Publications

CEP discussion paper

Peer pressure and manager pressure in organisations

We study the interaction between horizontal (peer) and vertical (manager) social factors in workers' motivation. In our setting, individuals work using open-plan desks. Using a natural experiment, we identify a sharp inc...Read more...

CEP discussion paper

VAT pass-through and competition: Evidence from the Greek Islands

We examine how competition affects VAT pass-through in isolated oligopolistic markets as defined by the Greek islands. Using daily gasoline prices and a difference-in-differences methodology, we investigate how changes i...Read more...

Blog

Economics Observatory:

Should the UK government get active about economic inactivity?

Concerns about a rise in economic inactivity have prompted new policies aimed at discouraging early retirement and encouraging the labour force participation of women with young children. Such interventions would be more...Read more...

Blog

Economics Observatory:

How has the Russian invasion of Ukraine affected global financial markets?

As Russia's war against Ukraine continues to unfold, its global economic impact remains uncertain. Evidence from the stock market indicates that firms with strong trade or ownership ties to Russia are more likely to face...Read more...

Blog

Vox EU:

Accounting for imported and domestically generated inflation: Supply chains, monetary policy, and the UK's cost of living crisis

Inflation has increased sharply since the start of 2021 as the global economy grapples with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Swati Dhingra and Jack Page draw on a long tradition of...Read more...

Blog

LSE USAPP:

The 1918 flu pandemic made some people more religious, and others, more innovative.

Enrico Berkes, Davide Coluccia, Gaia Dossi and Mara Squicciarini investigate whether a destructive event - such as a pandemic - leads to either an increase in religiosity or a boost in innovation efforts. They find that ...Read more...

Blog

LSE British Politics and Policy:

How can we make homes more affordable?

Housing has become unaffordable, the problem is likely to get worse, and the young are hit the hardest. Christian Hilber argues that we face a conundrum: reforms that would be effective are considered politically infeasi...Read more...

CEP Brexit analysis

Brexit and consumer food prices: May 2023 update

Brexit continues to affect the UK economy. The results in this report are updates to the original study of Bakker et al. (2022), showing that higher non-tariff barriers due to Brexit are affecting food price inflation an...Read more...

Blog

LSE British Politics and Policy:

Why the government's levelling-up plans need a reality check

The government has made tackling the UK's persistent spatial inequalities one of its top priorities. Yet progress has been slow or absent, because of insufficient investment, an underestimation of the scale of the challe...Read more...

Blog

LSE:

Why has productivity in the UK slowed? (video)

Growth and productivity are often talked about in UK politics but how are they linked and what affect do they have on the economy? John Van Reenen explains....Read more...

Journal article

Scientific Reports: Forthcoming

Happiness predicts compliance with preventive health behaviours during Covid-19 lockdowns

To combat the public health crisis of Covid-19, governments and public health officials have been asking individuals to substantially change their behaviours for prolonged periods of time. Are happier people more willing...Read more...

CEP discussion paper

Firming up price inflation

We use data from a large panel survey of UK firms to analyze the economic drivers of price setting since the start of the Covid pandemic. Inflation responded asymmetrically to movements in demand. This helps to explain w...Read more...

CEP discussion paper

Evaluating merger effects

This paper proposes a new algorithm with which to identify the potential effect of mergers by comparing the outcomes of interest in areas of overlap for the merging parties vis-a-vis areas of no overlap within a differen...Read more...

Blog

Economics Observatory:

Frontline stories: protecting biodiversity

Ahead of COP26 in 2021, Richard Davies talked to Dr Jane Goodall DBE, one of the world's leading environmentalists, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a United Nations Messenger of Peace....Read more...

Blog

LSE EUROPP:

A better understanding of pay-as-you-go pension systems leads to more positive attitudes toward migrants

A better understanding of pay-as-you-go pension systems and population trends can lead to more positive attitudes toward migrants, but only among individuals who support non-populist parties, find Tito Boeri, Matteo Gama...Read more...

CEP discussion paper

Working from home around the world

The pandemic triggered a large, lasting shift to work from home (WFH). To study this shift, we survey full-time workers who finished primary school in 27 countries as of mid-2021 and early 2022. Our cross-country compari...Read more...

Blog

LSE Business Review:

Creditors use startups' choice of legal form as a signal for debt financing

Formal debt financing is an important source of external financing for startups, but creditors face information gaps, as startups lack a proven track record. Felix Bracht, Jeroen Mahieu and Steven Vanhaverbeke argue that...Read more...

CEP discussion paper

Imperfect signals

A pre-condition for employer learning is that signals at labor market entry do not fully reveal graduates' productivity. I model various distinct sources of signal imperfection - such as noise and multi-dimensional types...Read more...

Blog

Economics Observatory:

What is the current state of the Russian economy under sanctions?

Economic sanctions have done considerable damage to Russia's economy. The country's economic situation will improve slowly as supply chains are re-oriented towards other markets, especially in Asia. But perseverance with...Read more...

Blog

Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance:

Do Carbon Prices Affect Stock Prices?

Patrick Bolton, Adrian Lam and Mirabelle Muuls discuss whether the EU cap-and-trade system has resulted in a signficant financial impact on the companies that are under the scheme and whether it has motivated them to red...Read more...

CEP discussion paper

Long social distancing

More than ten percent of Americans with recent work experience say they will continue social distancing after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, and another 45 percent will do so in limited ways. We uncover this Long Social Dis...Read more...

Blog

Economics Observatory:

How have the forecasts on the effect of sanctions on Russia held up a year on?

Commentators were over-optimistic in believing that sanctions would immediately cause a large fall in economic activity in Russia and thereby halt the aggression against Ukraine. But despite the revised forecasts and out...Read more...

Blog

LSE EUROPP:

Female students perform better when taught by female lecturers - but class size is key

Stephan Maurer, Guido Schwerdt and Simon Wiederhold find a positive impact from female lecturers on female educational performance. But this effect exists when class sizes are small, suggesting that it is direct and freq...Read more...

Journal article

Managerial and Decision Economics: Forthcoming

Evaluating merger effects

This paper proposes a new algorithm to identify the potential effect of mergers by comparing the outcomes of interest in areas of overlap for the merging parties vis-a-vis areas where no overlap exists within a differenc...Read more...

CEP discussion paper

FDI and superstar spillovers: Evidence from firm-to-firm transactions

Despite competition concerns over the increasing dominance of global corporations, many argue that productivity spillovers from multinationals to domestic firms justify pro-FDI policies. For the first time, we use firm-t...Read more...