In the Winter 2016 edition of CentrePiece:

In this edition:

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...