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Policy

Summaries and analysis of current policy and economic developments. These briefings are written in an accessible way for non-specialists. Issues covered include: Brexit, education, immigration, growth, social mobility and the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Featured work

Photograph of windmill on grass field during golden hour. Credit: Karsten Würth on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/windmill-on-grass-field-during-golden-hour-0w-uTa0Xz7w
The innovation race on geological carbon removal: who is best placed to lead?

Patent data on BECCS and DACCS reveal which countries are best placed to lead in geological CDR and support climate goals.
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Pupil absence and the Covid-19 pandemic

How regulatory measures during the pandemic contributed to long-term patterns of absenteeism and reduced academic achievement.

Latest

CEP policy analysis
Domestic abuse: improving risk assessment and response by the police (policy brief)

Domestic abuse remains a pervasive challenge worldwide. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, domestic abuse affects one in five people aged 16 and above in the UK. In 2021, the then Conservative gov...Read more...

Aadya Bahl, Jeffrey Grogger, Ria Ivandic, Tom Kirchmaier and Ekaterina Oparina

30 September 2025
CEP policy analysis
How do you measure a child's wellbeing? (policy brief)

A central question for policy evaluation in the UK is how to measure wellbeing. To address this, wellbeing years (WELLBYs) were developed at the London School of Economics to assign social and economic value to changes i...Read more...

Aadya Bahl and Isaac Parkes

23 September 2025
CEP report
Pupil absence and the Covid-19 pandemic

A high level of school absence has persisted across many countries since the Covid-19 pandemic. We use English data to investigate how local health and social regulations affected pupil absence rates during the pandemic ...Read more...

Stephen Gibbons, Sandra McNally and Piero Montebruno

22 July 2025
CEP report
The innovation race on geological carbon removal: who is best placed to lead?

This report analyses innovation activity represented by patenting data for two carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies - bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACC...Read more...

Josh Burke, Siyu Feng, Maxwell Read, Esin Serin and Ram Smaran Suresh Kumar

9 July 2025
Government consultation
Treasury Committee: National Wealth Fund

Professor Neil Lee gives evidence to the Commons Treasury Committee. The committee is asking whether the National Wealth Fund has the right tools and backing to drive meaningful economic growth...Read more...

Neil Lee

18 June 2025
Government consultation
Treasury Committee: Bank of England Monetary Policy Reports

Swati Dhingra gave oral evidence to the Treasury committee....Read more...

Swati Dhingra

3 June 2025
Government consultation
Social mobility policy

This submission argues for a new model of social mobility that recognises and values all forms of talent - academic, vocational, and creative - and helps people to lead decent lives, wherever they live, whatever their ba...Read more...

Aadya Bahl, Lee Elliot Major and Stephen Machin

23 May 2025
Government consultation
Social mobility policy committee

To ensure inclusivity in the post-16 education system, the government must guarantee a clear progression route for the "other 50 per cent" of young people who are not on the academic track. The government should introduc...Read more...

Aadya Bahl, Richard Layard and Sandra McNally

23 May 2025
Government consultation
Science, Innovation and Technology Committee - Innovation, growth and the regions

Neil Lee gave evidence to the science, innovation and technology committee about the UK's innovation ecosystem and how it compares to other countries....Read more...

Neil Lee

6 May 2025
Government consultation
Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Written evidence submitted by Paul Cheshire to the planning and infrastructure bill committee...Read more...

Paul Cheshire

24 April 2025
CEP report
Innovation through crises in the 2020s: survey evidence on digital, AI and net zero innovation in UK firms

In this policy brief, we present new data from a survey of 373 UK firms conducted in May 2024 in partnership with the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). This is a follow-up to our two earlier surveys which revealed...Read more...

Juliana Oliveira-Cunha, Bruno Serra-Lorenzo and Anna Valero

2 April 2025
Government consultation
Social Mobility Policy - Oral evidence

Professor Anna Mountford-Zimdars, Centre for Social Mobility, University of Exeter; Professor Stephen Machin, Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics; Dr Lou...Read more...

Stephen Machin

20 March 2025
Government consultation
Education committee - Further education and skills

The further education sector is currently navigating a series of reforms and challenges. In this inquiry the Education Committee will explore these issues and other pressures currently facing the further education sector...Read more...

Aadya Bahl and Sandra McNally

18 March 2025
CEP report
Minimum wage effects: adjustment through labour market dynamics and alternative work arrangements

This report investigates the UK's 2016 National Living Wage (NLW) introduction, focusing on firm adjustment through labour market transitions and job contract amendments. The NLW boosted worker wages, and whilst there wa...Read more...

Pinjas Albagli, Rui Costa and Stephen Machin

4 February 2025
Government consultation
Invest 2035: the UK's modern industrial strategy

This document presents the submission made in response to the consultation on "Invest 2035: the UK's modern industrial strategy." The consultation was conducted by the Department for Business and Trade from 14 October 20...Read more...

Aadya Bahl, Henry G. Overman and Esin Serin

6 December 2024
CEP report
The green industrial policy matrix: Informing an industrial strategy for clean energy technologies

This paper presents new evidence to inform industrial strategy prioritisation of clean energy technologies in the UK. It focuses on seven technology categories relevant for reducing emissions across power, heat and indus...Read more...

Pia Andres, Ralf Martin, Maxwell Read, Esin Serin, Arjun Shah and Anna Valero

25 November 2024
Government consultation
Scottish parliament: Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee

Christian Hilber gives evidence to the Housing inquiry....Read more...

Christian A. L. Hilber

5 November 2024
Government consultation
Built Environment Committee - The Grey Belt

Paul Cheshire gave oral evidence to the committee as part of its short inquiry into the government's policy to introduce a grey-belt concept into the planning system....Read more...

Paul Cheshire

29 October 2024
Government consultation
Industry and Regulators Committee

I am an economist who has worked (on and off) on post-school education for many years. From 1961-64 I was senior Research Officer to the Robbins Committee. In 1994 I co-edited Britain's Training Deficit. From 1997-2001 I...Read more...

Richard Layard

16 October 2024
Government consultation
Industry and Regulators Committee

The UK is a service-led economy, with strengths in sectors such as financial and business services, the creative and cultural industries, and life sciences, which together employ 20% of the workforce. To build on these s...Read more...

Aadya Bahl and Sandra McNally

16 October 2024
Martin Hannon
Communications and events officer
+44(0)20 7955 7517
m.hannon@lse.ac.uk
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