Departmental news

Professor Dennis Novy has given evidence to members of the London Assembly on the impact of Brexit on the London economy, at the invitation of the Assembly’s Economy CommitteeLink opens in a new window.

He presented data on the economic costs of Brexit and the problems created for businesses of all sizes by customs checks and regulatory divergence.

Responding to members’ questions he reminded the committee that the UK had given up a position of significant influence in shaping EU trade policy, going back to Margaret Thatcher’s premiership and Peter Mandelson’s contribution as EU Trade Commissioner, and also pointed out the “uncomfortable” fact that the UK is not one of the countries which accepts the highest number of immigrants, a fact sometimes overlooked in public debate.

Introducing the data, Professor Novy told the committee: “Brexit has been a very expensive policy adventure for the UK economy. The impact on UK GDP is something in the range of 3 - 4 per cent. Where does that impact come from? The biggest issue is increased costs for consumers - higher prices and inflation."

Responding to an invitation from the Chair to sum up the positives and negatives of Brexit, Professor Novy encouraged policy-makers to focus on “the art of the possible” and to work in a cross-party way to develop a strategy that reflects the strengths of the UK and the London economy, particularly a cohesive strategy for trade in services. He recommended “more predictability, less uncertainty,” and called for action to “tackle regulatory divergence” saying: “I wish politicians strength and courage to do this in a way that takes voters with them.”

• Professor Novy was one of five invited experts giving evidence and taking questions from the members of the Economy Committee in City Hall on 11 January 2024. The meeting was also webcast live.
• Visit the CAGE website for a fuller report.

Congratulations to Associate Professor Mingli Chen who has been appointed as Associate Editor of the Journal of Econometrics from 1 January 2024

The Journal of Econometrics serves as an outlet for important, high-quality, new research in both theoretical and applied econometrics. The scope of the Journal includes papers dealing with identification, estimation, testing, decision, and prediction issues encountered in economic research. Classical Bayesian statistics, experimental design, and machine learning methods are decidedly within the range of the Journal's interests.

Mingli Chen is an Associate Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick, a Research Associate at CeMMAP, and a Turing Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute (the UK's National Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence). She is working on econometrics, with a special focus on panel data models, social networks, quantile regression, and AI + machine learning both in theoretical inference and applications in economics.

Visit Dr Chen's staff profile for further details about her research and publications.

A seasonal message from our Head of Department.

We are approaching the end of the first term for this academic year. With the festive season upon us, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the hard work that you have put in this term, and to wish all of you a relaxing break over the holiday period, spending time with family and friends (where possible).

I hope 2024 will be a great year for all, bringing health and happiness to you and your families.

Several festive events are happening on campus, for details of activities please visit the University's Christmas at Warwick webpage.

Department Closure Dates

The department will be closed over the festive holiday from 5pm on Friday 22nd December 2023 to Tuesday 2nd January 2024.

Best Wishes,

Professor Ben Lockwood

Head of Department - Economics

On Tuesday 28^th November Professor Jonathan Haskel CBE, external member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), delivered a speech at Warwick University in an event jointly hosted by the Warwick Finance Societies and the Warwick Economics Society.

Oliver Greenfield, Head of Markets at the Warwick Finance Societies, reports:

"Jonathan Haskel is one of the 9 committee members who sets the UK bank rate whilst also currently being a Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School. Professor Haskel's research interests of productivity, innovation, intangible investment and growth led him to be a distinguished member on the editorial boards of Economica, Journal of Industrial Economics and Economic Policy.

"In his speech, UK inflation since the pandemic: How did we get here and where are we going? Professor Haskel explored the drivers of the UK inflation experience since 2020 by applying the Bernanke and Blanchard (2023) model. Using this model, he explained how the exogenous shocks which hit the UK economy fed through to result in the elevated inflation figures experienced, dispelling the commonly cited narrative that the Bank of England was wrong to characterise inflation as transitory. After reflecting on his experience on the MPC, Jonathan gave some thoughts on the future of monetary policy and concluded that without a sufficient loosening of labour market conditions inflation would stay elevated and hence interest rates would remain restrictive.

"After the event, Professor Haskel generously stayed behind to answer all of the many questions that students, academics, professors and external attendees wanted to ask. The event provided an invaluable insight for all those who attended and served as a great reminder of the application possible with the economic theory taught at Warwick University."

• The text of Professor Haskel's speech and his slide deck can be found here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/speech/2023/november/jonathan-haskel-speech-at-warwick-university.

The Department of Economics at Warwick has been placed 29th in the world amongst university economics departments, according to 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) for economics published on 27 October 2023. This ranking places us 5th out of the UK based departments of economics, after the LSE, Oxford, Cambridge and UCL.

The 2023 GRAS contains more than 1,900 out of 5000 universities across 104 countries and regions in the world. The GRAS rankings use a range of objective academic indicators and third-party data to measure the performance of world universities by subject, including: research output, research influence, international collaboration, research quality and international academic awards.

This follows on from our success in the QS Rankings 2023 which placed us 22nd in the world for economics and econometrics.

More information about this league table can be found on the link to 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023 - Economics. And the Shanghai Ranking 2023 press release – 27 October 2023.

We are pleased to report that this year’s results of two national postgraduate student surveys show high levels of satisfaction amongst our postgraduate student community.

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2023

The overall satisfaction with the quality of the course remains high – 91% with 96% of our postgraduate taught students saying that they would recommend the University of Warwick. This was achieved with a response rate of 51.6% of the postgraduate taught cohort.

The top satisfaction scores in PTES were in:

• Teaching: 92% agreed that ‘staff are good at explaining things’ and 91% agreed that ‘the course is intellectually stimulating’.
• Resources: 96% agreed that they ‘have been able to access subject specific resources necessary for their studies when on campus.’
• Dissertation: 97% were ‘happy with the support received for planning their dissertation.’

There were also high scores received in the categories of Skills Development (88%), Organisation (87%) and Support (85%).

Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2023

The overall satisfaction amongst postgraduate research students was 85% with the top scores in:

• Supervision: 89% agreed that their ‘supervisor had the skills and subject knowledge to support their research.’
• Research skills: 91% agreed that their ‘skills in critically analysing and evaluating findings and results have developed during their programme.’
• Professional development: 89% agreed that their ‘ability to communicate information effectively to diverse audiences had developed during their programme.’

Dr Claudia Rei, Deputy Head of Department (Teaching & Learning) said:

“We value student feedback as we want to deliver the best teaching and learning possible. So, we’re very pleased to see such encouraging results. We also want to make further improvements in the future and are already looking at ways to address some of the areas where our scores could have been higher such as Engagement and Assessment in PTES and Support in PRES. We also encourage students to submit their feedback to us throughout the year.”

Further information about the two postgraduate student surveys can be obtained from the University's webpages for PTESLink opens in a new window and PRESLink opens in a new window.

Examples of how we have responded to student recently can be found on our webpage We have acted on your feedback: Postgraduate TaughtLink opens in a new window and Postgraduate ResearchLink opens in a new window.

If you are a student of the Department of Economics, you may submit feedback to us at any point via the Student Feedback FormLink opens in a new window.

End

• The Department is deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Nick Crafts, who died on 6 October 2023 after a long illness.
• Nick was a brilliant economist and one of the world’s leading economic historians, who will leave an enduring legacy. He was also the founding Director of the CAGE Research Centre.
• A book of condolence was opened for any colleagues who wished to share reflections or memories.
• Tributes are shared below, and also here.

Stephen Broadberry, Bishnupriya Gupta, Tim Hatton and Tim Leunig write about their colleague and friend:

Nick Crafts was the most distinguished British economic historian of his generation. He was born in 1949 at Nottingham, England and educated at Trinity College Cambridge, where he graduated as the top student in the Economics Tripos in 1970. After just a year of graduate studies he took a lectureship at Exeter before moving to Warwick in 1972 and then on to University College Oxford in 1977, where he was lecturer and praelector. He became professor of economics at Leeds from 1989 to 1995 and then professor of economic history at the LSE from 1995 to 2005 after which he returned to Warwick until his retirement in 2019.

Nick was an early observer of the Cliometrics Revolution that was sweeping across the United States at the time of his visiting assistant professorship at Berkeley, and he was one of the pioneers in applying the approach in Europe, establishing an annual Quantitative Economic History Conference in Britain. He established a worldwide reputation on the basis of important contributions in many areas of economic history, but perhaps his most important and far-reaching work was his radical reinterpretation of the First Industrial Revolution, which occurred in Britain between the mid-eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries and marks the first transition to sustained economic growth. As such, it lies right at the heart of the discipline of economic history.

His path-breaking book, British Economic Growth during the Industrial Revolution , first published in 1985 and reprinted 4 times, presented a radically different view of the Industrial Revolution as a more gradual process than previously believed. This book also set the British experience firmly in a European context, an important methodological contribution, which continues to affect the way that European economic history is written today. Crafts demonstrated convincingly that earlier writers had exaggerated the growth rate of industrial production and hence of total national output during the Industrial Revolution. From this he was able to demonstrate that the British economy must have been richer and more developed in 1700 than previously thought. As well as dramatically changing our view of the Industrial Revolution itself, this view also cast an entirely new light on earlier periods of economic history. If Britain was already quite developed on the eve of the Industrial Revolution, then this opened up the possibility of earlier episodes of growth and development, and encouraged a whole new wave of research on early modern and medieval economic history, the effects of which are still being felt in the discipline to this day.

He later made important contributions to our understanding of the development of the British economy from the late nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. Much of this work is summarised in his book Forging Ahead, Falling Behind and Fighting Back British Economic Growth from the Industrial Revolution to the Financial Crisis (CUP 2019). With an endogenous growth framework in the background he stressed that the potential for growth varies widely, both across countries and over time, so that slow growth in in one era may represent better performance, relative to potential than another. Key elements in achieving or falling short of potential are the effects of the institutional environment on incentive structures for innovation and investment.

Within this framework he argued that British growth faltered rather than failed in the late nineteenth century and that growth potential was greater in the United States due to its large market size and a configuration of its factor endowments that favoured directed technological change in progressive sectors. The two World Wars were major setbacks and, although from 1950 to 1973 the British economy grew faster than ever, it fell short of its potential. This was partly a penalty of the early start and partly the result of polices, which from the 1930s onwards, included tariff protection, a complicated tax system with high marginal tax rates, the nationalisation of large swathes of industry and misdirected R&D effort. Although growth subsequently slowed, relative to potential, economic performance improved due to three key elements. One was the reforms undertaken by the Thatcher governments (1979-90) that included tax reform, industrial deregulation and privatisation of state enterprises and the reduction of the power of trade unions. Another was the rapid adoption of ICT. And the third, stressed elsewhere in his work, was the competition-enhancing effect of Britain’s membership of the EU from 1973.

Nick was a masterful lecturer. In his lectures he dissected often conflicting and confusing literatures to provide a clear analytical roadmap for students with limited economics. Unlike many, he wanted to give big first year lectures that most faculty try to avoid. As well as lecturing his own students, Nick gave many other talks, ranging from visiting American students, to public lectures, to groups in the City. No matter the group, he would always describe attendees as "punters". They had paid in time, and sometimes in money, to hear him speak, and as such he always took his responsibilities to them seriously. He set high standards for those attending, as well as for himself. After a lecture on the Gold Standard he remarked "The punters didn't like that one. They never do. But you can't say you have studied economic history if you don't know how the Gold Standard worked." Nick was, as many former students can testify, a Gold Standard lecturer.

Nick was very heavily involved in economic policy throughout his career, and was unrivalled in the way that he used economic history to inform his policy conclusions. He was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research from 1985, serving as Director of the Human Resources Since 1900 Programme between 1989 and 1991. From 2010 until his retirement in 2019, Nick was the founding Director of CAGE, an ESRC-funded research centre at Warwick. In recognition of his achievements he received many high honours. He was elected to a Fellowship of the British Academy at the young age of 43 and in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2014 he was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to economics. He also served as President of the Economic History Society, President of the Royal Economic Society, and was Fellow of the Economic History Association and Fellow of the Cliometric Society.

Nick’s retirement from Warwick in 2019 was marked by a gathering of the great and the good for a two-day soirée that included keynote lectures and research presentations by many of Nick’s former graduate students, now distinguished academics in their own right. After retiring from Warwick Nick moved to a part-time position at Sussex, where he continued to teach and research. Sadly, his retirement was all too brief and he died on 6th October 2023 after a lengthy illness. Over 50 years of energetic teaching and research he reshaped British economic history and hugely influenced generations of economic historians. He will be sadly missed.

Individual tributes follow:-

Professor Bart van Ark, Professor of Productivity Studies at the Alliance Manchester Business School (AMBS) at the University of Manchester, writes:

Nick was a great intellectual, scholar and teacher in economic history. Amongst his many contributions to the profession, Nick has been instrumental in helping the academic and policy communities around the world better understand the importance of productivity for long-term economic growth. His numerous articles, books and contributions to conference, workshops and seminars, on the topic have left a long-lasting mark on work at the Groningen Growth and Development Center, The Productivity Institute and that of many others. Personally, I have much enjoyed co-editing with him the volume on Quantitative Aspects of Post-War European Economic Growth (1996), as part of two-year long project by the CEPR during the 1990s. He will be dearly missed.

Professor Sir Charles Bean, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, writes:

Nick was an erstwhile colleague at LSE, an occasional co-author, but a long-time friend whose wit and wisdom will be sorely missed by us all. I feel honoured to have known him.

Dr. David Bholat writes:

Professor Crafts was an iconic economic historian. I had the pleasure of making his acquaintance while at the Bank of England. He very kindly accepted an invitation to participate in a seminar on the interwar gold standard. More recently, he participated in another conference on AI. In both instances, these seminar contributions resulted in peer-reviewed publications for which I was the editor. As these examples indicate, Professor Craft's intellectual range was vast. He wrote clearly and persuasively, combining a fine-tuned analytical framework with detailed fidelity to empirical data. He will be missed, but he will continue to powerfully shape generations of scholars to come.

Professor Jutta Bolt, Professor of Global Economic History, University of Groningen, writes:

I'm truly sorry to hear about the passing of Nick Crafts, one of the world's most prominent economic historians. His contributions to our understanding of economic development and history were invaluable. His work will continue to inspire and educate generations to come. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.

Fiona Brown CAGE Research Manager until 2019, writes:

I worked with Nick for 10 years or so on CAGE. They were good times. He was an inspiring director who, together with Sascha, had the foresight to develop CAGE into a leading ESRC research centre. A kind and thoughtful man who always had time to listen and encourage. I am so sorry to hear of his death and send my condolences to Barbara and his family. RIP Nick.

Dame Frances Cairncross, Chair of the CAGE Advisory Board, writes:

Nick Crafts was one of the most thoughtful and innovative economists of the past half century. His work to unite history with economics gave his work a depth and originality that few economists of his generation achieved. Warwick was lucky to have him for as long as it did.

Professor David Chambers, Invesco Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School, writes:

Nick was inspirational as a teacher, PhD supervisor and co-author. You always knew you had to be on your game when you were interacting with him. He was also incredible good fun away from work - to share a pint with and talk about cricket. I will forever be grateful for the time he invested in me and the encouragement he gave me to pursue my academic career.

Alison Cottrell, CB, writes:

Nick was a great teacher and a great person; he brought economics, past and present, to life, and will be really missed by so many people. Sending thoughts and condolences to all of Nick's family at this very sad time.

Mandy Eaton writes:

Nick was a fantastic colleague who I worked with for many years. My condolences go to Barbara and his family.

Harald Edquist, Master Researcher, Macroeconomics at Ericsson Research, Stockholm, writes:

I was most saddened to hear of Nick Crafts passing. I met Nick Crafts the first time at a conference in Groningen. We shared the interest of understanding how major technologies affect productivity development. It was always interesting to listening to him and he had a great sense of British humour. My deepest sympathy goes to his family.

Professor Peter J Hammond writes:

Nick's extensive publications make him a giant in economic history, with special emphasis on Britain and Europe. But not being a historian myself, I was much less aware of the details than I should have been. Around the time when I arrived at Warwick in 2007, Nick was an Associate Chair of the department. He was also working hard on securing funding for CAGE, as he was about to become its founding director. Like many, perhaps even most members of the department, CAGE has helped finance some of my research. From 2006 to 2009 he chaired Section S2 (Economics and Economic History) of the British Academy which, from my personal experience, he left in very good shape when he stepped down. Of course, I met Nick frequently until he moved to Sussex quite recently. He always greeted me with a broad smile that was usually followed by some light hearted and enjoyable conversation. So, while others will properly recognize the excellent quality and quantity of Nick's academic output, including his prolific lecturing activity, my main awareness of Nick stems from his tremendous contributions as an administrator. There he seemed to achieve some sort of ideal where the important things got done, and done very well, with no doubt a lot of work on his part, but with almost no fuss that was discernible by those not directly involved. Nick, you have finally completed all your administrative burdens; may you rest in peace.

Professor Richard Harris, Professor of Economics, Durham University, writes:

I knew Nick for many years, and especially enjoyed working with him when we were both members of the advisory group for the "Future of Manufacturing" project run by the Government Office for Science/BIS in 2012-13. Not only very knowledgeable but also generous with his time. I am saddened to learn he is no longer with us to collaborate on future work. My condolences to his family and immediate friends; we shall all miss him.

Professor Jonathan Haskel, Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School, Imperial College, London writes:

Dear Crafts family, I was so sorry to hear of Nick's passing. You will have seen from the messages how much the profession owed him and loved him. He was an inspiration to me and so many others: we shall all miss him very much. I hope you can take some comfort from the memory of such a wonderful man.

Yours, Jonathan

Ben Odams writes:

I met Nick at a fringe event at a party conference a few years ago. His precision and accessible style really hit home on the various topics which were discussed. It inspired me to read more of his work - rediscovering books I had read as undergraduate. He was a classic example of a public intellectual and he will be missed. RIP

Professor Nicole Simpson, W Bradford Wiley Professor of Economics at Colgate University, writes:-

For many decades, Professor Crafts would graciously teach a series of lectures for Colgate University's undergraduate economics students during their study abroad program in London. We were so very fortunate to have a preeminent British economic historian teaching our students each year. He taught generations of our students, often at the very start of their semester in London. We are deeply saddened by his death; his legacy will be long remembered at Colgate.

Dr Christian Soegaard writes:

Dear Nick. It was wonderful to have you as colleague for all these years. Rest in Peace!

Jane Snape CAGE Project Manager, writes:

Nick possessed a remarkable ability to make all team members feel valued. I will miss his knowledge, kindness and sense of humour. My thoughts are with Barbara and family.

Dr Brian Varian, Lecturer in Economics, Newcastle University Business School, writes:

I would like to express my sincere condolence for your loss. I was taught by Professor Crafts when I was a masters student at the London School of Economics. His lectures were as captivating as they were brilliant. As I myself now lecture in economic history, I cannot possibly forget the standard that Professor Crafts set, and I cannot imagine anyone ever really attaining it. When I went on to do my PhD in economic history, Professor Crafts greatly encouraged my research, even when it challenged some of his own—the mark of a real scholar. I am so glad to have known him and to have been in his classroom.

Dr John Geoffrey Walker writes:

I'm so sorry to hear this. He was a lovely man, always pleased to see me, and a great drinking companion. I learned a great deal from him. I've rarely seen him in the last few years but I'll miss him now that I won't see him again.

Related articles

•  Nicholas Crafts@70 – news feature about the 2-day academic conference held in 2019 to celebrate Professor Crafts’ 70^th birthday.
• “Nick Crafts is the most distinguished British economic historian of his generation.” Tim Hatton reviews Forging Ahead, Falling Behind and Fighting Back: British Economic Growth from the Industrial Revolution to the Financial Crisis (Crafts, 2019) for EH.net
• NIESR Tribute - In Memory of Professor Nick Crafts CBE FBA - NIESR

Nine exciting and original dissertations were published last week in the bi-annual Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers (WM-ESP) series.

The online portal showcases the best undergraduate and masters economics research at the two partner universities. The WM-ESP portal was launched just over 2 years ago and has had 56 papers submitted prior to last week's 9 submissions. Out of these 9 publications, 4 belong to Warwick students.

The series aims to provide insight into the issues that young economists are using their skills to understand and solve. Issues tackled so far include income inequality, obesity, climate change, human capital, boardroom diversity, and livestock vaccination rates in Vietnam.

Member of the WM-ESP Editorial Board Dr Atisha Ghosh said:

“We are very happy to announce the fifth round of the Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers (WM-ESP) series. The Department of Economics of the University of Warwick and the Economics Department at Monash University are very proud of their long history of collaboration with international partner universities, and the Monash Warwick Alliance reflects the belief in both Universities that the future will rely on strong links between peer Universities, reflected in faculty, student, and research linkages. This paper series reflects the first step in allowing our Undergraduate, Honours, and Masters students to learn from and interact with peers within the Alliance.”

Khushi Duggal looked at the relationship between child marriage and female educational attainment in India. She said:

"I am thrilled that my undergraduate dissertation has been selected for the Warwick Monash Economics Student Paper Series portal. It is an honour to have my paper published alongside such amazing research. Writing my paper was such an incredible experience, and I hope that it proves useful to other students and academics.”

Andy Lau had the paper titled "A model of online misinformation with endogenous reputation". He said:

"I am deeply honoured to have my undergraduate dissertation selected for the Warwick Monash Economics Student Paper Series. This recognition is invaluable to me, and it reinforces my passion for doing economic research."

Jan Szydlo's paper is "Forecasting credit dynamics: VAR, VECM on modern factor-augmented VAR approach": He said

"I was thrilled to hear that my paper has been chosen to be published in the Warwick Monash Economics Student Paper Series. Knowing that my work has been read and recognised for its quality by a group of outstanding editors is a great privilege. It validates all the effort I put into my research and encourages me to further pursue a research-related career in the field of Economics."

We congratulate all students selected and wish them further success in the future.

Related Links

Fourth suite of top Economics student research papers published on Warwick Monash portal

About Warwick Monash Alliance

Visit the portal here: Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers

• The Department is deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Nick Crafts, who died on 6 October 2023 after a long illness.
• Nick was a brilliant economist and one of the world’s leading economic historians, who will leave an enduring legacy. He was also the founding Director of the CAGE Research Centre.
• Further tributes to Professor Crafts can be read here.

Professor Crafts began his long association with the Department of Economics in its first decade, joining as a lecturer in 1972. While his career took him to a number of prestigious UK and US institutions, he rejoined Warwick as Professor of Economic History in 1988 and returned again in 2006. He retired from Warwick in 2019, moving to Brighton to be nearer his family and taking up a part-time position at the University of Sussex.

In 2010 Professor Crafts became the founding Director of the CAGE research centre, an ESRC-funded centre. During his 10 years as Director he oversaw the development of the Centre into a vibrant research community and personally contributed a large amount of impactful and policy-relevant research.

Nick's pioneering work on British economic growth in the Industrial Revolution made his early reputation. He became a specialist in the long-run sources of economic improvement in many regions. His insights into 20^th century British economic history were widely sought by policymakers and his CV includes spells consulting for HM Treasury, the IMF and the World Bank.

He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1992 and awarded the CBE for services to Economics in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, 2014. In 2022 Professor Crafts was made a Fellow of the Economic History Association, and in 2022-23 he served as President of the Royal Economic Society.

Tributes to Professor Crafts follow:

Professor Ben Lockwood, Head of Department, commented:

“Nick and I were colleagues for over 15 years and we also both served on the REF2014 panel. During that time - and on many other occasions - I came to him for advice and always benefited from his wise counsel. His death is a great loss for both the Economics Department and the economics profession.”

Professor Mirko Draca, who succeeded Professor Crafts as Director of CAGE, comments:

“Nick was a phenomenon. Intellectually-driven rather than career-driven, able to move between the big picture and small picture with ease, unflaggingly energetic, down-to-earth, shrewd, streetwise, really damn clever and, at a personal level, thoughtfully humane. I will miss him so much."

Professor Jeremy Smith, Head of Department from 2016 to 2022, said:

"I am sure I will echo the sentiments of many colleagues when I say that Nick was a person I admired greatly. He was clearly a fantastic academic who was very highly respected in his field, but his involvement in activities beyond academia speaks volumes for the high regard in which he was held more generally.

"Nick understood the need to contribute to University life beyond through his teaching and research and contributed in a great many ways to the life and functioning of the Department. He was HoD when I was appointed and I am eternally grateful that he gave me a chance to contribute to the Department.

"When I took over as HoD, Nick was there to offer advice and guidance and to put me on the right path when I invariably made a wrong call. Being a HoD is not straightforward and dealing with the all different parties you answer to is never straightforward - I would therefore seek out Nick's advice, which was always considered, and was almost always the correct advice to follow. I will always be grateful to Nick for the guidance he offered me."

Professor Sascha Becker worked closely with Professor Crafts during his time as Director of CAGE. He wrote:

"Nick Crafts' death makes me incredibly sad. We spent nearly a decade together "running" CAGE at the Warwick Department of Economics as Director and deputy.

"Nick was born in the same year as my father, but from day one he treated me as his equal. We met or corresponded pretty much daily.

"Nick was such a wise man. A non-tribal economic historian. He was broad-minded and hugely respected by economists and policy makers alike. When he talked, the room listened.

"Witty, kind, wise.
"I will dearly miss you, Nick ❤️"

CAGE Research Director Professor Bishnupriya Gupta writes:

"Nick Crafts brought to economic history new ideas, new ways to think of old questions. As a colleague, mentor and friend, Nick was an inspiration to me and many others and helped us to grow as economic historians. He will be missed."

Professor Wiji Arulampalam writes:

"The passing of Nick came as a terrible shock to me. I came to know him when he joined the department. Although I did not work closely with him, I have attended many seminars where he had been either presenting or was in the audience. He always makes pertinent points. He was an immense scholar and I always valued his opinions. As the Chair of the department, he was always very professional and treated everyone fairly and equally. He will be very much missed."

Guillermo Carnicero writes:

I had the honour (and sadness) of being part of Nick Crafts's last cohort of students at Sussex during this year's spring term. He was one of the best professors I ever had and surely the best academic who ever taught me. It wasn't just that he was a real expert in the field of cliometrics - his lectures would always be engaging, and the work in the seminars would prepare us to be very good economists, putting evidence and sound analysis at the core of our work. Also, I knew I shouldn't miss the opportunity always to gain more insights and hear what he had to say about so many different topics in economic history, so I would regularly attend his office hours. I fully remember how he would come up with quotes from books written decades ago and spend a fair amount of time digging into their content to ensure I could get the most out of the question. The more I knew him, the more I realised that a real top academic and economist has to be humble because the learning journey is infinite, and there's so little we can get to know. He never came across as someone with ego, but with intellectual honesty and a profound desire to help everyone engage with the course. Looking back, I can say that what I learned with him at university shaped me the most as an economist, and his insights about the British economy and our discipline will always be at the core of my current career as a Fast Stream Economist in the Civil Service. Rest in peace."

Dr Olga Christodoulaki writes:

"I was fortunate and honoured to have Nick as one of my PhD supervisors at the LSE. His unique combination of academic skills and his wisdom as a person made him the best supervisor one could dream of having. I will always be grateful for the time, advice and guidance he offered me. I send my deepest condolences to his family."

Professor Guillaume Daudin, Professor of Economics at the University of Paris-Dauphine (LEDa-DIAL), writes:

"Nick Crafts changed my life. He accepted to look after my PhD based on the most flimsy evidence on my capacity to conduct one. That was quite a bet. But then, he was good at beating the odds! He was an exceptional PhD supervisor. In retrospect, I  can hardly believe his generosity with his time. He made my time at the LSE under his supervision the most professionally fulfilling time of my life. I am deeply thankful. I feel a great loss. His family must feel a much larger one, and I fully sympathise with them and will keep them, and him, in my prayers."

Jose Gregorio Diaz-Bahamonde of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile writes:

"I send my sincere condolences from Chile. Professor Crafts' work is a fundamental reference for a better understanding of economic development. Reaching his academic rigor is a challenge for any serious researcher. We will miss him."

Dr Yannick Dupraz, Research Assistant Professor at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) based at the Aix-Marseille School of Economics (AMSE), writes:

"I will remember Professor Nick Crafts as an amazingly kind and generous mentor. He always took time to discuss research with me, and his insights were always so useful, even though I was working on a field, African economic history, a little bit far from his expertise (but was any field of economic history really far from his expertise?) Nick Crafts did so much for CAGE, for Warwick University, and for economics and economic history."

Professor James Fenske writes:

"I am saddened to learn of Nick's passing. I knew of him as an undergraduate, and I have known him since I was a PhD student. He had a major influence on my thinking - and the thinking of the whole profession - on some of the most important questions in economic history. He was a generous colleague and inspired multiple generations of students to take interest in our shared field."

Dr Alan Fernihough, lecturer in Economics at Queen's University Management School, and Research Associate at Queen's University Centre for Economic History, writes:

"I was very lucky to have had Nick as a PhD examiner, and I’ll never forget our post-viva conversation which was one of the best moments of my life. Nick was brilliant, and his knowledge of so many areas of economics and history was truly remarkable and made him both a legendary scholar and wonderful companion. His loss is a huge one for economic history. Please accept my deepest condolences."

Professor Alexander J. Field, Michel and Mary Orradre Professor of Economics at Santa Clara University, writes:

"I first got to know Nick Crafts in 1982-83, when he visited Stanford, where I had recently served as an assistant professor. Nick rented a house on Roosevelt Circle, less than half a mile from where we lived, and although I cannot say we kept up closely after that, we would from time to time see each other at academic conferences. Our research interests overlapped, and came increasingly to do so over the past quarter century, when I joined him in using the tools of growth accounting to explore the processes of economic advance. Both of us ended up influenced by and building upon the work of Moses Abramovitz. And both ended up giving an Abramovitz lecture at Stanford after Moe died, Nick in 2003 (I believe it was the first) and me in 2021 (I think the most recent). Finally, we shared a birth year, barely a month apart, which makes his passing have special significance for me. We will miss him."

Professor Sir Roderick Floud writes:

"I knew Nick as a colleague for over 50 years; he was an excellent economic historian and a genuinely nice person, always ready to debate and always taking comments seriously. He made really important contributions to many fields of economic history and certainly ranks at the very top of our profession. I was particularly impressed by the way that he developed an ability to communicate with a wide audience, exemplified by "Forging Ahead, Falling Behind and Fighting Back". He will be greatly missed."

Maureen Galbraith, Economic & Social History Society Secretary at the University of Glasgow, writes:

"I had the pleasure of working with Nick when he was President of the Economic History Society. I am very sorry for the family's loss. A lovely man - kind, funny, and a straight talker."

Dr Mario Cuenda Garcia writes:

"I recently obtained my PhD in Economic History at the LSE, and my passion for Economic History started nine years ago when as an undergraduate at the University of Warwick I was introduced to Professor Nick Crafts' research. Economic History became my research pathway. I remember having the chance to meet Professor Nick Crafts at the Warwick Economics Summit in person. I will always remember and cherish the moment I met and chatted with one of the most influential economic historians of all times. May he rest in peace."

Emeritus Professor of Politics Wyn Grant comments:

"I had the great privilege of teaching Making of Economic Policy with Nick for several years. I learnt a great deal from him, indeed I once told him that I intellectually pillaged his work for textbooks on economic policy. I was surprised to learn of his interest in the turf, he even wrote an article on it. Despite his great knowledge, I always found him down to earth and unassuming. A great loss as an academic and a person."

Emeritus Professor Mark Harrison remembers a valued colleague and friend:

“Nick and I must have met in 1967 -- we were in the same year as undergraduates (but in different colleges, and at that stage I did not know him well). Then he was a colleague at Warwick, several times, because he kept leaving and coming back (he often referred to himself as a repeat Warwick recidivist).

“As a colleague he was a steadying influence and a voice of reason, something that I linked with his inclination to take the long view in economic history. At least twice, I am sure, he gave me advice that made a difference. One thing I missed after Nick left for Brighton (or since the pandemic, which must have been roughly the same time) was being able to drop by his office and find out what he thought about the world. He was always sensible, and usually very funny. Anyway, I owe him a lot."

Professor Tim Hatton, Professor of Economics at the University of Essex, writes:

"I am shocked and deeply saddened by the news that Nick has passed away. He was an incredible scholar and a huge influence on many of us. I first met him when we both arrived at Warwick in 1972, him as a lecturer and me as a first year student. He was my personal tutor. We got on well and he persuaded me to take his second year course on the Industrial Revolution. The course material was simply a five-page single spaced reading list. His lecturing style was magnetic and, with wry humour, he expertly dissected the literature. It was a revelation and a road map to making sense of the diverse and sometimes turgid texts. He had an amazing command of the subject—just three years out from his undergraduate degree! (Something that really came home to me some years later when I tried to teach it myself). It was compelling stuff, and he is the main reason that I followed a career in economic history. He will be sorely missed."

Professor Alfonso Herranz-Loncán, Professor of Economic History at the University of Barcelona, writes:

Nick was the best Economic History teacher I ever had. His teaching and his generosity while he was my supervisor at the LSE were absolutely crucial for my further research career. I owe him so much, and his death has been a terrible shock. Hasta siempre, Nick

Warwick alumnus Tamas Hontvari (PPE, class of 2018) writes:

"When we came in as first year students we were blown away by the immense knowledge that Professor Nick Crafts had. His lecture was head and shoulders above any other and really set the benchmark for our undergraduate years. Many thanks for your inspiration and rest in peace Sir!"

Wolf-Fabian Hungerland, economist in Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action and research fellow at the Institute of Economic History of Humboldt-University of Berlin, writes:

"Just a few days ago I mentioned him once again as the best - and funniest! - professor I ever had. What I learned from his class on international economic institutions after World War I still serves as the backbone for my work now. RIP."

Warwick Economics alumnus Ali Jasem writes:

"Nick was genuinely one of my favourite professors. He did not just teach extremely well, but was very warm and generous with his time. I spent good amount of times in his office discussing history and they were amongst my best memories at Warwick. I will miss him, and wish his family and friends all the best in this difficult time."

Former CAGE Centre co-ordinator Helen Knight writes:

"I am so very sorry to hear of Nick's passing. He was a wonderful Director to work with - patient, wise and kind. He made me feel valued as a member of CAGE, and supported the development of my career by encouraging me to take opportunities to learn, travel and experience the world of academia. I will be forever grateful for my time working with him. My sympathies to his family, friends and colleagues."

Professor Sibylle Lehmann-Hasemeyer, Professor for Economic and Social History at the Economics Department of the University of Hohenheim, writes:

"His work and passion for economic history and understanding growth and its reversal have shaped and inspired me and my work since my PhD. My thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time."

Dr Tim Leunig, Associate Professor, Department of Economic History, LSE, said:

"I first met Nick at the Edinburgh EHS conference when I was a grad student. I went to the conference dinner with Mary Mackinnon who was, I think, his former student. I had worked out that not everyone was interesting, and asked Mary to sit at a table with interesting people. She chose Nick's table. I had given a young researchers’ session, and Nick complimented me on what I had said. We talked for a while across the table, before I had to say that I didn’t know who he was and that he was not wearing his conference badge. People smiled around the table, and he put it on. But the print was small, so I asked him outright who he was. People smiled even more. "Professor Crafts. (pause) You may have heard of me". At that point I wanted the earth to swallow me up, but he said it with a smile, and obviously didn't mind. He went on to appoint me to my LSE post, and we were co-authors, ran EH101 together and had adjoining offices. He was a delight in every way, and I missed him when he left."

Dr Eric Melander, assistant professor in economics at the University of Birmingham, writes:

"'Please, Nick, show us another growth accounting table', I hear you say." For reasons unknown to me, these words, said tongue-in-cheek in a first-year undergraduate economic history lecture, are among my most vivid memories of Nick. Though said in passing, to me they encapsulate Nick's greatness: his wealth of knowledge on the big questions that really matter and his unfailing wit. I have benefited greatly from Nick's wisdom and generous advice. He will be missed."

Professor Stephen Morgan, Emeritus Professor of Chinese Economic History at the University of Nottingham, writes:

"So sad to hear of Nick's exit from this mortal world. He was so concise in his analysis grounded as always in theory. I learned a lot from reading his work and the occasional times I interacted."

Professor Robin Naylor said:

"I knew Nick from 1981 at University College Oxford and, with David Miles, took over his college tutoring role for a year when Nick was on sabbatical leave. Warwick Economics has benefitted greatly from Nick's academic work and profile, and from his leadership roles in the Department, both through CAGE and, prior to that, as Chair. Nick had a most remarkable intellect, and was very much one of a kind. He - and not least that knowing glint in his eye (half challenging, half conspiratorial) - will be much missed."

Professor Dennis Novy writes:

"Nick was the rare scholar you could truly look up to and respect. He was a towering figure in economics and a wonderful colleague. This is a big loss for our profession and beyond. We will sorely miss him."

Professor Andrew Oswald writes:

"Nick was wonderfully likeable. He treated me well from the very start of my time at Warwick, for which I was terribly grateful, and so often he had that penetrating intellect and smiling (occasionally almost impish) cheeriness that I always valued and I will always remember. He made a tremendous contribution during his life -- particularly to our Department.

Professor Nuno Palma, Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester, writes:

"I had many interactions with Nick over the years, and learned a lot from him. He was always cheerful and supportive, and will be remembered as one of the greats of his generation."

Dr Claudia Rei writes:

"I arrived at Warwick shortly before Nick retired, but I’ve known his work ever since I learned Economic History was a field within Economics. The profession has lost one of its greatest minds."

Professor Jonathan Reinarz, Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Birmingham, writes:

"I met Professor Crafts while doing my PhD at Warwick in the History Department on the history of brewing. Periodically, I would attend the economic history seminars in Economics, and Professors Crafts, Broadberry and others, with their commitment to academic debate and open rigorous discussion, would remind me why I chose to study in the UK. When I finished my thesis, Professor Crafts invited me to lunch at his home and encouraged me to interview his neighbour, Ivy, who worked in the brewing industry for decades. It was nice to know he remembered me from his seminars and included me in his lunch plans as well. I recently watched a recorded lecture given by him at the Legatum Institute and his sharp and concise delivery was as impressive as ever. He was a collegial academic, who I have regularly remembered with gratitude over the years."

Dr Jose Rowell Corpuz, Assistant Professor of Economics, writes:

"As my PhD supervisor, Nick cared and made me feel valued as an academic and a researcher. He was so wise and knowledgeable and so humble at the same time. I have been collecting rejection letters from journal editors, but he told me to keep going with my research. He said that the key to publishing is persistence and that I should never give up. Professor Crafts was a great supervisor and mentor, and I will miss him so much."

Professor Mar Rubio Varas, Professor of Economic History at Universidad Publica de Navarra, writes:

"Nick profoundly impacted my life, leaving an indelible mark on both my academic journey and personal path. Initially, he guided me as my MSc tutor, and later, as my PhD supervisor. However, his influence extended far beyond academia, as he played a pivotal role in facilitating my year-long stay at UC Berkeley, an experience that unexpectedly transformed my family life, shaping it to this day. Nick possessed a unique blend of warmth, wit, and kindness. His remarkable memory allowed him to recall anything he had read, and his intellectual curiosity led him to explore subjects well beyond his theoretical expertise. This insatiable hunger for knowledge made him an invaluable source of wisdom. The loss of Nick is deeply felt within our profession, but its impact reaches even further, touching the lives of those fortunate enough to have known him."

Professor Daniel Sgroi writes:

"As an undergraduate in the early 1990s, I studied Nick’s brilliant reinterpretation of British economic growth. Years later it was with considerable excitement that I joined the faculty at Warwick and finally met Nick in person. Nick fulfilled all of my expectations and more: not only was he clearly brilliant but his wisdom and kindness proved invaluable over the years that followed. Nick welcomed me into CAGE, supported my work and provided me with a constant source of invaluable advice. The world will be a dimmer place without him, but Nick’s work remains pioneering and essential, and many generations to come will benefit from the trail that he blazed."

Professor James Simpson, Professor of Economic History at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, said:

"Nick was a good friend. I will greatly miss Nick's wit and intellect. A rare combination in academia. Thank you."

Dr Kevin Tennent Reader in Management at the School for Business and Society, University of York, writes:

"Sorry to hear about Nick's passing away. I was taught by Nick at LSE, and later contributed research to the work he did on railways. I learned a lot about teaching and economics from Nick. He was an excellent communicator, very good at explaining complex ideas, and always very down to earth."

Emeritus Professor Mike Waterson writes:

"Nick was a man of great intelligence and also great wisdom, a rare and valuable combination of qualities."

Professor Nikolaus Wolf, Professor of Economics and Economic History at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, writes:

"Nick was like a rock to me and to many others: extremely witty and successful yet unpretentious, honest and down-to-earth. You could simply rely on him. As a person and by his work Nick Crafts convinced many fellow economists and policy-makers that economic history has something to say - and that it is even fun to listen."

Dr Meng Wu, British Academy Postdoc Fellow in Economics at the Economics Department of the University of Manchester, writes:

"It is a great pity that I never talked with Nick. However, as a PhD student and a mother-to-be, I participated in the CAGE summer school in 2017 and learned how Nick excelled in his lecture on Britain's Industrial Revolution. Nick's work is essential reading for my students. Although he left us, he has sowed seeds for future economic historians for generations."

Dr Nicholas Zammit, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, writes:

"Nick was one of my two PhD supervisors at the University of Warwick. He took a massive interest in my training and professional growth. He was always the person I looked to for advice. It always felt like Nick was in my corner fighting for me and pushing me to develop. I find it hard to express how significant his contribution was to my career and my life. Nick really shaped who I became as an educator and he inspired a continued passion for Economic History that has remained. I can hardly teach a single lecture in Economic History without mentioning some piece of wisdom, some funny sidebar or a deep insight that wasn't inspired by him or directly involving him.

"I had always planned to return to Warwick and let him know how much he had influenced almost everything I do. I expected that trip was coming and I would get the chance to thank him personally for everything. Unfortunately that was not to be. Hopefully this reaches someone that loves him and helps to paint the picture of how important he was to so many. My one example shows how he created ripple effects around the world that will continue for many lifetimes."

Further tributes to Professor Crafts can be read here.

Related articles

•  Nicholas Crafts@70 – news feature about the 2-day academic conference held in 2019 to celebrate Professor Crafts’ 70^th birthday.
• “Nick Crafts is the most distinguished British economic historian of his generation.” Tim Hatton reviews Forging Ahead, Falling Behind and Fighting Back: British Economic Growth from the Industrial Revolution to the Financial Crisis (Crafts, 2019) for EH.net
• NIESR Tribute - In Memory of Professor Nick Crafts CBE FBA - NIESR
• Brief obituary in The Times (subscription needed).
• Longer obituary in the Financial Times (subscription needed).

The Department of Economics would like to congratulate its job market candidates who have secured a role following the completion of their PhD.

The following 2022-2023 job market candidates from the Department have accepted an offer for a post:

• Eleonora Alabrese, Postdoctoral Researcher at Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE; followed by Lecturer at the University of Bath
• Giulia Vattuone, Assistant Professor at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) Stockholm University
• Raghav Malhotra, Lecturer at the University of Leicester
• Livia Paranhos, Research Economist at the Bank of England
• Gianni Marciante, Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Bologna
• Jian Xie, Assistant Professor at the Southern University of Science and Technology Business School
• Diego Calderon, Economist Program at the International Monetary Fund
• Ceren Bengu Cibik, Economic Advisor at Ofcom

Professor Manuel Bagues, Director of our MRes/PhD Programme, has commented:

“Placement of our students in the best economic departments around the world is a priority for us at Warwick and we offer tailored job market support for each of our PhD students, which includes assisting them with their job application process and providing them with a financial package to travel to job market meetings and interviews. Year on year, our Job Market Candidates do extremely well in securing positions at top ranking universities and I’m particularly pleased and proud of this year’s cohort of students. I congratulate them and wish them success in the future”.