduce regional disparities via spat...Read more...

Neil Lee

4 October 2016

CentrePiece article
High-speed rail in China

Encouraging innovation is a perennial policy goal – and one common approach is to promote the adoption of foreign technology. Yatang Lin and colleagues examine the impact of China’s technology transfer policy, which has ...Read more...

Yatang Lin, Yu Qin and Zhuan Xie

4 October 2016

CentrePiece article
In brief: Investing in roads

Between 1990 and 2010, China constructed an extensive modern road network, including a national system of limited access highways. Vernon Henderson and colleagues investigate the impact on the growth of Chinese cities an...Read more...

Nathaniel Baum-Snow, Loren Brandt, J. Vernon Henderson, Matthew A. Turner and Qinghua Zhang

4 October 2016

CentrePiece article
In brief: Weekend opening of GP practices

Can increased access to GPs reduce overcrowding in hospitals' Accidents & Emergency departments? Research by Peter Dolton and Vikram Pathania assesses whether weekend GP opening hours introduced in 2013 in four surgeries...Read more...

Peter Dolton and Vikram Pathania

4 October 2016

CentrePiece article
Post-16 educational choices in England

Well under half of young people in England complete A-levels, yet the baffling array of qualifications available for their peers is rarely discussed. Sandra McNally, director of the newly established Centre for Vocationa...Read more...

Claudia Hupkau, Sandra McNally, Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela and Guglielmo Ventura

4 October 2016

CentrePiece article
Faster broadband: are there any educational benefits?

Governments around the world are committing substantial public funds to upgrading their broadband infrastructure, partly in the hope of promoting education. Research findings by Rosa Sanchis-Guarner and colleagues raise ...Read more...

Benjamin Faber, Rosa Sanchis-Guarner and Felix Weinhardt

4 October 2016

CentrePiece article
Who voted Leave?

If EU immigration had remained at its 1991 level, the Leave vote share may have been considerably lower. That is one of the conclusions of CEP research by Monica Langella and Professor Alan Manning, which explores the ef...Read more...

Monica Langella and Alan Manning

4 October 2016

CentrePiece article
Brexit and the UK labour market

Following the referendum vote to leave the European Union, the UK faces a trade-off between retaining access to the Single Market and restricting free movement of labour. Barbara Petrongolo considers the likely impact of...Read more...

Barbara Petrongolo

4 October 2016

CentrePiece article
Brexit: the final assessment

John Van Reenen summarises the economic impact of a vote to leave the EU....Read more...

John Van Reenen

9 June 2016

CentrePiece article
A shortage of nurses?

The government’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has reluctantly recommended that nurses remain on the ‘shortage occupation list’, while criticising the health sector for failing to maintain a sufficient supply of UK ...Read more...

David Metcalf

9 June 2016

CentrePiece article
in brief... Management practices in Pakistan

For more than a decade, CEP economists have been leading efforts to get measures of management incorporated into the statistical infrastructure used by governments and researchers. The authors report on the latest initia...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, Ali Choudhary, Renata Lemos and John Van Reenen

9 June 2016

CentrePiece article
China shock: the impact on trade and incomes

Is US presidential candidate Donald Trump right when he claims that the Chinese are causing serious damage to American workers? Research by João Paulo Pessoa analyses the impact of the recent massive increase in China’s ...Read more...

Joao Paulo Pessoa

9 June 2016

CentrePiece article
in brief... Bargain hunters: calculating the benefits of consumer search

To what extent can shoppers convert the time they spend looking for particular products into monetary savings? The authors use electronic tags to study the behaviour of 12,000 consumers in a large supermarket in Northern...Read more...

Fabio Pinna and Stephan Seiler

9 June 2016

CentrePiece article
in brief... Children's reading: evaluating a new teaching method

Children at risk of struggling with their reading get long-term benefits from ‘synthetic phonics’, the current favoured method among education policy-makers in England. The benefits for disadvantaged pupils justify the f...Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Martina Viarengo

9 June 2016

CentrePiece article
Why immigration is no reason to leave the EU

A major argument of Brexit campaigners is that leaving the European Union would give the UK more control over the flow of immigrants, who they claim hurt the jobs and pay of native-born workers. CEP research shows that E...Read more...

Swati Dhingra, Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano, John Van Reenen and Jonathan Wadsworth

9 June 2016

CentrePiece article
Foreign investors love Britain - but Brexit would end the affair

Investment from overseas brings many benefits to the UK economy, including higher pay and productivity. According to CEP research, leaving the European Union could lead to a fall in inward foreign direct investment in th...Read more...

Swati Dhingra, Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano, Thomas Sampson and John Van Reenen

9 June 2016

CentrePiece article
Brexit: the impact on UK trade and living standards

For over two years, a CEP research team has been studying the likely impact on the living standards of UK households of a referendum vote to leave the European Union. The first of three reports summarised here focuses on...Read more...

Swati Dhingra, Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano, Thomas Sampson and John Van Reenen

9 June 2016

CentrePiece article
Online hiring of offshore workers: the value of intermediaries

‘Old boy networks’ have not been rendered obsolete by modern communications technology. That is one of the conclusions of a study of global online labour markets by Christopher Stanton and Catherine Thomas. Their researc...Read more...

Christopher T. Stanton and Catherine Thomas

22 February 2016

CentrePiece article
In brief... Rapid response policing: the impact on crime detection

Rapid response policing not only boosts crime detection but also reduces the time it takes to find the offenders. That is the central finding of analysis of data from the Greater Manchester Police by Jordi Blanes i Vidal...Read more...

Jordi Blanes i Vidal and Tom Kirchmaier

22 February 2016

CentrePiece article
Misery and mental health

Mental illness is a far bigger source of human misery than poverty or unemployment, according to research by Sarah Flèche and Richard Layard. They argue that we need to move beyond a purely materialistic conception of mi...Read more...

Sarah Flèche and Richard Layard

22 February 2016

CentrePiece article
What makes consumers switch mobile phone tariffs?

The potential psychological pain of nasty surprises on mobile phone bills is a great motivator to switch tariffs, according to research by Christos Genakos and colleagues. Their study notes that navigating through thousa...Read more...

Christos Genakos, Costas Roumanias and Tommaso Valletti

22 February 2016

CentrePiece article
In brief... The rewards for getting a good degree

It pays to study hard at university, according to research by Shqiponja Telhaj and colleagues. Their study finds that there is a significant hourly wage premium for getting a first or upper second. For graduates more tha...Read more...

Robin A. Naylor, Jeremy Smith and Shqiponja Telhaj

22 February 2016

CentrePiece article
Flooded Cities

Economic activity tends to return to flood-prone areas after floods rather than relocating to higher ground. What’s more, cities built in flood-prone areas are locking in exposure to flood risk for the long term. These a...Read more...

Adriana Kocornik-Mina, Thomas K.J. McDermott, Guy Michaels and Ferdinand Rauch

22 February 2016

CentrePiece article
Equity crowdfunding: a new model for financing entrepreneurship?

In recent years, the UK has become a leader in fostering an entirely novel mechanism for raising capital for small business enterprises. Saul Estrin and Susanna Khavul explain how ‘equity crowdfunding’ works – and the be...Read more...

Saul Estrin and Susanna Khavul

17 February 2016

CentrePiece article
Crime and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean: towards evidence-based policies

Latin America and the Caribbean account for a third of the world’s homicides but under 10% of the world’s population. What’s more, homicide rates in the region are higher than they should be given countries’ levels of in...Read more...

Laura Jaitman and Stephen Machin

22 February 2016

CentrePiece article
In brief...Parental job loss: the impact on children's school performance

Unemployment is bad news not just for the individuals who lose their jobs but also for their families. Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela examines this underemphasised cost of economic downturns by measuring the impact of parental ...Read more...

Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela

6 November 2015

CentrePiece article
Immigration: the link to international trade in services

Two notable features of globalisation are the growth of immigration and the growth of international trade in services. Exploring links between these phenomena, Gianmarco Ottaviano, Giovanni Peri and Greg Wright find that...Read more...

Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano, Giovanni Peri and Greg C. Wright

6 November 2015

CentrePiece article
Wage stagnation and the legacy costs of employment

Although UK real wages have been stagnant for over a decade, there has been a notable increase in nonwage compensation. But as Brian Bell reveals, this rise consists largely of special payments to fund deficit gaps in '...Read more...

Brian Bell

6 November 2015

CentrePiece article
In brief...Under pressure: gender differences in responding to exam stakes

Do girls and boys respond differently to exam pressure, perhaps depending on the subject and whether or not the tests are 'high stakes'? Ghazala Azmat and colleagues consider evidence for secondary school age children ...Read more...

Ghazala Azmat, Caterina Calsamiglia and Nagore Iriberri

6 November 2015

CentrePiece article
Regulatory reform in Greece: the benefits of removing maximum mark-ups

Regulations that impose maximum mark-ups are intended to protect consumers from firms exercising market power. But a study by Christos Genakos and colleagues suggests that they can have the opposite effect: when Greece l...Read more...

Christos Genakos, Pantelis Koutroumpis and Mario Pagliero

6 November 2015

CentrePiece article
The upside of London Tube strikes

In February 2014, strikes by staff on London's underground network enabled a sizeable fraction of commuters to find better routes, according to research by Shaun Larcom, Ferdinand Rauch and Tim Willems. Many commuters w...Read more...

Shaun Larcom, Ferdinand Rauch and Tim Willems

6 November 2015

CentrePiece article
Healthcare: how competition can improve management quality and save lives

NHS hospitals in England are rarely closed in constituencies where the governing party has a slender majority. This means that for near random reasons, those parts of the country have more competition in healthcare - whi...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom and John Van Reenen

6 November 2015

CentrePiece article
In brief...Prejudice in a time of recession

Is there more racial prejudice when the economy is weak and does it result in greater racial discrimination in the workplace? In an exploration of UK social attitudes and labour market outcomes over the business cycle, D...Read more...

David W. Johnston and Grace Lordan

6 November 2015

CentrePiece article
Academy schools and pupil outcomes

Nearly two thirds of secondary schools in England now have academy status. Andrew Eyles and Stephen Machin are tracking the impact of this unprecedented educational reform on pupil outcomes - in both the first wave of '...Read more...

Andrew Eyles and Stephen Machin

6 November 2015

CentrePiece article
Crime scars: can recessions produce career criminals?

Recessions typically raise youth unemployment and leave longterm labour market ‘scars’ on the young people concerned. Research by Brian Bell, Anna Bindler and Stephen Machin finds that they also have a disturbing and sub...Read more...

Brian Bell, Anna Bindler and Stephen Machin

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
Family business: management effort and firm performance

Might familyowned, familyrun firms be a serious obstacle to productivity growth in Europe? Oriana Bandiera, Andrea Prat and Raffaella Sadun have collected time use data on over 1,000 chief executive officers to explore d...Read more...

Oriana Bandiera, Andrea Prat and Raffaella Sadun

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
In brief... American Idol: 65 years of admiration

Every year for over half a century, the US opinion pollsters Gallup have asked Americans to say which person they most admire. Alan Manning and Amar Shanghavi consider what their answers reveal about how public attitudes...Read more...

Alan Manning and Amar Shanghavi

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
In brief... Phone home: should mobiles be banned in schools?

Louis-Philippe Beland and Richard Murphy look at the impact of mobile phone bans on pupils' academic achievement in four cities in England....Read more...

Louis-Philippe Beland and Richard Murphy

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
Robots at work: the impact on productivity and jobs

Robots may seem dangerous not only to cinema action heroes but also to the average manufacturing worker.To assess whether such concerns are well founded, Guy Michaels and Georg Graetz analyse the labour market effects of...Read more...

Georg Graetz and Guy Michaels

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
In brief... Making a difference in education

A new book by Sandra McNally and colleagues surveys the evidence on which policies and practices are working in UK schools....Read more...

Robert Cassen, Sandra McNally and Anna Vignoles

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
Happier workers, higher profits

Alex Bryson and colleagues find that UK employees' job satisfaction is positively associated with workplace financial performance....Read more...

Alex Bryson, John Forth and Lucy Stokes

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
In brief... A Global Apollo Programme to tackle climate change

Leading thinkers across the worlds of science, public service and academia have launched a new global programme to combat climate change. Richard Layard outlines their proposal for big public investment in research that ...Read more...

Richard Layard

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
In brief... Oil: the impact on women's work

Stephan Maurer and Andrei Potlogea explore whether oil-dominated economies are naturally biased against women's labour market participation....Read more...

Stephan E. Maurer and Andrei V. Potlogea

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
The path from cause to effect: mastering 'metrics

How should researchers interested in social and economic policy untangle cause and effect? A new book by Joshua Angrist and Jörn Steffen Pischke shows how the five core econometric tools -randomised trials, regression, ...Read more...

Joshua D. Angrist and Jörn-Steffen Pischke

30 July 2015

CentrePiece article
Educational efficiency: value for money in public spending on schools

Which national education systems deliver the best value for money? Peter Dolton and colleagues rank 30 of the world’s richest countries based on their expenditure on teacher costs (which account for 80% of education budg...Read more...

Peter Dolton, Oscar Marcenaro Gutierrez and Adam Still

19 January 2015

CentrePiece article
In brief: Business cycle blues

People do not psychologically benefit from economic expansions nearly as much as they suffer from recessions, according to research by JanEmmanuel De Neve and colleagues....Read more...

Femke De Keulenaer, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Georgios Kavetsos, Michael I. Norton, Bert Van Landeghem and George W. Ward

19 January 2015

CentrePiece article
The dilemma of central bank transparency

If central banks publish the transcripts of their internal policy debates, will discussions be enhanced or inhibited? Michael McMahon and colleagues use tools from computational linguistics to analyse the positive and ne...Read more...

Stephen Hansen, Michael McMahon and Andrea Prat

19 January 2015

CentrePiece article
Napoleonic protectionism: how France's cotton industry gained

Can temporary protection from trade with advanced economies foster the development of ‘infant industries’ in developing countries? Reka Juhasz considers a natural experiment: Napoleon’s wartime blockade of British export...Read more...

Réka Juhász

19 January 2015

CentrePiece article
TTIP: is free trade coming to the North Atlantic?

If successfully concluded, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) would be the most ambitious free trade agreement in history. Dennis Novy explains that while the potential benefits from liberalised tr...Read more...

Dennis Novy

19 January 2015

CentrePiece article
Long shadow of the Berlin Wall

Do people born at different points of the economic cycle have different outcomes – and if so, why? Arnaud Chevalier and Olivier Marie examine the educational attainment and criminal activity of children born in East Germ...Read more...

Arnaud Chevalier and Olivier Marie

19 January 2015

CentrePiece article
After communism: 25 years of revolution

A quarter of a century after the transition to a capitalist economy began, how are the nations of the former Soviet bloc faring? Peter Boone charts the failures of communism, the chaos that followed its collapse, the per...Read more...

Peter Boone

19 January 2015

CentrePiece article
Fiat Chrysler and the future of industry

Machines cannot fully replace people even in a high-tech industry like car-making. That is one of the conclusions of research which uses the example of the newly merged transatlantic car-maker Fiat Chrysler to debunk a n...Read more...

Giorgio Barba Navaretti, Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano and Maria Teresa Trentinaglia

3 October 2014

CentrePiece article
Gone with the wind

Wind farms reduce house prices in postcodes where the turbines are visible, according to research by Steve Gibbons. Households are willing to pay £1,000 a year to avoid a large wind farm visible within 2km. His study not...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons

3 October 2014

CentrePiece article
Trophy architects and the ‘dark matter' of London’s planning system

A quarter of London’s skyscrapers are designed by architects who have already won a lifetime achievement award and whose work thus has the imprimatur of ‘iconic design’; this compares with just 3% in Chicago. According t...Read more...

Paul Cheshire and Gerard H. Dericks

3 October 2014

CentrePiece article
Video killed the radio star? Evidence from YouTube and iTunes

Making video clips of a song unavailable on YouTube has no effect on its sales on iTunes; but album sales suffer when video clips of a song from it are made unavailable on YouTube. These findings of a study by Tobias Kre...Read more...

Tobias Kretschmer and Christian Peukert

3 October 2014

CentrePiece article
The ‘investor route’ to UK citizenship

Simple reforms to the ‘investor route’ system whereby wealthy foreigners can get permanent residence in the UK would benefit current residents and signal that the country is open. That’s the view of Sir David Metcalf, ch...Read more...

David Metcalf

3 October 2014

CentrePiece article
Policy for better mental health

Treating mental illness should be a top national priority, especially as proven psychological therapies effectively cost nothing. Richard Layard explains how CEP research has led to a new deal for mental health – but muc...Read more...

Richard Layard

3 October 2014

CentrePiece article
Wikipedia: the value of open content production

Without the ‘spillover effects’ of open content production, the growth in Wikipedia editing activity between 2002 and 2010 would have been halved. That is the central finding of research by Aleksi Aaltonen and Stephan Se...Read more...

Aleksi Aaltonen and Stephan Seiler

3 October 2014

CentrePiece article
Improving education in two extremely poor regions: triumph and tragedy

For the past few years, CEP research associate Peter Boone and his colleagues at Effective Intervention have been running primary school education projects in the rural villages of Andhra Pradesh and Guinea-Bissau. Their...Read more...

Peter Boone

3 October 2014

CentrePiece article
Overseas students: the impact on domestic student numbers

The rapid influx of international students into UK universities over the past two decades has expanded the number of places available for domestic postgraduates, according to research by Stephen Machin and Richard Murphy...Read more...

Stephen Machin and Richard Murphy

3 October 2014

CentrePiece article
Gender and the labour market: evidence from experiments

Lab experiments are an increasingly valuable tool for understanding differences in how men and women are treated in the labour market. Dr Ghazala Azmat and Professor Barbara Petrongolo explore what has been learned about...Read more...

Ghazala Azmat and Barbara Petrongolo

8 May 2014

CentrePiece article
In brief: Does management matter in schools?

Better school management is associated with better pupil achievement, according to CEP analysis of the quality of management practices in schools in a range of developed and developing countries. Renata Lemos notes that ...Read more...

Renata Lemos

8 May 2014

CentrePiece article
In brief: Management in America

There are strong links between the performance of US manufacturing plants and the quality of their systems of monitoring, targets and incentives, according to research by Professor Nicholas Bloom and colleagues. Their an...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, Erik Brynjolfsson, Lucia Foster, Ron Jarmin, Megha Patnaik, Itay Saporta-Eksten and John Van Reenen

8 May 2014

CentrePiece article
Falling real wages

The researchers note that there have been historically unprecedented falls in UK real wages since the start of the Great Recession. What’s more, the long US experience of stagnant real wages (median real weekly earnings ...Read more...

David Blanchflower and Stephen Machin

8 May 2014

CentrePiece article
Turning houses into gold: the failure of British planning

Britain’s crisis of housing affordability is nothing to do with foreign speculators, according to Paul Cheshire. Rather, it is a result of decades of misguided planning policies that constrain the supply of land and turn...Read more...

Paul Cheshire

8 May 2014

CentrePiece article
Immigrant's access to social housing: perception and reality

Although most UK immigrants are likely to be eligible to apply for social housing, there is no evidence that they have preferential access – if anything the reverse seems to have been the case. But it does seem that ther...Read more...

Alan Manning, Diego Battiston, Richard Dickens and Jonathan Wadsworth

8 May 2014

CentrePiece article
Minimum wages: the economics and the politics

The UK’s national minimum wage has tackled extreme low pay – but the wider problem of low pay remains as serious as ever. That is one of the conclusions of Professor Alan Manning in a discussion of the growing popularity...Read more...

Alan Manning

8 May 2014

CentrePiece article
In brief - New technology: who wins, who loses?

Technology has transformed the once powerful office of ambassador into a glorified sales position, while nurses, teaching assistants and medical technicians all benefit from the ICT revolution. According to an empirical ...Read more...

John Van Reenen, Nicholas Bloom, Luis Garicano and Raffaella Sadun

8 May 2014

CentrePiece article
Victorian internet: the trade impact of the transatlantic telegraph

The telegraph was the Victorian equivalent of today’s ‘big data’, helping firms to forecast future demand. Analysing such unique historical ‘experiments’ helps understand how firms and markets respond when new technology...Read more...

Claudia Steinwender

8 May 2014

CentrePiece article
Tackling long-term unemployment

Barbara Petrongolo surveys the research evidence on the effectiveness of the 'sticks' and 'carrots' of active labour market policies....Read more...

Barbara Petrongolo

5 February 2014

CentrePiece article
Everybody needs good neighbours?

There are large disparities between the achievements, behaviour and aspirations of children in different neighbourhoods – but does this mean that the place where you grow up determines your later life outcomes? Steve Gib...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons, Olmo Silva and Felix Weinhardt

5 February 2014

CentrePiece article
In brief: Mrs Thatcher's industrial legacy

John Van Reenen examines the 'unbalancing' of Britain's economy away from manufacturing since 1979....Read more...

John Van Reenen

5 February 2014

CentrePiece article
Outsourcing and the shift from manufacturing to services

Giuseppe Berlingieri looks at the structural transformation of the US economy over the past 60 years....Read more...

Giuseppe Berlingieri

5 February 2014

CentrePiece article
Economics of higher education

In brief: Economics of higher education...Read more...

Richard Murphy and Gill Wyness

5 February 2014

CentrePiece article
Unemployment and domestic violence

Contrary to popular belief, the incidence of domestic violence in Britain does not seem to have risen during the recession. But according to research by Jonathan Wadsworth and colleagues, men and women have experienced d...Read more...

Dan Anderberg, Helmut Rainer, Jonathan Wadsworth and Tanya Wilson

5 February 2014

CentrePiece article
Lessons from the economics of crime

Olivier Marie explains the value of an economic approach to the analysis, design and evaluation of crime-fighting policies....Read more...

Philip J. Cook, Stephen Machin, Olivier Marie and Giovanni Mastrobuoni

5 February 2014

CentrePiece article
In brief: Tough choices for a troubled euro

Nobel laureate Christopher Pissarides thinks that either the euro should be dismantled or the direction of European economic policy reversed....Read more...

Christopher A. Pissarides

5 February 2014

CentrePiece article
Can cities be trapped in bad locations?

After the fall of the Roman Empire, urban life in France became a shadow of its former self, but in Britain it completely disappeared. Guy Michaels and Ferdinand Rauch use these contrasting experiences as a natural exper...Read more...

Guy Michaels and Ferdinand Rauch

5 February 2014

CentrePiece article
Human resource management: how much do firms really need?

More complete systems of human resource management (HRM) could deliver really extensive gains in employee motivation, according to an analysis of representative data from British workplaces by Michael White and Alex Brys...Read more...

Alex Bryson and Michael White

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
In brief...Eating disorders: the impact of self-image and peer pressure

We need government intervention to prevent a potential epidemic of eating disorders, according to a study by Joan Costa-i-Font and Mireia Jofre-Bonet. Their research confirms the widespread belief that the proliferation ...Read more...

Joan Costa-Font and Mireia Jofre-Bonet

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
In brief...Top of the class

Boys may be better off not going to the school with high-performing peers, according to research by Richard Murphy and Felix Weinhardt, which explores how much impact there is on later confidence and exam results from wh...Read more...

Richard Murphy and Felix Weinhardt

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
Does school spending matter?

Increases in resources for schools are typically more effective in disadvantaged schools and for disadvantaged pupils. That is one of the many findings of a review by Steve Gibbons and Sandra McNally of the research evid...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons and Sandra McNally

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
In brief...Blackout babies: the impact of power cuts on fertility

A rolling blackout in Colombia in the early 1990s led to a rise in unplanned births, according to research by Amar Shanghavi and colleagues. What’s more, young women who became mothers after the blackout had worse outcom...Read more...

Thiemo Fetzer, Oliver Pardo and Amar Shanghavi

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
The status of teachers

Governments that are serious about attracting the best people to work in their state education systems must look not only at the salaries they offer but also at the social standing of teachers. That is the conclusion of ...Read more...

Peter Dolton

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
Wage growth and productivity growth: the myth and reality of 'decoupling'

Employees in the UK are not being denied their fair share of economic growth, according to research by João Paulo Pessoa and John Van Reenen. Their investigation of claims that wage growth has become ‘decoupled’ from pro...Read more...

Joao Paulo Pessoa and John Van Reenen

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
Has job polarisation squeezed the American middle class?

Job polarisation has had strong effects on US workers’ relative wages, according to research by Michael Boehm. His study examines whether the decline in manufacturing and clerical jobs has been responsible for the laggin...Read more...

Michael J. Böhm

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
In brief...'Smart and illicit': the making of a successful entrepreneur

Smart teenagers who engage in illicit activities are much more likely to become entrepreneurs, according to research by Ross Levine and Yona Rubinstein. But, they note, being self-employed doesn’t necessarily make someon...Read more...

Ross Levine and Yona Rubinstein

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
Lovely and lousy jobs

The phenomenon of ‘job polarisation’ is increasing inequality as the labour market splits into high- and low-wage work. According to Alan Manning, who coined the term a decade ago, we cannot ignore job polarisation – but...Read more...

Alan Manning

10 December 2013

CentrePiece article
Free to choose? The impact of healthcare reform

Has the introduction of greater choice and competition in healthcare in England led to improved outcomes for patients? The authors assess changes in the quality of care that hospitals provided for cardiac surgery patient...Read more...

Martin Gaynor, Carol Propper and Stephan Seiler

27 June 2013

CentrePiece article
In brief: China's trading success: the role of pure exporter subsidies

China's government provides a wide range of incentives to encourage firms to produce almost exclusively for the foreign market. The authors analyse the impact of these 'pure exporter subsidies' on both the Chinese econom...Read more...

Fabrice Defever and Alejandro Riaño

27 June 2013

CentrePiece article
In brief: University exam results matter

As thousands of undergraduates across the UK take their exams, a study by Andy Feng and Georg Graetz reveals the importance of the results for subsequent earnings - specifically the value of a First compared with an Uppe...Read more...

Andy Feng and Georg Graetz

27 June 2013

CentrePiece article
Bad management: a constraint on economic development?

Are poor management practices holding back middle-income countries? The authors look at evidence for private firms and public organisations in India - in manufacturing, retail, healthcare and education....Read more...

Renata Lemos and Daniela Scur

27 June 2013

CentrePiece article
In brief: The long reach of childhood bullying

Does the fear of being bullied in childhood affect people's resilience to adverse life events they may face in adulthood? The author investigates whether the 'scarring' effects are particularly damaging to individuals wh...Read more...

Nattavudh Powdthavee

27 June 2013

CentrePiece article
The UK's 'riddle of peacefulness': what explains falling crime?

There has been a substantial fall in rates of property theft and violent crime in the UK. The author surveys a series of CEP studies that shed light on this transformation - what BBC home editor Mark Easton has labelled ...Read more...

Mirko Draca

27 June 2013

CentrePiece article
Education in Scotland: performance in a devolved policy area

As the people of Scotland consider their vote in next year's referendum, what evidence is there that the nation can succeed 'on its own'? Gill Wyness and colleagues explore how Scotland compares with the rest of the UK i...Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Gill Wyness

27 June 2013

CentrePiece article
Are you happy while you work?

Happiness surveys typically ask people to say how they feel about their life experiences in retrospect, but smartphone technology makes it possible to collect responses on wellbeing 'in the moment'. The authors use this ...Read more...

Alex Bryson and George MacKerron

27 June 2013

CentrePiece article
The economic future of British cities

Henry Overman surveys the evidence on potentially effective responses to the recession and longer-term structural change....Read more...

Henry G. Overman

27 June 2013

CentrePiece article
America's fiscal cliff

The US economy is still suffering from its most severe recession in seven decades. This article covers the key issue of taxes, spending and public debt, a major point of disagreement between the two candidates in the 201...Read more...

Ethan Ilzetzki and Jonathan Pinder

19 December 2012

CentrePiece article
'Stop fighting and wealth will follow'

The article uses house prices to measure the peace dividend in Northern Ireland - and draws lessons for other parts of the world that have endured long conflicts....Read more...

Timothy Besley and Hannes Mueller

19 December 2012

CentrePiece article
Science: why the gender gap?

Stereotypes, role models played by teachers and social norms influence girls’ academic self-concept and push girls to choose humanities rather than science. Do recruiters reinforce this strong selection by discriminating...Read more...

Thomas Breda and Son Thierry Ly

19 December 2012

CentrePiece article
Sexism at work

Women have, on average, been less well-paid than men throughout history. Prior to 1900, most economic historians see the gender wage gap as a reflection of men’s greater strength and correspondingly higher productivity. ...Read more...

Björn Eriksson, Tobias Karlsson, Tim Leunig and Maria Stanfors

19 December 2012

CentrePiece article
Working or shirking?

Over 10% of US employees now regularly work from home (WFH), but there is widespread skepticism over its impact highlighted by phrases like “shirking from home”. We report the results of a WFH experiment at Ctrip, a 13,0...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, James Liang, John Roberts and Zhichun Jenny Ying

19 December 2012

CentrePiece article
Hooray for GDP!

The idea of having GDP growth as the main target of economic policy has been under attack in recent years. The article answers some of the criticisms and argues that continued GDP growth would be good for the UK - and no...Read more...

Nicholas Oulton

19 December 2012

CentrePiece article
The UK's housing crises

The UK is facing not one but two housing crises. The first is a short-term fall in prices and construction whcih is both driven by and driving the recession. The second and more profound is the overall shortage of housin...Read more...

Henry G. Overman

19 December 2012

CentrePiece article
Immigration and the UK Labour Market

David Metcalf, chair of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), outlines recent changes in the regulatory framework for immigrant workers....Read more...

David Metcalf

12 December 2012

CentrePiece article
In brief: Mental illness and the NHS

Richard Layard and colleagues reveal the shocking scale of mental illness in Britain - and how little the NHS does about it....Read more...

Richard Layard

20 September 2012

CentrePiece article
Gender gaps in performance

Ghazala Azmat and Rosa Ferrer analyse data on young lawyers to understand what drives differences in earnings between highly skilled men and women....Read more...

Ghazala Azmat and Rosa Ferrer

20 September 2012

CentrePiece article
In brief: Mother tongue:the economics of language learning

Javier Ortega and Gregory Verdugo look at the drivers of language assimilation in the English- and French-majority cities in Canada....Read more...

Javier Ortega and Gregory Verdugo

20 September 2012

CentrePiece article
Are public sector employees overcompensated?

Alexander Danzer and Peter Dolton use the concept of 'total reward' to assess whether public sector pay and pensions are too high relative to the private sector....Read more...

Alexander Danzer and Peter Dolton

20 September 2012

CentrePiece article
Student awareness of the costs and benefits of higher education

Sandra McNally and colleagues report the results of a 'light-touch' information campaign about the value and affordability of going to university....Read more...

Martin McGuigan, Sandra McNally and Gill Wyness

20 September 2012

CentrePiece article
The doomsday cycle turns: who's next?

Peter Boone and Simon Johnson believe that there are more and worse financial crises to come....Read more...

Peter Boone and Simon Johnson

20 September 2012

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: valuing schooling through house prices

Steve Gibbons describes the development of CEP research showing how much house prices are boosted by the quality of local schools...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons

20 September 2012

CentrePiece article
In brief: UK chief executives: paid for performance?

Does it matter whether you work for a successful company? And if so, does it matter who you are? To answer these questions we construct a unique panel dataset covering the pay of all CEOs, senior managers and a fully rep...Read more...

Brian Bell and John Van Reenen

21 May 2012

CentrePiece article
In brief: Two cheers for Anglo-Saxon financial markets?

We find that institutional ownership in publicly traded companies is associated with more innovation (measured by cite-weighted patents). To explore the mechanism through which this link arises, we build a model that nes...Read more...

Philippe Aghion, John Van Reenen and Luigi Zingales

21 May 2012

CentrePiece article
Giant oilfields and civil conflict

We use new data to examine the effects of giant oilfield discoveries around the world since 1946. On average, these discoveries increase per capita oil production and oil exports by up to 50 percent. But these giant oilf...Read more...

Yu-Hsiang Lei and Guy Michaels

21 May 2012

CentrePiece article
In brief: Can industrial policy boost jobs?

Business support policies designed to raise productivity and employment are common worldwide, but rigorous micro-econometric evaluation of their causal effects is rare. We exploit multiple changes in the area-specific el...Read more...

Chiara Criscuolo, Ralf Martin, Henry G. Overman and John Van Reenen

21 May 2012

CentrePiece article
The polluter-doesn't-pay principle

By granting discounts on environmental taxes to heavy polluting firms, the government is missing out on significant tax revenues and achieving considerably less in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. That is the central c...Read more...

Ralf Martin, Ulrich J. Wagner and Laure B. de Preux

21 May 2012

CentrePiece article
In brief: Language barriers? The impact of non-native English speakers in the classroom

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of children going to school in England who do not speak English as a first language. We investigate whether this has an impact on the educational outcomes of nativ...Read more...

Charlotte Geay, Sandra McNally and Shqiponja Telhaj

21 May 2012

CentrePiece article
In brief: Urban schools: does money make a difference?

This research paper is motivated by a long tail at the bottom of the educational distribution, educational inequality between those from high and low socio-economic groups and the question as to what role an increase in ...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons, Sandra McNally and Martina Viarengo

21 May 2012

CentrePiece article
Growth and productivity: UK economic performance since 1997

A common view is that the performance of the UK economy between 1997 and 2010 under Labour was very weak and that the current economic problems are a consequence of poor policies in this period. In this report, we analys...Read more...

Dan Corry, Anna Valero and John Van Reenen

21 May 2012

CentrePiece article
Jobs in a recession

This article is based on a paper that models unemployment as the result of matching frictions and job rationing. Job rationing is a shortage of jobs arising naturally in an economic equilibrium from the combination of so...Read more...

Pascal Michaillat

21 May 2012

CentrePiece article
Sequential exporting: how firms break into foreign markets

Many countries are looking to their export sectors as a source of future growth, but how do domestic companies make a success of selling their output abroad? Research by Emanuel Ornelas and colleagues finds evidence of '...Read more...

Facundo Albornoz, Hector Calvo-Pardo, Gregory Corcos and Emanuel Ornelas

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
The letters page

Alan Manning questions the value of researchers conducting debates about economic policy through the pages of newspapers....Read more...

Alan Manning

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
Policy uncertainty: a new indicator

The damaging impact of economic uncertainty on growth has been reasonably well studied - but what happens when there is uncertainty about economic policy-making? Nicholas Bloom and colleagues have developed a measure of ...Read more...

Scott R. Baker, Nicholas Bloom and Steven J. Davis

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
HS2: assessing the costs and benefits

Henry Overman considers the arguments for and against building a new high-speed rail line from London to Birmingham....Read more...

Henry G. Overman

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
The returns to lobbying

Research by Mirko Draca and colleagues on Washington's 'revolving door' lobbyists gives an indication of the value of political connections in the UK....Read more...

Jordi Blanes i Vidal, Mirko Draca and Christian Fons-Rosen

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
Pupils' progress: how children's perceptions influence their efforts

What is the impact of a pupil's perceptions of how their teachers will treat them on their motivation, efforts and educational achievements? To explore this question, Amine Ouazad and Lionel Page have conducted an experi...Read more...

Amine Ouazad and Lionel Page

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
School inspections: can we trust Ofsted reports?

Ofsted inspections of schools have been a central feature of state education in England for nearly 20 years. Research by Iftikhar Hussain explores the validity of the school ratings that Ofsted produces, the impact of a ...Read more...

Iftikhar Hussain

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
Crime and mental wellbeing

Francesca Cornaglia and Andrew Leigh measure the impact of crime - and media reporting of crime - on the mental wellbeing of both victims and non-victims...Read more...

Francesca Cornaglia and Andrew Leigh

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
Wellbeing in the workplace: the impact of modern management

How people feel about their jobs is an important part of their overall happiness yet until now, few studies have explored the links between employees' wellbeing and their working environment. Alex Bryson and colleagues a...Read more...

Alex Bryson and Pekka Ilmakunnas

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: wellbeing and public policy

Richard Layard outlines the development of CEP research on what makes people happy and how society might best be organised to promote happiness....Read more...

Richard Layard

16 February 2012

CentrePiece article
The Future of Work in Europe

Employment in the European Union is still falling short of the objectives set by the continent's leaders more than 10 years ago. Nobel laureate Chris Pissarides explains why Europe remains behind the United States in job...Read more...

Christopher A. Pissarides

26 October 2011

CentrePiece article
Unequal Britain: How Real Are Regional Disparities?

Average earnings vary widely across the regions of Britain, a fact that has prompted many decades of policies aimed at reducing regional disparities. But as Henry Overman and Steve Gibbons demonstrate, such variation rev...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons and Henry G. Overman

26 October 2011

CentrePiece article
Teachers' Pay and Pupil Performance

If you pay peanuts, do you get monkeys? If teachers were better paid and higher up the national income distribution, would there be an improvement in pupil performance? Peter Dolton and Oscar Marcenaro-Gutierrez examine ...Read more...

Peter Dolton and Oscar Marcenaro Gutierrez

26 October 2011

CentrePiece article
The Boom in Postgraduate Education and Its Impact on Wage Inequality

Growing numbers of university students in Britain and the United States are staying on after their first degrees to invest in a postgraduate qualification. Joanne Lindley and Stephen Machin document this trend and assess...Read more...

Joanne Lindley and Stephen Machin

26 October 2011

CentrePiece article
In brief... House Prices and School Quality: Evidence from State and Private Education in Paris

It is now widely understood that the quality of state schools in a neighbourhood has an impact on local house prices. Analysing data for Paris, Gabrielle Fack and Julien Grenet have looked deeper into this link by explor...Read more...

Gabrielle Fack and Julien Grenet

26 October 2011

CentrePiece article
Young People Without Qualifications: How 'Headline Numbers' Shape Policy and Aspiration

England's most widely used indicator of young people's education and labour market status is the NEET category - 'not in education, employment or training'. Making comparisons with how France and Germany measure school l...Read more...

Hilary Steedman

26 October 2011

CentrePiece article
Football Matches: the Effects on Crime

The heavy police presence at football matches in England has reduced hooliganism in the stadium - but at what cost in terms of both policying budgets and under-protected places elsewhere in the neighbourhood? Olivier Mar...Read more...

Olivier Marie

26 October 2011

CentrePiece article
In brief...Cotton and Cars: the Huge Gains from Process Innovation

New inventions are good for economic growth, but equally important are improvements in the way we make things - what's known as process innovation. Tim Leunig and Joachim Voth measure the impact of two such innovations -...Read more...

Tim Leunig and Joachim Voth

26 October 2011

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: Innovation Policy

In the last CentrePiece, John Van Reenen stressed the importance of competition and labour market flexibility for productivity growth. His latest in CEP's 'big ideas' series describes the impact of research on how policy...Read more...

John Van Reenen

26 October 2011

CentrePiece article
Land use planning: the impact on retail productivity

The restrictions that planning policies impose on retail development have significantly reduced the productivity of supermarkets, according to Paul Cheshire and colleagues....Read more...

Paul Cheshire, Christian A. L. Hilber and Ioannis Kaplanis

June 2011

CentrePiece article
Team performance and the optimal spread of talent

Alex Bryson and colleagues use US baseball data to investigate whether performance suffers if there is too wide a gap between the skills of a team's stars and the rest....Read more...

Alex Bryson, Rafael Gomez and Kerry L. Papps

June 2011

CentrePiece article
Fees and loathing: higher education finance and university participation

With the UK's cap on tuition fees due to rise to £9,000, Gill Wyness looks at the impact of past fee increases on young people's decisions to go to university....Read more...

Gill Wyness

June 2011

CentrePiece article
In brief: Chernobyl: the long-term health and economic consequences

Hartmut Lehmann and Jonathan Wadsworth assess the long-lasting effects of radiation exposure from the Chernobyl disaster on the people of Ukraine....Read more...

Hartmut Lehmann and Jonathan Wadsworth

June 2011

CentrePiece article
In brief: Competition in the public sector: good for the goose, good for the gander?

Zack Cooper outlines evidence on the benefits of competition in healthcare - and the implications for the coalition government's NHS reform plans....Read more...

Zack Cooper

June 2011

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: How competition improves management and productivity

John Van Reenen sketches the evolution of CEP research on the drivers of productivity growth - and its impact on policies to foster competition....Read more...

John Van Reenen

June 2011

CentrePiece article
Challenges for the dollar as a reserve currency

Gianluca Benigno examines the extent to which the financial crisis has undermined the dollar's pre-eminence....Read more...

Gianluca Benigno

June 2011

CentrePiece article
Youth unemployment

The rise in joblessness among young people began long before the recession - Barbara Petrongolo and John Van Reenen consider potential explanations....Read more...

Barbara Petrongolo and John Van Reenen

June 2011

CentrePiece article
In brief: Unequal shares: the economics of elite football clubs

In brief: Unequal shares: the economics of elite football clubs...Read more...

Eran Yashiv

March 2011

CentrePiece article
Trade crisis - what trade crisis?

Giordano Mion and colleagues investigate whether the trade collapse of 2008-09 reflected a crisis of international trade itself...Read more...

Giordano Mion

March 2011

CentrePiece article
Bank bailouts in a global economy: the challenges for international cooperation

Friederike Niepmann and Tim Schmidt-Eisenlohr analyse the balance between financial globalisation, national sovereignty and global cooperation in a crisis...Read more...

Friederike Niepmann

March 2011

CentrePiece article
Chris Pissarides, CEP's Nobel laureate

Barbara Petrongolo outlines how his analysis of markets with search frictions has enhanced our understanding of how labour markets work and how policy-makers should respond...Read more...

Barbara Petrongolo

March 2011

CentrePiece article
How did London get away with it?

Despite dire predictions, the UK capital has experienced a relatively mild recession, at least so far - Henry Overman asks what went right...Read more...

Henry G. Overman

March 2011

CentrePiece article
In brief: Location, location, location: why geography matters for R&D

John Van Reenen and colleagues assess the impact on growth of 'knowledge spillovers' between corporate research labs located close to each other...Read more...

John Van Reenen

March 2011

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: economic geography

Henry Overman sketches the evolution of CEP research on why prosperity is so unevenly distributed across cities, regions and nations...Read more...

Henry G. Overman

March 2011

CentrePiece article
In brief: Hospital performance: the impact of good management

CEP research highlights the potential role of improving the quality of hospital management for raising productivity in the UK healthcare sector...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, Stephen Dorgan, Rebecca Homkes, Dennis Layton, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

March 2011

CentrePiece article
In brief: Improving management in India

An experiment with Indian textile firms, conducted by Nicholas Bloom and colleagues, finds that better management has a huge impact on corporate performance...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom

March 2011

CentrePiece article
Enhancing management quality: the potential for productivity growth after the recession

Improving the way firms are managed could have a big impact on the UK's national productivity, says Rebecca Homkes...Read more...

Rebecca Homkes

March 2011

CentrePiece article
In brief: The future of finance

A new CEP report says that the financial system has become far more complicated than it need to be - and dangerously unstable too...Read more...

Peter Boone, C Goodhart, Andrew Haldane, Simon Johnson, John Kay, Andrew Large, Richard Layard, Andrew Smithers, A Turner, Sushil B. Wadhwani, Martin Wolf and Paul Woolley

November 2010

CentrePiece article
The shrinking middle

Guy Michaels and colleagues show how new technologies are polarising the labour market, with the middle-skilled losing out most...Read more...

Guy Michaels, Ashwini Natraj and John Van Reenen

November 2010

CentrePiece article
Academy schools: who benefits?

Stephen Machin and James Vernoit argue there has been a U-turn in academy schools policy under the new government...Read more...

Stephen Machin and James Vernoit

November 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: The state of apprenticeships

Hilary Steedman finds that the provision of apprenticeships in the UK lags behind other countries...Read more...

Hilary Steedman

November 2010

CentrePiece article
The NHS White Paper: evolution or revolution?

Zack Cooper assesses the coalition government's plans for healthcare reform...Read more...

Zack Cooper

November 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: 'Revolving door' lobbyists

Jordi Blanes i Vidal, Mirko Draca and Christian Fons-Rosen estimate the value of political connections in Washington...Read more...

Jordi Blanes i Vidal, Mirko Draca and Christian Fons-Rosen

November 2010

CentrePiece article
Does fiscal policy work?

Ethan Ilzetzki and colleagues examine whether programmes of fiscal stimulus and fiscal austerity have a significant impact on national economic activity ...Read more...

Ethan Ilzetzki

November 2010

CentrePiece article
Has the euro increased trade?

Joao Santos Silva and Silvana Tenreyro investigate whether the new currency has delivered the promised growth in trade between member countries...Read more...

João Santos Silva and Silvana Tenreyro

November 2010

CentrePiece article
Foreign takeovers of British companies

Geoffrey Owen sheds light on the impact of foreign takeovers on the British economy through the experience of Courtaulds...Read more...

Geoffrey Owen

November 2010

CentrePiece article
Chinese ghosts in the Western machine

John Van Reenen and colleagues measure China's impact on the innovation and productivity performance of European firms...Read more...

John Van Reenen

November 2010

CentrePiece article
Jobs in the recession

The recession of 2008-09 inflicted a larger cumulative loss of UK output than any of the previous post-war recessions, yet there has been a relatively low loss of employment, at least so far. Paul Gregg and Jonathan Wads...Read more...

Paul Gregg and Jonathan Wadsworth

July 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: The educational background of postgrad students

Has the boom in postgraduate courses in the UK over recent years had a negative impact on intergenerational mobility? Research by Stephen Machin and Richard Murphy suggests that there is a small but significant imbalance...Read more...

Stephen Machin and Richard Murphy

July 2010

CentrePiece article
Passive smoking: the effect of bans and taxes

Smoking bans have been widely introduced in recent years in an effort to reduce non-smokers' exposure to tobacco smoke. Jérôme Adda and Francesca Cornaglia evaluate the effect of these restrictions - and of taxes on ciga...Read more...

Jérôme Adda and Francesca Cornaglia

July 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: Men in black: the impact of new contracts on football referees' performance

In the 2001/02 English football season, referees of Premier League matches were paid a salary for the first time. Alex Bryson and colleagues investigate the impact on their performance....Read more...

Alex Bryson

July 2010

CentrePiece article
Regional trade agreements: blessing or burden?

There has been a proliferation of regional trade agreements around the world since the early 1990s. In a survey of the latest theoretical and empirical research on regionalism, Caroline Freund and Emanuel Ornelas ask whe...Read more...

Caroline Freund and Emanuel Ornelas

July 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: The wage premium of two-footed footballers

The study of football - the clubs, the players, the managers, the referees - is telling us more and more about the operation of labour markets and incentives. Here, Alex Bryson and colleagues show that two-footedness - t...Read more...

Alex Bryson

July 2010

CentrePiece article
Europe's emissions trading scheme: taxpayers versus sthe industry lobby

The European Commission plans to tighten the greenhouse gas emissions targets in the Emissions Trading System. Ralf Martin and colleagues examine the likely impact on affected businesses, and conclude that industry is ex...Read more...

Ralf Martin, Mirabelle Muûls and Ulrich J. Wagner

July 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: Producing superstars for the economic World Cup

Most countries' education policies make raising average student performance their priority. Yet just as in the football World Cup, the quality of the top performers is the key to competing successfully at the global leve...Read more...

Lant Pritchett and Martina Viarengo

July 2010

CentrePiece article
Making the UK's aid budget work better

All the UK's major parties agree on ring-fencing foreign aid spending at current levels, even while the country's dire financial situation requires sharp cuts to other budgets. Peter Boone draws on the evidence on aid ef...Read more...

Peter Boone

July 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: Job guarantee: a new promise on long-term unemployment

Richard Layard and Paul Gregg call for a 'job guarantee' for jobseekers who have been out of work for 12 months or more...Read more...

Richard Layard

February 2010

CentrePiece article
Violence in Iraq: the impact of public debate during wartime

Radha Iyengar considers whether public debate about the UK's involvement in Iraq might undermine the chances of military success...Read more...

Radha Iyengar

February 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: A Swedish model for UK schools?

Helena Holmlund and Sandra McNally ask whether educational reforms in Sweden really do offer lessons for the UK...Read more...

Helena Holmlund and Sandra McNally

February 2010

CentrePiece article
Management practices in the NHS

CEP researchers have conducted a unique survey of clinicians and hospital managers to explore how well NHS hospitals are managed...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, Carol Propper, Stephan Seiler and John Van Reenen

February 2010

CentrePiece article
The integration of immigrants and their children in Europe

The integration of immigrants and their children in Europe...Read more...

Yann Algan, Christian Dustmann, Albrecht Glitz and Alan Manning

February 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: Modern Management: Good for the environment or just hot air?

Nick Bloom and colleagues examine whether well-managed firms are more or less energy-efficient than badly managed firms...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, Christos Genakos, Ralf Martin and Raffaella Sadun

February 2010

CentrePiece article
A Resource Curse? The impact of oil windfalls on living standards in Brazil

A Resource Curse? The impact of oil windfalls on living standards in Brazil...Read more...

Francesco Caselli and Guy Michaels

February 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: Economic Inequality in the UK

Stephen Machin, a member of the National Equality Panel, summarises its recent report...Read more...

Stephen Machin

February 2010

CentrePiece article
The Doomsday Cycle

Peter Boone and Simon Johnson believe that the next financial crisis could lead to economic disaster...Read more...

Peter Boone and Simon Johnson

February 2010

CentrePiece article
In brief: Europe's top prize for economic research

Europe's top prize for economic research John Van Reenen has been jointly awarded the Yrjö Jahnsson Award in Economics 2009....Read more...

John Van Reenen

October 2009

CentrePiece article
In brief: Government regulation of occupations

Alex Bryson and Morris Kleiner explore the impact of occupational licensing on earnings, employment and access to services....Read more...

Alex Bryson and Morris Kleiner

October 2009

CentrePiece article
The unexpected consequences of forced migration

Matti Sarvimäki looks at the long-term economic outcomes for Finns displaced by the 1939 Soviet invasion....Read more...

Matti Sarvimäki

October 2009

CentrePiece article
Industrial policy: why governments pick losers

Frédéric Robert-Nicoud and Richard Baldwin explain why governments often support ailing sectors....Read more...

Richard E. Baldwin and Frédéric Robert-Nicoud

October 2009

CentrePiece article
In brief: Shared capitalism: does it work?

Alex Bryson and Richard Freeman ask whether employee share ownership leads to better performance...Read more...

Alex Bryson and Richard B. Freeman

October 2009

CentrePiece article
European unemployment: how significant was a declining work ethic

Jean-Baptiste Michau argues that a declining work ethic helps to account for rising European unemployment from the 1970s....Read more...

Jean-Baptiste Michau

October 2009

CentrePiece article
Bossonomics: the economics of management and productivity

Nick Bloom and John Van Reenen analyse the role of management practices in driving firm performance and national productivity....Read more...

Nicholas Bloom and John Van Reenen

October 2009

CentrePiece article
In brief: Heterogeneous firms in international trade

Stephen Redding reports on a conference jointly organised by CEP's globalisation programme....Read more...

Stephen J. Redding

October 2009

CentrePiece article
A century of minimum wages in Britain

Simon Deakin and Francis Green trace the history from the trade boards first enacted in October 1909 to today's National Minimum Wage....Read more...

Simon Deakin and Francis Green

October 2009

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: The UK's National Minimum Wage

Alan Manning describes CEP's role in providing the intellectual context for the policy, advising on its implementation and evaluating its impact....Read more...

Alan Manning

October 2009

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Benefits of compulsory schooling

Panu Pelkonen and colleagues analyse the impact of a Norwegian reform that raised the length of compulsory schooling....Read more...

Panu Pelkonen

June 2009

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Gender differences in test scores

Stephen Machin and Tuomas Pekkarinen explore the phenomenon of 'higher variance' in boys' educational performance relative to girls....Read more...

Stephen Machin and Tuomas Pekkarinen

June 2009

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Dropping out of school

Dongshu Ou assesses the differences between barely passing and barely failing US high school exit exams....Read more...

Dongshu Ou

June 2009

CentrePiece article
Going private

Richard Murphy and colleagues examine what's driving the increasing flow of teachers from state schools to the independent sector....Read more...

Richard Murphy

June 2009

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Every child matters?

Sandra McNally and colleagues provide the first comprehensive evaluation of 'special educational needs' programmes....Read more...

Sandra McNally

June 2009

CentrePiece article
What works in primary schools?

Olmo Silva reviews the evidence on the effectiveness of increasing resources, modifying teaching methods and introducing choice and competition....Read more...

Olmo Silva

June 2009

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Promoting children's well-being

Amy Challen and colleagues ask whether well-being workshops can improve children's psychological health....Read more...

Amy Challen

June 2009

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Assessed by a teacher like me

Amine Ouazad looks at the impact of race on pupils' grades in US elementary schools...Read more...

Amine Ouazad

June 2009

CentrePiece article
Assessing pupils' abilities

Stephen Gibbons and Arnaud Chevalier investigate differences between pupils' test scores and their teachers' assessments....Read more...

Arnaud Chevalier and Stephen Gibbons

June 2009

CentrePiece article
Academy schools and pupil performance

Stephen Machin and Joan Wilson present the first evaluation of the impact of academy schools on pupils' performance....Read more...

Stephen Machin and Joan Wilson

June 2009

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: education

Sandra McNally surveys CEP evaluations of a wide range of school policies in the UK....Read more...

Sandra McNally

June 2009

CentrePiece article
Peer effects in science: evidence from Nazi Germany

Are university scientists more productive when surrounded by able colleagues? Fabian Waldinger uses data from 1930s Germany to address this question....Read more...

Fabian Waldinger

March 2009

CentrePiece article
Britain's regional divide

Henry Overman considers the regional distribution of prosperity and the potential policy responses....Read more...

Henry G. Overman

March 2009

CentrePiece article
In brief: Saving the economy and the planet

The economic crisis may offer an opportunity to set the world on the right track for addressing climate change, writes Ralf Martin....Read more...

Ralf Martin

March 2009

CentrePiece article
In brief: Train times

Are we better than the Victorians at running our railways? Tim Leunig investigates....Read more...

Tim Leunig

March 2009

CentrePiece article
In brief: Hot and cold seasons in the housing market

The difference in the price you pay for the same house in the summer and in the winter is huge, according to Rachel Ngai and Silvana Tenreyro....Read more...

L. Rachel Ngai and Silvana Tenreyro

March 2009

CentrePiece article
Understanding happiness: the distinction between living - and thinking about it

Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman discusses happiness as an indicator of social progress....Read more...

Daniel Kahneman

March 2009

CentrePiece article
The changing pattern of earnings: employees, migrants and low-paid families

Richard Dickens and Abigail McKnight explore changes in earnings inequality in Britain since the late 1970s....Read more...

Richard Dickens and Abigail McKnight

March 2009

CentrePiece article
In brief: The recession will be over sooner than you think

Nick Bloom and Max Floetotto report that key measures of uncertainty have dropped so rapidly that growth will resume in late 2009....Read more...

Nicholas Bloom and Max Floetotto

March 2009

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: intergenerational mobility

Jo Blanden traces the evolution of CEP research on social mobility and its interaction with policy debate....Read more...

Jo Blanden

March 2009

CentrePiece article
Weightlifting competitions: lessons for performance management

Christos Genakos and Mario Pagliero look at professional weightlifters to assess the effects of reward systems based on relative performance....Read more...

Christos Genakos and Mario Pagliero

March 2009

CentrePiece article
In Brief: The end of trade unionism as we know it?

Alex Bryson and David Blanchflower explore whether the decline of unions in Britain really matters for employees and firms....Read more...

David Blanchflower and Alex Bryson

October 2008

CentrePiece article
Words that work: comparing the effectiveness of central bank communications

Carlo Rosa finds that Fed announcements move market interest rates significantly more than those from the European Central Bank....Read more...

Carlo Rosa

October 2008

CentrePiece article
Do swing states influence US trade policy?

As the US election campaign nears its climax, Mirabelle Muûls and Dimitra Petropoulou find that industries in battleground states are more likely to be protected....Read more...

Mirabelle Muûls and Dimitra Petropoulou

October 2008

CentrePiece article
How to measure the rising cost of living

Nicholas Oulton explains the problems in creating an accurate measure of inflation - and shows how inflation hurts the poor more than the rich....Read more...

Nicholas Oulton

October 2008

CentrePiece article
Conference report: Intergenerational mobility

Read more...

October 2008

CentrePiece article
A continuing downward trend in intergenerational mobility?

Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin look at evidence on the life chances of children born into poor families since 1970....Read more...

Jo Blanden and Stephen Machin

October 2008

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Spend it like Beckham

Andreas Georgiadis and Alan Manning wonder why voters have not forced successive governments to increase taxes on the rich....Read more...

Andreas Georgiadis and Alan Manning

October 2008

CentrePiece article
Conference report: The emergence of China and India in the global economy

Read more...

October 2008

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: rising wage inequality

Stephen Machin surveys CEP's pathbreaking research findings on wage inequality....Read more...

Stephen Machin

October 2008

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Are the top universities worth paying for?

Iftikhar Hussain, Sandra McNally and Shqiponja Telhaj investigate whether degrees from the UK's 'better' universities are worth more than others....Read more...

Iftikhar Hussain, Sandra McNally and Shqiponja Telhaj

October 2008

CentrePiece article
Does planning regulation protect independent retailers?

Raffaella Sadun reveals that planning regulations supposed to 'save the traditional British High Street' have in fact done the opposite....Read more...

Raffaella Sadun

October 2008

CentrePiece article
Where To Build Britain's New Houses

The fast-growing cities of the Victorian age made Britain the workshop of the world. Tim Leunig argues that there are important lessons for how we manage today's economy, notably the need to end the highly restrictive pl...Read more...

Tim Leunig

May 2008

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Delayed Doves

Do newly appointed external members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hide their true views on the right level for interest rates? Stephen Hansen and Michael McMahon look back at their voting recor...Read more...

Stephen Hansen and Michael McMahon

May 2008

CentrePiece article
Will the Credit Crunch Lead to Recession?

Recent research by Nick Bloom - as well as research of an earlier vintage by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke - suggests that the impact of the credit crunch on uncertainty will lead to an economic slowdown much worse than we c...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom

May 2008

CentrePiece article
In Brief: India's Foreign Investment Policy: The Impact on Productivity

What kind of liberalisation policies can make a difference to firms' productivity? Research by Arunish Chawla explores this question in the context of India's economic liberalisation of the 1990s. He analyses the impact ...Read more...

Arunish Chawla

May 2008

CentrePiece article
China's Entrepreneurs

China's remarkable economic growth has been achieved through the rapid emergence of a dynamic private sector. Linda Yueh explores what we know about the generation of self-employed entrepreneurs who have driven this tran...Read more...

Linda Yueh

May 2008

CentrePiece article
Can Better Management Sustain Growth in China and India?

The economies of China and India have been booming - but do they have the quality of corporate management to sustain growth over the longer term? Using CEP's global survey of over 4,000 firms, Nick Bloom and Rebecca Homk...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom and Rebecca Homkes

May 2008

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Can Pay Regulation Kill?

John Van Reenen and colleagues present evidence on the impact of regulating the labour market for nurses on the performance of hospitals in England....Read more...

John Van Reenen

May 2008

CentrePiece article
In Brief: Understanding Trade Unions

Richard Freeman, professor of economics at Harvard University, visiting professor at LSE and senior research fellow in CEP's research programmes on labour markets and wellbeing, has been awarded the IZA Prize in Labor Ec...Read more...

Richard B. Freeman

May 2008

CentrePiece article
The Unemployment Trap

The Job Seeker's Allowance was introduced in late 1996 to encourage benefit claimants to look for work. New research by Barbara Petrongolo investigates whether it has succeeded in breaking the 'unemployment trap'....Read more...

Barbara Petrongolo

May 2008

CentrePiece article
Big ideas: unemployment and welfare to work

To illustrate CEP's impact on public policy and debate, John Van Reenen introduces and presents the first in a series of 'big ideas', surveying the significant research findings that have emerged from the Centre over the...Read more...

John Van Reenen

May 2008

CentrePiece article
Do Computers Help Police Fight Crime?

Increased computerisation results in more effective crime-fighting - but only if police work is reorganised to take advantage of the presence of computers. That is the central conclusion of a study of the impact of infor...Read more...

Luis Garicano and Paul Heaton

February 2008

CentrePiece article
What's in a Name? Information on Intergenerational Mobility

It is very difficult to measure changes in economic and social mobility across generations and to make comparisons across societies. Research by Maia Güell, José V. Rodríguez Mora and Chris Telmer finds that surnames can...Read more...

Maia Güell, José V. Rodríguez Mora and Chris Telmer

February 2008

CentrePiece article
The Labour Market Effects of Immigration

What are the effects of increased immigration on the wages and employment of people who are already here, whether they are native-born or earlier immigrants? Research by Marco Manacorda, Alan Manning and Jonathan Wadswor...Read more...

Marco Manacorda, Alan Manning and Jonathan Wadsworth

February 2008

CentrePiece article
Inequality of Individual Wages and the Dispersion of Firm Productivity

Many blame globalisation for growing wage inequality in the UK. But according to research by Giulia Faggio, Kjell Salvanes and John Van Reenen, the rise in inequality is better explained by increasing dispersion in the p...Read more...

Giulia Faggio, Kjell Salvanes and John Van Reenen

February 2008

CentrePiece article
The Psychology of Savings and Investment

The pensions world of 2010 is going to look a lot more useful to unsophisticated investors than the pensions world of 2000, thanks to policy recommendations emerging from the new field of 'behavioural economics'. That is...Read more...

David Laibson and Romesh Vaitilingam

February 2008

CentrePiece article
In brief: Freedom fries: When International Relations Damage International Trade

International trade flows may be sensitive to large changes in international relations and public attitudes, according to research by Guy Michaels and Xiaojia Zhi. Their study finds that US imports from France declined s...Read more...

Guy Michaels and Xiaojia Zhi

February 2008

CentrePiece article
In brief: Smoking During Pregnancy

Women who smoke in early pregnancy should not be written off as 'too late' to help, according to research by Emma Tominey. Harm to the baby is essentially reduced to zero if the mother quits by month five of the pregnanc...Read more...

Emma Tominey

February 2008

CentrePiece article
Is Distance Dying at Last?

Economists have long been sceptical of claims about the 'death of distance' - the idea that new technology has diminished the significance of geography for economic outcomes. Research by Sokbae Lee, Rachel Griffith and J...Read more...

Rachel Griffith, Sokbae Lee and John Van Reenen

February 2008

CentrePiece article
School Segregation and its Consequences

The average ability of children going into the best comprehensive schools in England is way above the average ability in the worst, according to a study of the extent to which high- and low-achieving pupils are separated...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons and Shqiponja Telhaj

February 2008

CentrePiece article
Regulating the mobile phone industry: beware the 'waterbed' effect

Christos Genakos and Tommaso Valletti examine the impact of recent price cap regulation...Read more...

Christos Genakos and Tommaso Valletti

October 2007

CentrePiece article
Life on the Monetary Policy Committee

Stephen Nickell reflects on his experiences setting the nation's official interest rate...Read more...

Stephen Nickell

October 2007

CentrePiece article
In brief:Union Blues

Alex Bryson and Paul Willman chart the continuing decline of Britain's trade unions...Read more...

Alex Bryson and P Willman

October 2007

CentrePiece article
In brief:Ozonomics

Andrew Charlton explores the myth of Australia's economic superheroes...Read more...

Andrew Charlton

October 2007

CentrePiece article
What drives good management around the world?

CEP's global survey of over 4,000 firms reveals huge variations in the quality of management practices...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, Christos Genakos, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

October 2007

CentrePiece article
In brief: Europe's Universities - Time for Reform

Nick Butler outlines what must be done to improve the quality of higher education in the European Union...Read more...

Nick Butler

October 2007

CentrePiece article
Higher education and the labour market

There are no problems of graduate over-supply or over-qualification,according to Stephen Machin and Sandra McNally...Read more...

Stephen Machin and Sandra McNally

October 2007

CentrePiece article
Harnessing Success: Incentives for Invention and Technology Transfer in Universities

Mark Schankerman investigates the motivations for producing new, commercially valuable, scientific knowledge...Read more...

Mark Schankerman

October 2007

CentrePiece article
In brief: Blair's Economic Legacy

Blair leaves behind an economy in better shape than any previous Labour leader...Read more...

John Van Reenen

June 2007

CentrePiece article
Widening Access to Grammar Schools: the Educational Impact in Northern Ireland

What are the overall effects on educational attainment of widening access to the more academic track? Research by Eric Maurin and Sandra McNally investigates using the 'natural experiment' of the grammar school system in...Read more...

Eric Maurin and Sandra McNally

June 2007

CentrePiece article
In brief: Faith Primary Schools: Better Schools or Better Pupils?

Average levels of pupil achievement in religiously affiliated primary schools seem to be higher than in the secular sector. Research by Stephen Gibbons and Olmo Silva examines whether faith schools really are better or i...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons and Olmo Silva

June 2007

CentrePiece article
Happiness and the Teaching of Values

A major purpose of schools must be to help develop good and happy people - especially at a time when growing numbers of children are suffering from emotional disturbance. Richard Layard argues that we need a new cadre of...Read more...

Richard Layard

June 2007

CentrePiece article
Words and Deeds: Market Reactions when Central Banks Talk

What is the minute-by-minute effect of central bank communication on asset prices? New research by Carlo Rosa and Giovanni Verga finds that the unexpected component of announcements by the European Central Bank has a siz...Read more...

Carlo Rosa and Giovanni Verga

June 2007

CentrePiece article
In brief: Sharing the Fruits of Trade

One of CEP's core research themes is the impact of trade openness on countries, firms, regions, communities and sectors.Two recent studies confirm the gains from opening up trade - but recognise that addressing the uneve...Read more...

Andrew B. Bernard, Guy Michaels, Stephen J. Redding and Peter K. Schott

June 2007

CentrePiece article
Culture Clash or Culture Club? The Identity and Attitudes of Immigrants in Britain

Does Britain face a real threat from immigrants and minorities - particularly Muslims - who refuse to think of themselves as British? Alan Manning and Sanchari Roy have analysed data on the national identity and values o...Read more...

Alan Manning and Sanchari Roy

June 2007

CentrePiece article
The European Commission versus Microsoft: Competition Policy in High-Tech Industries

The antitrust cases against Microsoft in the United States and Europe have been the most high profile implementation of competition law in the last 20 years. Christos Genakos, Kai Uwe Kühn and John Van Reenen look at the...Read more...

Christos Genakos, Kai Uwe Kühn and John Van Reenen

June 2007

CentrePiece article
Technologies to Tackle Global Warming

The Stern Review of the economics of climate change proposes a dramatic increase in public spending on research into carbon-mitigating technologies as well as market-based schemes for trading and taxing pollution. Ralf M...Read more...

Ralf Martin

December 2006

CentrePiece article
In brief: Fat City: Does Urban Sprawl Lead to Human Sprawl?

People who move from compact to sprawling neighbourhoods do not gain weight....Read more...

Henry G. Overman

December 2006

CentrePiece article
Japan's Shareholder Revolution

Over the past decade or so, there has been a fundamental change in what the managers of Japanese companies believe are their key objectives. Ronald Dore traces the country’s conversion to Anglo-Saxon capitalism - and gro...Read more...

Ron Dore

December 2006

CentrePiece article
In brief: Bosnia: the Labour Market Costs of Conflict

The last issue of CentrePiece reported research by Florence Kondylis on the costs of conflict-induced migration for individual households in Rwanda. In this issue, she explores similar questions for people displaced and ...Read more...

Florence Kondylis

December 2006

CentrePiece article
Shifts in Economic Geography and their Causes

Why are economic activity and prosperity spread so unevenly, and does globalisation necessarily narrow these differences? Tony Venables outlines the key forces driving the economic geography of cities, nations and the wo...Read more...

Anthony J. Venables

December 2006

CentrePiece article
In brief: Britain's Minimum Wage: What Impact on Pay and Jobs?

The national minimum wage is now an established part of the British labour market. In the first evaluation of all the evidence of its impact on pay and jobs, David Metcalf shows that there has been a big boost in the pay...Read more...

David Metcalf

December 2006

CentrePiece article
The Educational Impact of Parental Choice and School Competition

A central focus of current education policy is to expand parents' choice over where their children go to school and to promote competition between schools. A long-running CEP research programme by Stephen Gibbons, Stephe...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons, Stephen Machin and Olmo Silva

December 2006

CentrePiece article
Trade Liberalisation and the Market for Corporate Control

We know that freer trade between countries usually increases efficiency by reallocating resources from less productive plants to more productive plants. Holger Breinlich finds that it can also have a significant impact o...Read more...

Holger Breinlich

December 2006

CentrePiece article
Edmund Phelps, Nobel laureate

CEP congratulates Professor Edmund S. Phelps of Columbia University on being awarded the 2006 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel....Read more...

Edmund Phelps

October 2006

CentrePiece article
Rwanda: the Costs of Conflict for Subsistence Households

We know that civil conflict is hugely costly for poor countries but how can we measure the costs of such strife for individuals? Florence Kondylis looks at the impact of the waves of ethnic violence and consequent mass m...Read more...

Florence Kondylis

October 2006

CentrePiece article
Tackling Depression and Anxiety Disorders

Most people with mental illness should be offered the choice of psychological therapy....Read more...

Richard Layard

October 2006

CentrePiece article
HIV/AIDS Prevention: the Potential of Primary Education

Can education policy offer solutions to Africa's AIDS epidemic? Harvard University’s Michael Kremer, who visited CEP this past summer, reports on the evidence from four primary school-based interventions in Western Kenya...Read more...

Michael R. Kremer

October 2006

CentrePiece article
The Collapse of the Doha Trade Round

The Doha failure may undermine WTO credibility and ferment distrust in developing countries....Read more...

Andrew Charlton

October 2006

CentrePiece article
Cutting Child Mortality: the Power of Parents

Why do some poor communities have levels of child mortality as low as those in wealthy countries while others lose more than a fifth of their children under the age of five? Research by Peter Boone shows that the key lie...Read more...

Peter Boone

October 2006

CentrePiece article
The China Effect

The economic emergence of the world's most populous nation is having a big impact on everyone else. Tony Venables and Linda Yueh analyse which countries, industries and workers are likely to benefit and which may lose ou...Read more...

Anthony J. Venables and Linda Yueh

October 2006

CentrePiece article
Panic on the Streets of London

The terrorist attacks of 7 July 2005 resulted in a very large redeployment of police officers to central London boroughs. New research by Mirko Draca, Stephen Machin and Robert Witt looks at the impact of this increased ...Read more...

Mirko Draca, Stephen Machin and Robert Witt

October 2006

CentrePiece article
The Economic Impact of 9/11

Major events like the terrorist attacks on New York of 11 September 2001 generate large but typically short-lived bursts of uncertainty. New research by Nick Bloom explores the effects of such shocks on employment, inves...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom

October 2006

CentrePiece article
Cycles of Disadvantage

More than a quarter of Britain's children are growing up in poverty. New research by Jo Blanden and Steve Gibbons measures the extent to which children's experience of relative financial hardship increases their chances ...Read more...

Jo Blanden and Stephen Gibbons

June 2006

CentrePiece article
Trade Unions in China

China apparently has more trade union members than the rest of the world put together. But as David Metcalf and Jianwei Li have found, Chinese unions function very differently from unions in the West....Read more...

Jianwei Li and David Metcalf

June 2006

CentrePiece article
Child Labour in 1920 Urban America

When poor children are working rather than going to school, do their parents work less? And what happens to their siblings? Marco Manacorda looks for answers in the experience of child labour in urban America at the dawn...Read more...

Marco Manacorda

June 2006

CentrePiece article
Work-Life Balance: the Links with Management Practices and Productivity

Does good management and higher productivity come at the expense of work-life balance? Or is good work-life balance an important component of the management of successful firms? New research by Nick Bloom, Tobias Kretsch...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, Tobias Kretschmer and John Van Reenen

June 2006

CentrePiece article
Gay Pay in the UK

Has recent anti-discrimination legislation made a difference to the pay and employment prospects of gay men and lesbian women in the UK? Reza Arabsheibani, Alan Marin and Jonathan Wadsworth investigate....Read more...

Reza Arabsheibani, A Marin and Jonathan Wadsworth

June 2006

CentrePiece article
The Gender Pay Gap

In its recent report on how to make further progress in closing the gender pay gap, the Women and Work Commission emphasises policy interventions before women enter the labour market. Alan Manning is sceptical about thei...Read more...

Alan Manning

June 2006

CentrePiece article
New Technology in Schools: is there a Payoff?

Economists have typically been sceptical that computers improve educational outcomes. But research by Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Olmo Silva finds evidence that new technology can have a positive effect on pupils'...Read more...

Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Olmo Silva

June 2006

CentrePiece article
What Future for European Jobs?

In a world of rapid technological progress and increasing international competition, how can European countries improve their poor employment performance? Christopher Pissarides argues that much needs to change in the lo...Read more...

Christopher A. Pissarides

June 2006

CentrePiece article
Urban Sprawl

New research by Henry Overman and colleagues provides a detailed picture of how land is used in US cities – and challenges conventional wisdom about urban sprawl....Read more...

Marcy Burchfield, Henry G. Overman, Diego Puga and Matthew A. Turner

June 2006

CentrePiece article
Understanding Labour Markets

Read more...

Christopher A. Pissarides

December 2005

CentrePiece article
Skills for All

CEP's Skills for All research programme has been looking at the life choices and life chances of the many young people in the UK who do not go to university. Hilary Steedman summarises the key findings and what they mean...Read more...

Hilary Steedman

December 2005

CentrePiece article
The Part-Time Pay Penalty

Women working part-time in the UK have hourly earnings that are on average 26 percent less than women working fulltime. Alan Manning and Barbara Petrongolo investigate what's behind this part-time pay penalty....Read more...

Alan Manning and Barbara Petrongolo

December 2005

CentrePiece article
Mental Health: the Choice of Therapy for All

Richard Layard has spent much of his professional life tackling unemployment and inequality. But in his latest work, he argues that mental illness is now Britain's biggest social problem....Read more...

Richard Layard

December 2005

CentrePiece article
'Excellence in Cities'

The government's Excellence in Cities policy has improved the educational outcomes for secondary school pupils in disadvantaged areas, according to new economic research by Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Costas Meghi...Read more...

Sandra McNally

December 2005

CentrePiece article
'Va-et-Vient'?

Nearly a third of immigrants in Western Europe intend to spend part of the year in their host country and the rest back home when they retire. That at least is the implication of analysis of a representative sample of mo...Read more...

Francois-Charles Wolff and Augustin de Coulon

December 2005

CentrePiece article
Can More Police Resources Reduce Crime?

New research by Stephen Machin and Olivier Marie finds that the Street Crime Initiative, introduced in 2002, has been highly effective in reducing the number of robberies. Increased police resources can have a big impact...Read more...

Stephen Machin and Olivier Marie

December 2005

CentrePiece article
Mamma's boys? Why most young Italian men live with their parents

It is a cliché that Italian children are particularly attached to their mothers, even when they're grown up. New research by Marco Manacorda and Enrico Moretti investigates why so many of them are still living with their...Read more...

Marco Manacorda and Enrico Moretti

December 2005

CentrePiece article
It Ain't what You Do, It's the Way that You Do I.T.

It's taken a long time to confirm that computers boost productivity. But as Nick Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen show, the key to their success seems to lie in management - and that's where US firms have been ...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

December 2005

CentrePiece article
Effective Intervention: Making Aid Work

Despite the many failures of the past, foreign aid is once again seen as a way to 'make poverty history'. Peter Boone argues that to have a real impact on extreme poverty, aid needs to be much more carefully targeted, al...Read more...

Peter Boone

December 2005

CentrePiece article
Small Isn't Beautiful: the Cost Disadvantages of Small Remote Economies

Small remote economies like Anguilla and Vanuatu face huge competitive challenges, not least the higher costs of doing business. L Alan Winters and Pedro Martins measure the size of their cost disadvantages and explore p...Read more...

Pedro Martins and L. Alan Winters

June 2005

CentrePiece article
Location, location, location

How important is access to markets as a driver of economic prosperity? In new research, Stephen Redding and Daniel Sturm address this question by analysing the post-war division of Germany and its impact on the border ci...Read more...

Stephen J. Redding and Daniel M. Sturm

June 2005

CentrePiece article
Children of the Revolution

New research by Eric Maurin and Sandra McNally reveals that France's short-lived 'revolution' of May 1968 had long-term benefits for the angry students - and later for their children. These findings have important implic...Read more...

Eric Maurin and Sandra McNally

June 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: Performance Pay for Teachers: Is it Working?

The introduction of performance-related pay in England's schools has had a generally bad press. But David Marsden and Richard Belfield find that it is starting to have a positive impact both on school management and pupi...Read more...

Richard Belfield and David Marsden

June 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: From the Webbs to the Web: a New Union Form?

An inappropriate pessimism dominates discussions of the future of unions. Yes, union density is falling in the private sector and union influence is falling in Britain and many other countries. And, yes, the finances of ...Read more...

Richard B. Freeman

June 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: Unions in Germany: Better Placed than their British Counterparts?

Like British unions, unions in Germany face the serious problem of crumbling membership. Union membership peaked in 1981 and has fallen ever since. Union density too has fallen with less than a quarter of German employee...Read more...

Claus Schnabel

June 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: Public Service Unions: Challenges of the Reform Agenda

The government's 'modernisation' agenda for the public services has put considerable pressure on unions in the sector, giving them the dual challenges of articulating a coherent national policy response and ensuring effe...Read more...

Stephen Bach and Rebecca Kolins Givan

June 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: Circling the Wagons: Unions' Part in their Own Decline

The conventional explanation of union decline in Britain tends to stress the impact of outside forces. Manufacturing employment collapsed and there was massive membership loss. Unemployment rose. Hostile legislation impa...Read more...

P Willman

June 2005

CentrePiece article
Trade Unions: Resurgence or Demise?

Trade unions have been in decline in Britain for 25 years. A new book edited by Sue Fernie and David Metcalf - and featuring contributions from most leading analysts of the labour movement - takes a generally pessimistic...Read more...

Sue Fernie and David Metcalf

June 2005

CentrePiece article
Management Practices: the Impact on Company Performance

There are wide and persistent differences in productivity across firms and countries. A new CEP study - conducted jointly with McKinsey & Company - uses a pioneering approach to measure management practices and assess th...Read more...

Nicholas Bloom, Stephen Dorgan, John Dowdy, Tom Rippin and John Van Reenen

June 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: New Opportunities for Britain's Trade Unions?

The passage of the 1999 Employment Relations Act arguably signified the recovery of trade unions' political influence after many years of exclusion from policy-making under the Conservatives. As a new CEP book edited by ...Read more...

John Kelly and P Willman

February 2005

CentrePiece article
Tackling Unemployment: Europe's Successes and Failures

Why has unemployment fallen in some European countries but not in others? To answer this question, Richard Layard, Stephen Nickell and Richard Jackman revisit their landmark analysis of macroeconomic performance and the ...Read more...

Richard Jackman, Richard Layard and Stephen Nickell

February 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: Pay Inequalities and Economic Performance

What is the relationship between the structure of earnings within firms and their business and employment performance? A major CEP project led by David Marsden has been using new European data to examine the role that fi...Read more...

David Marsden

February 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: What's Wrong with Europe's Economy?

There is a conventional wisdom that Europe's poor economic performance is a sign of deep structural problems, which must be addressed by product market liberalisation, labour market reform and reduction of uncompetitive ...Read more...

A Turner

February 2005

CentrePiece article
Social Mobility in Britain: Low and Falling

The government wants 'to create a Britain that is economically successful because it is socially mobile'. But new research by Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin indicates that social mobility is not only declining...Read more...

Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin

February 2005

CentrePiece article
What's the Good of Education?

What is the economic value of investments in education made by individuals, firms and governments? A new book edited by Stephen Machin and Anna Vignoles provides top quality empirical evidence on the diverse set of issue...Read more...

Stephen Machin and Anna Vignoles

February 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: More Inequality Means Higher Inflation

All governments claim to want low inflation - but not all achieve it. While poorer countries generally fare worse, inflation rates can differ markedly even between equally wealthy countries. Turkey and Korea had similar ...Read more...

Christopher Crowe

February 2005

CentrePiece article
In brief: Boffins in the USA: the Boost to UK Productivity

The US innovation boom since 1990 has had major benefits for the UK economy. According to new research by CEP's director John Van Reenen and colleagues, without the growth in US spending on research and development (R&D)...Read more...

Rachel Griffith, Rupert Harrison and John Van Reenen

February 2005

CentrePiece article
Is New Technology Good or Bad for Jobs?

'If men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, they have the talent to put those men back to work.' Chris Pissarides investigates whether President Kennedy's claim is still true....Read more...

Christopher A. Pissarides

February 2005

CentrePiece article
Multinationals: Heroes or Villains of the Global Economy?

Multinational firms are demonised by anti-globalisation campaigners.Yet according to a new book by Tony Venables and colleagues, the evidence is that they are generally a force for prosperity in the world economy....Read more...

Anthony J. Venables

February 2005

CentrePiece article
Seeking a Premier Economy

In the 1980s and 1990s, successive UK governments enacted a series of economic reforms to establish a more market-oriented economy. A major new book assesses the impact on productivity, employment and income inequality....Read more...

Hugh Stephenson

October 2004

CentrePiece article
Jobless Recovery: Whatever Happened to the Great American Jobs Machine?

In terms of employment creation, the US economic expansion since 2001 has been the worst in over half a century. Richard Freeman and William Rodgers explore what's been going on in the labour market during this 'jobless ...Read more...

Richard B. Freeman and William Rodgers

October 2004

CentrePiece article
Teacher Shortage: Another Impending Crisis?

How can the UK education system recruit and retain the high-quality teachers it needs, especially for the places and subjects where there are severe shortages? Arnaud Chevalier and Peter Dolton examine the role of pay an...Read more...

Arnaud Chevalier and Peter Dolton

October 2004

CentrePiece article
North and South

Joining the European Union had a big impact on the geography of UK trade and manufacturing. Henry Overman and Alan Winters trace the continuing effects of that decision on the North-South divide....Read more...

Henry G. Overman and L. Alan Winters

October 2004

CentrePiece article
Productivity: Understanding Regional Differences

What drives variations in economic performance across Britain? Patricia Rice and Tony Venables find that access to cities has a big influence on regional productivity....Read more...

Patricia Rice and Anthony J. Venables

October 2004

CentrePiece article
Understanding Institutions

Daron Acemoglu delivered the 2004 Lionel Robbins Memorial Lectures at the LSE in February. His theme was that understanding the differences in the formal and informal rules governing economic and political interactions w...Read more...

Daron Acemoglu

June 2004

CentrePiece article
Women Looking for Work

Female unemployment rates differ widely from county to country. Ghazala Azmat, Maia Güell and Alan Manning look for the reasons that might explain this particular gender gap....Read more...

Ghazala Azmat, Maia Güell and Alan Manning

June 2004

CentrePiece article
Ideas are Not Like Other Assets

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are supposed to be a system to reward creative thinkers. But Danny Quah finds that all too often they fail both in theory and in practice. Here he explores other possibilities, particu...Read more...

Danny Quah

June 2004

CentrePiece article
Computer Assisted Exam Results

John Schmitt and Jonathan Wadsworth look at 10 years' data on GCSE and A level results and conclude that access to a PC at home has a significant impact on outcomes....Read more...

John Schmitt and Jonathan Wadsworth

June 2004

CentrePiece article
Working Better

John Van Reenen finds that British labour productivity still suffers from low investment in capital, basic skills and innovation....Read more...

John Van Reenen

June 2004

CentrePiece article
Race Relations

The laws of economics apply equally to the Sport of Kings, argues David Metcalf....Read more...

David Metcalf

February 2004

CentrePiece article
How to Score Goals

Riccardo Peccei, Helen Bewley, Howard Gospel and Paul Willman look at the effects of disclosure of information to employees....Read more...

Helen Bewley, Howard Gospel, R Peccei and P Willman

February 2004

CentrePiece article
Value for Money

David Marsden looks at the record of performance related pay in the public sector....Read more...

David Marsden

February 2004

CentrePiece article
Meeting the ICT Challenge

Like the UK, Germany is facing educational challenges over information technology. Hilary Steedman, Karin Wagner and Jim Foreman look at the two countries' contrasting responses....Read more...

Jim Foreman, Hilary Steedman and Karin Wagner

February 2004

CentrePiece article
Large Benefits, Low Cost

Is the government's National Literacy Strategy effective? Stephen Machin and Sandra McNally look at the evidence from the pilot project....Read more...

Stephen Machin and Sandra McNally

February 2004

CentrePiece article
Science Fiction or the Wave of the Future?

Nanotechnology is seen by some as a dehumanising threat and by others as promising almost limitless benefits. Stephen Wood, Richard Jones and Alison Geldart argue that we need urgently to get to grips with its real impli...Read more...

Alison Geldart, Richard Jones and Stephen Wood

October 2003

CentrePiece article
Lessons from the Seven Years War

A banking collapse in Amsterdam rocked European financial markets in 1763. Isabel Schnabel and Hyun Song Shin draw parallels between that crisis and the events that brought down Long-Term Capital Management in 1998, conc...Read more...

Isabel Schnabel and Hyun Song Shin

October 2003

CentrePiece article
Crime and Property Prices

Steve Gibbons uses Metropolitan Police figures for reported crime to show that vandalism and graffiti have a significant impact on house values, but burglary and violent crime levels in an area do not....Read more...

Stephen Gibbons

October 2003

CentrePiece article
Poverty and Worklessness

Stephen Nickell provides a profile of poverty in Britain today and argues that it is high by European standards because of our exceptionally long tail of very low skilled adults....Read more...

Stephen Nickell

October 2003

CentrePiece article
Five Years of the ECB

Peter Kenen looks back on the lessons to be learned from the early experience of European monetary union and concludes that it is paying too much attention to monetary aggregates....Read more...

Peter B. Kenen

June 2003

CentrePiece article
Very Early Evidence

How early can we predict future educational achievement? Leon Feinstein examines the links between pre-school tests, social class and final academic levels....Read more...

L Feinstein

June 2003

CentrePiece article
Good Practice Needs a Helping Hand

Howard Gospel and Jim Foreman look at four examples of employer-led industrial training that are working well and argue that such initiatives need more initial help from government....Read more...

Jim Foreman and Howard Gospel

June 2003

CentrePiece article
Clearing the Jungle

Hilary Steedman and John West present a manifesto to raise vocational education in Britain to the reputation that it enjoys in other European countries....Read more...

Hilary Steedman and John West

June 2003

CentrePiece article
All Is Not Equal

Theory suggests that market forces should bring the relative pay of skilled workers into line in different regions within a country. Andrew Bernard, Stephen Redding, Peter Schott and Helen Simpson show that this is not t...Read more...

Andrew B. Bernard, Stephen J. Redding, Peter K. Schott and Helen Simpson

June 2003

CentrePiece article
More Sellers Than Buyers

Alan Manning has been looking at the weaknesses of the classical model of market competition in explaining the behaviour of the labour market and argues that we should learn lessons from the monopsony model....Read more...

Alan Manning

February 2003

CentrePiece article
Unions Past, Present and Future

David Metcalf charts the fortunes of the British trade union movement over the last half-century and suggests where it will have to concentrate to find its place in the new economy....Read more...

David Metcalf

February 2003

CentrePiece article
Yawning Gaps

Why has globalisation brought such large increases in exports to some countries and not to others? Stephen Redding and Anthony Venables look at the way internal geography and domestic institutions seem to be a large part...Read more...

Stephen J. Redding and Anthony J. Venables

February 2003

CentrePiece article
Full Employment Is Not Just a Dream

Europe's leaders have pledged themselves to ambitious targets for employment by 2010. Richard Layard and Stephen Nickell here present them with a manifesto for how it can be achieved....Read more...

Richard Layard and Stephen Nickell

February 2003

CentrePiece article
Unto Them That Hath...

Since the introduction of GCSE, more children from poorer backgrounds are staying in school post-16. But, argues Stephen Machin, it is middle-class children who have won most from the huge expansion of higher education....Read more...

Stephen Machin

February 2003

CentrePiece article
Cause for Celebration

Richard Layard looks back on the achievements marked by the Queen’s Anniversary Prize award....Read more...

Richard Layard

February 2003

CentrePiece article
To Peg or Not to Peg

Read more...

Ellen E. Meade

October 2002

CentrePiece article
Staying On

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Damon Clark

October 2002

CentrePiece article
Bubbling Along

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Laurence Meyer

October 2002

CentrePiece article
Consulting the Workers

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Howard Gospel and P Willman

October 2002

CentrePiece article
Patterns of Growth

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Stephen Nickell, Stephen J. Redding and Joanna Swaffield

October 2002

CentrePiece article
Arbitrary Rights

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John Kay

June 2002

CentrePiece article
Do Owners Make Good Managers?

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Elisabeth Müller and Alexandra Spitz

June 2002

CentrePiece article
Upgrading the Workers

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Stephen Machin

June 2002

CentrePiece article
Mobility Has Fallen

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Jo Blanden

June 2002

CentrePiece article
In Place of Strife

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Sian Moore and Stephen Wood

June 2002

CentrePiece article
The Status Quo Is Not An Option

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Richard Layard

February 2002

CentrePiece article
Quality Time

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Ana Lasaosa, Stephen Wood and Lillian de Menezes

February 2002

CentrePiece article
In the Long Term...

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Sushil B. Wadhwani

February 2002

CentrePiece article
Are We Being Serious About Apprenticeship?

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Hilary Steedman

February 2002

CentrePiece article
By Choice or by Chance

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Arnaud Chevalier and Tarja K. Viitanen

February 2002

CentrePiece article
The Rate for the Job

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David Marsden

October 2001

CentrePiece article
Low Pay

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Richard Dickens

October 2001

CentrePiece article
After the Ball Was Over...

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Clive Hollick

October 2001

CentrePiece article
Why Do Jobless Rates Differ?

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Stephen Nickell, Luca Nunziata, Wolfgang Ochel and Glenda Quintini

October 2001

CentrePiece article
It Pays To Be Family-Friendly

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Helen Gray

October 2001

CentrePiece article
Distance Still Matters

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Anthony J. Venables

June 2001

CentrePiece article
TRIPping Through the Third World

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Louise C. Keely

June 2001

CentrePiece article
Non-Working Classes

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Richard Dickens, Paul Gregg and Jonathan Wadsworth

June 2001

CentrePiece article
Turning the Tide

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David Metcalf

June 2001

CentrePiece article
Four Into One

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Hugh Stephenson

June 2001

CentrePiece article
Letter to the Editor: Reply to Alan Budd's column in previous issue

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Giles Radice

February 2001

CentrePiece article
Brain Development and Childhood. Report on conference at CEP

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L Feinstein

February 2001

CentrePiece article
The Internet: report on CEP's new internet research programme

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Richard B. Freeman

February 2001

CentrePiece article
Mind the Gap. How Much Does Britain's North-South Divide Matter?

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Gilles Duranton and Vassilis Monastiriotis

February 2001

CentrePiece article
Corporate Demergers: or is Divorce More Attractive than Marriage?

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Tom Kirchmaier

February 2001

CentrePiece article
Crisis in Southern Africa. The Economic Implications of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

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Markus Haacker

February 2001

CentrePiece article
What Goes Where: Integration and Industrial Specialisation in the European Union

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Anthony J. Venables

February 2001

CentrePiece article
Reform in Russia. A Good News Story

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Richard Jackman

October 2000

CentrePiece article
The Right to Know: What Should Employers Tell Their Workers?

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Howard Gospel, G Lockwood and P Willman

October 2000

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: More Transparency Please!

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Alan Budd

October 2000

CentrePiece article
Getting the Balance Right

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L Feinstein

October 2000

CentrePiece article
Time to Educate the Criminals?

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Kirstine Hansen

October 2000

CentrePiece article
The Economics of Crime

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R Lagos

October 2000

CentrePiece article
How Are the Mightly Fallen

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Stephen Machin

June 2000

CentrePiece article
Fighting for Equality

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David Metcalf

June 2000

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: TUC General Secretary on vision of unions in 21st Century

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John Monks

June 2000

CentrePiece article
Preparing to Perform

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David Marsden

June 2000

CentrePiece article
Bad News for British Unions?

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John Logan

June 2000

CentrePiece article
A Sword of Damocles

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Peter N Davies and Stephen Wood

June 2000

CentrePiece article
Women - What Unions Can Do For You

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Sue Fernie and Helen Gray

June 2000

CentrePiece article
What Will the New Centre Do? The new Centre for the Economics of Education

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Stephen Machin and Anna Vignoles

February 2000

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy: implications of high-tech revolution

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Danny Quah

February 2000

CentrePiece article
Shared Capitalism or Apartheid Economy

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Richard B. Freeman

February 2000

CentrePiece article
Women's Pay

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Joanna Swaffield

February 2000

CentrePiece article
Putting the Cart Before the Horse

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Stephen Wood

February 2000

CentrePiece article
Overeducation: a Tough Nut to Crack

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Francis Green, Steven McIntosh and Anna Vignoles

February 2000

CentrePiece article
Mirage or Miracle?

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Stephen Nickell and Jan Van Ours

February 2000

CentrePiece article
Can I Help You?

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Sue Fernie and David Holman

February 2000

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy: trade-offs on the Net

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Danny Quah

October 1999

CentrePiece article
Does Crime Pay Better?

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Stephen Machin and Costas Meghir

October 1999

CentrePiece article
Breaking the Link

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David Marsden

October 1999

CentrePiece article
Bridging the Productivity Gap

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Rachel Griffith, Stephen J. Redding and John Van Reenen

October 1999

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: after Cologne Summit what are, Prospects for new international financial architecture

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Peter B. Kenen

October 1999

CentrePiece article
A Path to Profit

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J Dawson, M Patterson and M West

October 1999

CentrePiece article
From Empire to Europe

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Geoffrey Owen

October 1999

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy: Information and Privacy

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Danny Quah

June 1999

CentrePiece article
Hopes and Disillusions

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Veronique Kessler and Christopher A. Pissarides

June 1999

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: the impact of Thatcherism twenty years after she came to power

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Douglas McWilliams

June 1999

CentrePiece article
Nations, Firms and their Workers

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Howard Gospel

June 1999

CentrePiece article
CentrePiece Special: The Euro Debate

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Janet Bush and Christopher Johnson

June 1999

CentrePiece article
The Elderley: A Burden on the Economy?

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Howard Glennerster

June 1999

CentrePiece article
The Fruits of Learning

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Patricia Tracy Jones

June 1999

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy: a look at intellectual property

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Danny Quah

February 1999

CentrePiece article
Does Inequality Mean Slow Growth?

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Timothy Besley and Robin Burgess

February 1999

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: Riding the Global Financial Storm: how global financial turmoil might affect UK

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Kate Barker

February 1999

CentrePiece article
The Way Out?

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David Metcalf

February 1999

CentrePiece article
Brave New World?

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Sue Fernie

February 1999

CentrePiece article
A Levels: Does Less Mean More?

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Anna Vignoles

February 1999

CentrePiece article
Holding the Bank to Account

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C Bean

February 1999

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy: what does it mean for jobs?

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Danny Quah

October 1998

CentrePiece article
Book Review: A World Gone Mad review of 'Mad Money' by Susan Strange

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Nicholas Bayne

October 1998

CentrePiece article
Getting People Back to Work

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Richard Layard

October 1998

CentrePiece article
Reinventing Apprenticeship

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Howard Gospel

October 1998

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: The Future of Work: A Challenge for Partnership

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Bill Callaghan

October 1998

CentrePiece article
What It Costs to Lose Your Job

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Paul Gregg, Genevieve Knight and Jonathan Wadsworth

October 1998

CentrePiece article
Minimum Wage: Maximum Impact?

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Richard Dickens and Stephen Machin

October 1998

CentrePiece article
West Meets East: Will Japan Convert to Capitalism?

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Ron Dore

October 1998

CentrePiece article
People Power

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M Patterson and M West

October 1998

CentrePiece article
Honey, I Shrunk the Government

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Graham Ingham

June 1998

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy: history points to it as the next logical stage in economic development

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Danny Quah

June 1998

CentrePiece article
A Lot of Hot Air: the Kyoto Deal and Emissions Trading

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Daniel M. Sturm

June 1998

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: New Principles for Government

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Edward Balls

June 1998

CentrePiece article
The Third Way?

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Alan Manning

June 1998

CentrePiece article
An End of Term Report

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Nicholas Crafts

June 1998

CentrePiece article
End of the Job for Life?

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Paul Gregg and Jonathan Wadsworth

June 1998

CentrePiece article
Gearing Up For a Fight: the Euro and the Dollar

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H Rey

June 1998

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy: on Globalisation

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Kathleen Tyson Quah

February 1998

CentrePiece article
Why Are Part-Time Women Workers Losing Out?

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Susan Harkness

February 1998

CentrePiece article
What Do I Get?

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D Brown

February 1998

CentrePiece article
Tackling the Skills Gap: Are We Qualified?

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Hilary Steedman

February 1998

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: argue about the economic case for Britain joining the single European currency

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Ruth Lea and Bridget Rosewell

February 1998

CentrePiece article
Hanging on the Telephone

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Sue Fernie

February 1998

CentrePiece article
Another Crisis in Britain's Car Industry?

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M. Sako

February 1998

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy: Europe in the Weightless Economy

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Danny Quah

October 1997

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: Black Wednesday: Five Years On

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Alan Walters

October 1997

CentrePiece article
A Raw Deal for the Young

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David Blanchflower and Richard B. Freeman

October 1997

CentrePiece article
Politics Special: On Britain's Future in Europe

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Edwina Currie and Austin Mitchell

October 1997

CentrePiece article
Recipe for Reform: Regional Policy for an Enlarging, European Union

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Diego Puga

October 1997

CentrePiece article
EMU: Convergence or Divergence?

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Richard Jackman

October 1997

CentrePiece article
Mapping the New European Structure

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Michael Emerson

October 1997

CentrePiece article
Book Review: of 'The Ownership of Enterprise' by Henry Hansmann

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Ansgar Richter

June 1997

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy: the Impact of Weightlessness on the Global Economy

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Danny Quah

June 1997

CentrePiece article
Taxing Performance

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Stephen French and David Marsden

June 1997

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: Signed Sealed and Delivered

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John Philpott

June 1997

CentrePiece article
Statutory Recognition: Time to Lay Down the Law?

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Stephen Wood

June 1997

CentrePiece article
Steeling Ideas

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Christopher Beauman

June 1997

CentrePiece article
Do Return and Unemployment Go Hand in Hand?

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Richard Jackman

June 1997

CentrePiece article
The Weightless Economy Column: the Significance of Dematerialisation

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Danny Quah

February 1997

CentrePiece article
Guest Column: Stakeholding

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John Kay

February 1997

CentrePiece article
Does Money Talk and Is It Pursuasive?

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Andrew Scott

February 1997

CentrePiece article
Blighted Lives: Disadvantaged Children and Adult Unemployment

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Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin

February 1997

CentrePiece article
The Skills Audit: Who's Winning the Race?

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Hilary Steedman

February 1997

CentrePiece article
Foreign Aid: Money Down the Drain

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Peter Boone

February 1997

CentrePiece article
Free to Choose

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D Brown, P Ingram and Jonathan Wadsworth

February 1997

CentrePiece article
Growth and Dematerialisation

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Danny Quah

October 1996

CentrePiece article
Reform Off the Rails

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Peter Boone

October 1996

CentrePiece article
Growth and Corporate Behaviour

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Richard B. Freeman

October 1996

CentrePiece article
The Future of Global Growth

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Rudiger Dornbusch and P Krugman

October 1996

CentrePiece article
Economic Growth: How Much Does Education Count

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Christopher A. Pissarides

October 1996

CentrePiece article
Whatever Happened to Neo-Classical Endogenous Growth?

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Nicholas Crafts

June 1996

CentrePiece article
The Rise of the No-Job Household

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Paul Gregg and Jonathan Wadsworth

June 1996

CentrePiece article
The Education Debate: Have We Got Our Priorities Right?

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Peter Robinson

June 1996

CentrePiece article
Russia: Should the West be Worried?

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John Parker

June 1996

CentrePiece article
Long-Termism v Short-Termism

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Geoffrey Owen

June 1996

CentrePiece article
It's Not What You Pay, It's the Way That You Pay It

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Sue Fernie and David Metcalf

June 1996

CentrePiece article
Will a Single European Currency Lead to Higher Unemployment?

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C Bean

February 1996

CentrePiece article
Keeping the Lid on Inflation: Central Europe's Dilemma

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Stanislaw Gomulka

February 1996

CentrePiece article
The Promise of Team-Working

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Rebecca Lawthorn and M West

February 1996

CentrePiece article
Targeting Inflation: the British Experience

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Alex Bowen

February 1996

CentrePiece article
Executive Pay: Are the Fat Cats Getting Fatter

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Stephen Machin

February 1996

CentrePiece article
How to Cut Unemployment

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Richard Layard

February 1996