Departmental news

The 11th edition of the Warwick Economics PhD Conference was held between 6th-8th June 2023 at the new Faculty of Arts Building. The event was organised by PhD students with the help of the administrative team.

This year, the PhD Conference received over 450 applications from graduate students within leading research institutions from across the world. A scientific review committee, consisting of Warwick PhD students, helped in the process of selecting 25 papers from this pool of high-quality applications. Of the selected 25 papers, 18 were presented in seminar presentations, and 7 in poster presentations.

The conference continued for an additional day this year, to allow participants from all over the world to reach the University campus more easily and to have additional networking opportunities throughout the event.

Over the three days, conference delegates and speakers engaged in intellectually stimulating presentations delivered by students from:

The papers presented on each day covered a broad range of topics and fields:

Day 1

Political Economy & Public Economics

Macroeconomics & Monetary Economics

Day 2

Development Economics

International & Urban Economics

Microeconomics

Poster session

Day 3

Labour Economics

Each 20-minute seminar presentation was followed by a discussion and feedback from the students and faculty members in the audience. In addition to the plenary presentations, there were five-minute flash presentation sessions where researchers delivered the key message of their paper in a concise and engaging manner, which was followed by a poster session.

Overall, the event was a remarkable success. It provided a platform for graduate students from different institutions to showcase their work, while serving as a terrific opportunity for Warwick students to engage in world-leading research. The participants received valuable feedback on their projects, formed professional networks and, most importantly, enjoyed their time at our campus with fellow PhD students. The organising team looks forward to the next edition of the conference in 2024.

More information about the conference participants and their projects can be found here.

Reported by the PhD Conference Organising Committee (Immanuel Feld, Andrea Guerrieri D’Amati, Carolina Kansikas, Youngji Sohn, and Alperen Tosun).

Meet Elisabeth Prager, Warwick Economics alumna and co-founder of money advice company Aila. Elisabeth graduated from Warwick in 2009 with a first-class degree in Economics and Economic History and worked in a variety of roles in the financial services industry before establishing her own management consultancy in 2019. She has worked with multinational for-profit and non-profit organisations to help them solve strategic challenges.

Elisabeth (pictured above left) recently launched Aila Money with her close friend Nitika Vyas (above right), a Warwick alumna from the class of 2008. Here she tells us about the aims of Aila and how she has used learning from her economics degree throughout her career.

Why did you establish Aila?

Nitika and I met after university and bonded because we both worked in finance, as well as both being Warwick graduates! Working in the finance sector, it struck us how much financial advice was available to people who had money.

But at the same time, our friends were coming to us for guidance on investing. Questions like ‘How does investing work and what kind of product or fund might be right for me?’ or ‘What is ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) investing and how do I know my money is doing good?’ kept cropping up.

We became increasingly dissatisfied with how the financial services industry is exacerbating wealth inequalities. There is a huge money advice gap, especially with the younger generation and women. A Royal London report estimated that approximately 75% of the UK population don’t receive independent financial advice, and without this, individuals stand to lose an estimated £48k on average every ten years. In addition, the gender investment gap is substantial, with high-earning women losing out on almost £800k over their careers by not investing (Ellevest 2018).

At the same time, we realised there was a huge inter-generational wealth transfer taking place. In the UK alone, between 2020-2050, £5.5tn is due to be transferred into the Millennials’ and Gen Z’s hands (FT Advisor, 2020). In addition, by 2025, 60% of the UK’s wealth is projected to belong to women (WealthiHer, 2019). For these groups, having access to high-quality independent financial advice is essential.

With the current cost of living crisis, rising interest rates and high inflation, financial stress is also on the rise. These gaps and inequalities seemed worthy issues to tackle.

So, what is Aila Money?

Aila Money is a personal finance coaching solution for people embarking on or in the middle of successful careers, who are looking to be more financially effective and efficient.

Aila comprises three core capabilities:

Aila Assistant is a digital financial assistant that provides users with a complete overview of their finances and gives them personalised prompts and information to help them better plan and manage their money, in line with their life goals and financial situation. The prompts leverage behavioural science principles to nudge people into action. Financial learning modules are also embedded into Aila Assistant.

An example of a prompt might be something along the lines of ‘I notice you don’t have a Lifetime ISA, did you know as a first-time buyer if you save £4,000 a year, the Government will add an additional £1,000?’.

Aila Coach gives users access to an accredited financial coach - a human - to guide their financial journey and hold them to account. When interviewing people about money, we realised that their financial behaviours were often intertwined with emotion. From lacking confidence to invest to feeling a heightened sense of financial responsibility when becoming a parent; emotions and money are inextricably linked. Aila’s accredited financial coaches help users address the emotions and the money side of things.

Aila Advisor connects users to a network of experts and vetted advisors to help with more complex money situations. For example, you might need to speak to a mortgage advisor or lawyer if you want to buy a house - or a pension advisor if you are looking to plan for retirement.

What does the word Aila mean?

In Scottish Gaelic Aila stands for ’bearer of light’ and in Finnish, Aila means ‘from the strong place’. We felt this was fitting, given we are looking to shed a light on people’s financial situation and empower them to better manage their money, so they can find the financial freedom they are seeking. 

Turning more to you, what was your career journey from graduation to setting up Aila?

My career has been an interesting one, so far! After Warwick, I started on a graduate scheme in the life and pensions industry and then moved into private banking. These two jobs provided me with a solid understanding of the financial services industry and good insights into how people manage their money.

Thereafter, I joined a boutique strategy and innovation consulting firm and worked on multiple financial services projects across Europe, America and Africa. These experiences allowed me to see how different countries solve similar customer needs in different ways, especially through leveraging innovative technology solutions. I then moved into the philanthropic, non-governmental and impact investing arena, where I enjoyed exploring how investments and technology can contribute to solving some of the world’s biggest challenges.

This was also the time when I started to think more seriously about my own finances, as I moved countries multiple times, bought a flat, set up as a freelancer and became a mother of two.

Starting Aila seemed like the natural progression; bringing together so many of the things I learned so far and tapping into a personal passion - to shrink some of the gaps I highlighted earlier.

How has learning from your economics degree helped you in your career and in your current role as an entrepreneur?

Warwick was a great springboard to starting my career and continues to be so as an entrepreneur. The learnings from my degree have shaped the way I think and how I approach problems. I’m also grateful that the professors held us to a high bar when it came to using solid sources and data and taught us to think critically and independently.

What were the highlights of your time at Warwick?

What a question! There are so many highlights. To name a few: meeting some of my closest friends in halls, to dressing up for Union evenings, to learning to climb and playing squash, lacrosse and rugby, to debating that econometrics is fundamentally flawed because it assumes that humans are rational with the professor… these were all great and very memorable moments at Warwick!

Elisabeth Prager, BSc Economics and Economic History with study abroad, 2009

View Elisabeth's LinkedIn profile

MMORSE student Megan Adrian has been awarded a prize by PSI (Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry)

Professor David Firth has been awarded a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship, to support his research in the next two years on a new project, ‘Compositional data analysis via statistical modelling.’

Congratulations to the 2023 winners!

Congratulations to Zachary Parkinson, WMG at the University of Warwick’s, Workshop Manager, who has been appointed to the Technical Council at the Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy (ITSS).

The ITSS was established in March 2023 and is funded by Research England. It is hosted by the University of Nottingham in partnership with a network of organisations and institutions across UK higher education and research, including the University of Warwick.

It was launched to ensure that the UK has the technical capability and capacity across academia, research, education, and innovation. Its aim is to support and enable the UK to be a global superpower in science, engineering, and the creative industries.

The ITSS received over 150 submissions to join its council with just 14 individuals, including Zac, selected as one of the very first founder members.

Zac and his fellow members will act as ITSS ambassadors meeting quarterly to advise on the needs of the technical community, contribute to progressing ITSS programmes/initiatives and to provide input on the assessment of internal submissions.

Members serve an initial two-year term, after which membership is refreshed to allow a wide range of ideas and individuals to be included.

Zac Parkinson, Workshop Manager at WMG, University of Warwick said: “I feel extremely privileged to have my application accepted to join the ITSS Council, and I am looking forward to working closely with other universities and external organisations to ensure we are providing the opportunities and skills required to help increase the number of skilled technicians across the country.”

Paul Johnson, Technical Services Manager at WMG, University of Warwick added: “It was great to hear that we have one of our own working with this new UK Institute that will make real change and influence the landscape for technicians working within universities. Zac is well placed, having been an apprentice, technician and now technical manager to help influence decisions and build on the good work already being conducted within the sector.’’

Find out more about WMG’s Technician Commitment here: Technician Commitment (warwick.ac.uk)

Warwick Economics alumnus and honorary graduate Professor Oliver Hart has been knighted in the King’s Birthday Honours 2023 list for services to economic theory.

Professor Hart gained an MA in Economics at Warwick in 1972 and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University in 2012 in recognition of his outstanding scholarship.

His research has focused on the importance of authority and power in economic relationships. In 2016 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for his work on Contract Theory, his research focusing on the various contractual relationships which allow society to function – from employment contracts to credit contracts.

His book Firms, Contracts and Financial Structure has had many applications ranging from problems in international trade to law and has revolutionised the field of corporate finance.

Commenting on the knighthood, Professor Hart said:

“I am delighted and excited to receive the honour.”

Oliver Hart is currently the Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1993.

He is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Econometric Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Economic Association and the American Finance Association.

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Isaac Harris, a third year Data Science student died on Monday 5^th June 2023, in Coventry.

Isaac was a well-liked and talented student who will be very much missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him during his studies at Warwick.

The whole department are tremendously saddened by the news of Isaac’s death. He was a hugely valued member of our student community and his loss is particularly felt by his fellow students on the Data Science programme.

We offer our deepest sympathies to Isaac’s friends and family.

The sudden and unexpected loss of anyone we know can be traumatic, and we will continue to provide support to anyone who needs it. To speak to someone for bereavement support, please contact wellbeing support services or the chaplaincy.

An online condolence book has been opened to share memories of Isaac and offer condolences to his family and friends: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/statistics/condolence/

Entries will be published weekly and will be printed as a book for Isaac’s family to keep. If you would rather, you can write a message in a physical Condolence Book in the chaplaincy.

Dr Jake Brooks has been awarded a prestigious fellowship by Alzheimer's Research UK and Race Against Dementia.

Professor Eric Holub, a plant scientist at Warwick Crop Centre, has developed Haricot bean varieties which can be sown in early May and harvested as a dry grain before mid-September, matching the UK's warmer months. Until now, it has been impossible for farmers to grow the haricot variety used for baked beans in the UK because they are incompatible with the climate.

Press Release (16 June 2023)

The story was also on BBC Breakfast. Watch it on iPlayer (from 22m 30s)