Centre for Economic Performance

Centre for Economic Performance
Name	Centre for Economic Performance
Formation	1990
Type	Research centre
Headquarters	London School of Economics
Location	London
Leader title	Director
Parent organization	London School of Economics

Centre for Economic Performance is a research centre based at the London School of Economics that focuses on applied empirical analysis of labour markets, firms, growth, taxation, health, education and public policy. Founded in 1990, it has produced influential work cited by policymakers associated with the HM Treasury, European Commission, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Scholars affiliated with the centre have included fellows from institutions such as Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Yale University and Princeton University.

History

The centre was established in 1990 at the London School of Economics with initial support from benefactors linked to Sir Christopher A. H. Cooke and funders connected to David Rockefeller. Early directors and visiting scholars came from Nuffield College, Oxford, Balliol College, Oxford, King's College London, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and University College London. Its formative research engaged with policy debates generated by the Thatcher ministry era and responded to international events including the post-1990 transition in Central and Eastern Europe, the expansion of the European Union and the advent of the Maastricht Treaty. Over the 1990s and 2000s it expanded links with think tanks such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Brookings Institution, Chatham House, Institute of Development Studies and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

Research Areas

Research streams include labour market dynamics connecting to work by scholars from Cornell University, Columbia University, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, University of California, Berkeley and London Business School. Other themes intersect with industrial organization studied at Rutgers University, Sloan School of Management, Imperial College London and Judge Business School. Public finance projects draw on methods developed at NBER and CEPR and relate to taxation debates in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, France and Italy. Health economics collaborations involve researchers from Johns Hopkins University, University of Toronto, Karolinska Institutet, McMaster University and University of Melbourne. Education research connects to work at Institute of Education, UCL, University of Warwick, University of Bristol, University of Edinburgh and University of Glasgow.

Publications and Impact

The centre publishes working papers, policy briefs and books that have been cited in reports produced by HM Treasury, No. 10 Downing Street, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Office for National Statistics, World Health Organization, UNICEF and the G20. Its working paper series has hosted contributions from scholars associated with NBER, IZA Institute of Labor Economics, CESifo, RAND Corporation and Brookings. Research has informed major inquiries such as those conducted by the House of Commons Treasury Committee, House of Lords Select Committee, Public Accounts Committee and the Select Committee on Work and Pensions. Books by affiliated authors have been published by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, MIT Press, Princeton University Press and Routledge.

Affiliations and Funding

Affiliations include formal links with the London School of Economics, project partnerships with Royal Society, collaborative grants with the Economic and Social Research Council, joint initiatives with the European Research Council and commissioned work for the Department for Work and Pensions. Financial supporters have included philanthropic foundations such as the Lionel Robbins Trust, Nesta, Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust, Gates Foundation and corporate sponsors from sectors represented by Barclays, HSBC, BP, GlaxoSmithKline and Unilever. International funders include grants from the European Commission Horizon 2020 programme and bilateral funding linked to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Governance and People

Governance has involved academic directors drawn from London School of Economics departments, advisory boards including members from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University College London, Stanford University and Harvard Kennedy School. Senior fellows and visiting professors have included economists with prior appointments at Bank of England, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, HM Treasury and central banks such as the Federal Reserve System and European Central Bank. Researchers have received honours such as election to the British Academy, awards like the Frisch Medal, placements at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and roles in commissions such as the Miles Review and panels convened by the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development.

Outreach and Policy Engagement

The centre hosts conferences, seminars and public lectures featuring speakers from Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, Yale Law School, Columbia Business School and policy practitioners from No. 10 Downing Street, HM Treasury, Bank of England and the European Commission. It contributes evidence to parliamentary inquiries, engages with media outlets including BBC, Financial Times, The Economist, The Guardian and The Times, and runs executive training used by officials from Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and international delegations from Brazil, India, South Africa and China.

Category:Research institutes in the United Kingdom Category:London School of Economics