Fresh Policy Support Fund success for Economics researchers

Fresh Policy Support Fund success for Economics researchers

Four members of the Department have been successful in their applications to the 2026-27 Policy Support Fund.

Backed by Research England and managed by the university’s Research and Impact Services team, the PSF supports time-limited projects which aim to inform policy decisions.

This year’s successful projects are:

• Capital Gains Tax reform: from evidence to policy - Professor Arun Advani and the team at the CenTax research centre will look at potential further reforms to Capital Gains Tax, building on their 2024 policy paper
  
  
• Scaling Proactive Support Systems: Embedding Evidence-Based Practices into Migration Centre Operating Protocols - Dr Bhaskar Chakravorty continues his work with the Governments of Bihar and Jharkhand. This project will focus on whether interventions designed to strengthen engagement between female migrant workers and government-run Migration Support Centres are achieving their goal of reducing the high drop-out rates experienced by young women entering the urban labour market. Findings from the study are expected to inform the standard operating protocol for migration support centres.
  
  
• Housing Quality, Market Structure, and Regulation in the UK Housebuilding Sector - Dr Nikhil Datta and Dr Amrita Kulka will add a new dimension to their housing market research by analysing data on new-build inspections, reportable items, and warranty claims to develop new measures of how the quality of newly-built houses has changed over the past 20 years.

Department of Economics Research Director Daniel Sgroi said:

“Many congratulations to Amrita, Arun, Bhaskar and Nikhil.

“I'm delighted to see the Department achieve another strong set of results in this year's Policy Support Fund round. This reflects the ambition and vitality of research across the Department, and our commitment to tackling real-world problems.

“The PSF awards provide an important opportunity to develop ideas with clear policy relevance, and so often are the starting point for larger-scale research and collaborations with policymakers and external stakeholders.

“I would also like to thank those colleagues who worked hard on proposals which were not selected. As always, there were far more high-quality applications than could be funded.”

3 September 2026