Departmental news

We are proud to report that three of the best Warwick Economics student dissertations have been published in the seventh round of the Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers (WM-ESP) series.

The WM-ESP portal showcases the top innovative and original research papers written by Warwick and Monash undergraduate and postgraduate students. The WM-ESP portal was launched just over 3 years ago and aims to provide insight into the issues that young economists are using their skills to understand and solve. Issues tackled so far include the housing market, climate change, gender inequality and healthcare.

We congratulate our three students for this fantastic achievement and for the fascinating research that they have conducted; we wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

You can find out more about their research papers below:

Related links

Sixth suite of top Economics student research papers showcased on Warwick Monash portal 21 Feb 2024

Top Economics student research showcased on Warwick Monash portal 9 Oct 2023

We are delighted to announce that Sascha Becker, Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics, has been elected a Fellow of the Econometric Society.

Professor Becker becomes one of the 42 new Fellows from six regions of the world who have been recognised for their contribution to Economics. Since its foundation in 1930, the Econometric Society have appointed 1,187 fellows.

The Econometrics Society is an international society for the advancement of economic theory in its relation to statistics and mathematics. It publishes important economic journals: Econometrica, Quantitative Economics, Theoretical Economics as well as the Monograph Series. It also organises annual scientific meetings in six regions of the world and a World Congress once every five years.

Professor Sascha Becker commented about his achievement:

“I was super happy to receive the news about being elected Fellow of the Econometric Society. The co-founders of the Society, Josef Schumpeter and Ragnar Frisch, in their “Memorandum re the Econometric Society” wrote in 1931: “We are of the opinion that the list of fellows should be very restricted. As a rule, a fellow ought to unite in the same person both the economic, the statistical and the mathematical point of view. “

I am extremely grateful to have been deemed worthy of joining the ranks of such an amazing group of Fellows. Many of them inspired me on my journey as an economist, after having started my studies in mathematics and physics.”

Head of Department, Professor Ben Lockwood said:

“I was very pleased to hear of Sascha’s news and I congratulate him on this achievement. Sascha joins the other Fellows of the Econometric Society in the Department: Bhaskar Dutta, Roger Farmer, Peter Hammond, Motty Perry, Herakles Polemarchakis, Debraj Ray, Eric Renault and Ken Wallis. This means that with nine Fellows, we are in the fourth position in the UK (behind only LSE, Oxford and UCL) in the number of Fellows in Departments of Economics.”

We congratulate Professor Sascha Becker and wish him further successes in the future.

A quarter of estates worth over £10 million pay less than 9% Inheritance Tax, thanks to uncapped exemptions and reliefs, according to new research co-written by Dr Arun Advani as part of the new Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax).

One in six estates worth over £10 million currently pay an effective tax rate of less than 4%, even among estates not eligible for the (uncapped) spouse exemption, whilst another quarter pay close to the 40% headline rate of Inheritance Tax (IHT). These huge disparities are driven by the use of allowances, exemptions and reliefs, including Business Relief, Agricultural Relief.

These findings come from a new report by researchers at the Centre for Analysis of Taxation (CenTax). The report is published on the day Parliament meets for a Westminster Hall Debate on the future of Business Relief and Agricultural Relief, and amidst speculation that these reliefs might be a target for the Chancellor in the upcoming Budget.

The report finds that:

• On average, Business Relief almost halves the effective tax rate paid by estates worth over £30 million (from 23% to 12%), compared with only a one percentage point reduction for estates valued at less than £1.5 million. More than two thirds of Business Relief goes to around 400 estates per year claiming more than £1 million each in relief.
• Only a quarter of those claiming Business Relief on shares had been involved in management of a business as a company director at any point in the five tax years prior to death. This suggests that most claims for Business Relief are by ‘passive’ investors rather than ‘active’ business owners. This figure includes investments in AIM shares.
• Almost two thirds (64%) of Agricultural Relief went to around 200 estates per year that each claimed more than £1 million in relief, with an average estate value of £6 million.
• Agricultural Relief can be claimed by landlords as well as active farmers, provided that they have owned the land for at least seven years. Less than half (44%) of individuals who claimed Agricultural Relief had received any trading income from agriculture at any point in the five tax years prior to death. Income from agriculture made up less than a quarter of their income.

The report recommends a series of reforms aimed at making IHT fairer whilst preserving the key policy objectives of existing exemptions and reliefs:

• Capping Agricultural Relief and Business Relief at a combined limit of £500,000 per estate could raise up to £900 million per year. Two-thirds of estates claiming Agricultural Relief, and three-quarters of those claiming Business Relief, would be completely unaffected, but would increase the effective tax rates paid by the very largest estates (above £30 million) by around 7pp on average.
• Abolishing the Residential Nil Rate Band (RNRB) whilst increasing the standard Nil Rate Band (NRB) by an equivalent amount would cost around £1 billion per year, with all of the benefit going to estates valued at less than £2.7 million. For estates valued at less than £2 million, this would entail an increase in the NRB from £325,000 to £500,000.
• Capping the spouse exemption at £10 million would affect fewer than 0.1% of estates (100 deaths a year) and raise up to £350m in revenue. This reform would limit the current scope for tax planning, whilst ensuring that surviving spouses would not suffer a material reduction in living standards as a result of IHT.
• Combining all three of these reforms could raise up to £500 million, whilst at the same time lowering effective tax rates (on average) for estates worth less than £2 million. Under this package, only estates worth more than £8 million would see their effective tax rates rise by more than 5 percentage points on average.

Arun Advani, Director of CenTax and Associate Professor at University of Warwick, said: “Less than one in five Business Relief claims are for someone who was managing a closely-held business any time in the five years prior to death. Although Business Relief is often defended as protection for family businesses, it is poorly targeted for doing that, as well as being very expensive.”

Andy Summers, Director of CenTax and Associate Professor at LSE, said: “Ideally, the UK would look to international examples and consider wholesale reform of our broken Inheritance Tax system. Clearly that’s not feasible in time for this Budget, but our report shows how the Government could raise revenues at the same time as cutting effective tax rates for most estates, just by limiting some of the excesses of our existing exemptions and reliefs.”

James Forrester, Research Economist at CenTax, said: “It’s striking how much the effective tax rate varies among estates with similar amounts of wealth. This is driven by a number of different tax reliefs, but much of the benefit of these reliefs is concentrated among relatively few estates.”

• Read the full CenTax Policy Report - Inheritance Tax reliefs: time for reform? by Arun Advani, Franziska Disslbacher, James Forrester and Andy Summers 

Warwick Economics alumnus and honorary graduate Professor James Robinson (Honorary Doctorate 2015, MA Economics 1985-86) is one of three economists jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences 2024.

Professor Robinson, now at the University of Chicago, shares the award with Professor Daron Acemoglu and Professor Simon Johnson, both based at MIT, for their work on the relationship between institutions and prosperity, focusing particularly on the political and institutional systems introduced by European colonisers.

Announcing the award, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said: “This year’s laureates in the economic sciences – Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson – have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity. Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better. The laureates’ research helps us understand why.”

Professor Ben Lockwood, Head of Department of Economics at Warwick, said: “On behalf of the whole Department I offer our warmest congratulations to Professor Robinson and his fellow laurates. James joins Oliver Hart as a Nobel Prize winning economist who has graduated from our MA (now MSc) programme.

“As James said in his 2015 guest lecture, why some countries are poor and some countries are rich is one of the oldest questions in economics. It is wonderful to see his work in this field recognised with a Nobel Prize.”

Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, said: “Reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time’s greatest challenges. The laureates have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for achieving this.”

• Read more about this year’s prize:
  • Popular science background: They provided an explanation for why some countries are rich and others poor (pdf) Link opens in a new window
  • Scientific background to the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2024 (pdf) Link opens in a new window
• Watch our 2015 interview with Professor Robinson when he came to campus to receive his honorary degree: Professor James Robinson interview | Warwick Department of Economics (youtube.com) 
• Read the oration delivered by Professor Abhinay Muthoo on the occasion of the award of Professor Robinson’s Honorary Doctorate: Honorary Graduand Orations - Summer 2015 (warwick.ac.uk)
• Read about Professor Robinson's work with CAGE.

More about Professor Robinson:

Professor James Robinson received an MA from Warwick Economics in 1986 before moving to Yale for his PhD. After posts at the University of Melbourne, the University of Southern California, Berkeley and Harvard he joined the University of Chicago in 2015. He has since been appointed Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies (2016) and Professor of Political Science (2020). His books include: History of the Chiefdoms of Sierra Leone (with Tristan Reed); Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty by Acemoglu, Daron, and James A Robinson; and The Role of Elites in Economic Development by Amsden, Alice, Alisa De Caprio, and James A Robinson. He is also an Associate of the CAGE research centre, based within the Department of Economics at Warwick, and has contributed to its recent schools outreach programme.

Workers on zero-hour contracts (ZHC) face lower wages and significantly higher turnover rates, yet such jobs have 25% more applicants than a permanent position for the same role, research by Assistant Professor Nikhil Datta has found.

The study - Why do flexible work arrangements exist?- is published by the LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) where Dr Datta is an associate of the labour markets programme. He uses data from more than 31,000 employees and finds:

• Workers on ZHCs are more likely to be young, living in high student population areas and have higher education levels than those on other contracts.
• ZHCs are often used for temporary work.
• ZHC staff typically stay in their job for only a third as long as the same staff on fixed-hour contracts – with more than 10% of those hired on ZHC leaving before they even work a single shift.
• ZHC wages are approximately 6% lower than those for equivalent permanent jobs in the same occupation and industry.
• ZHC roles attract 25% more job applicants than equivalent fixed-hour positions and very few ZHC workers apply for equivalent fixed-hour positions within the same firm when vacancies come up.

The research comes as zero-hours contracts, which do not guarantee a set number of working hours, are in line for tighter regulation under the new government. Critics argue that they create unstable income for workers and undermine job security, while supporters claim they offer two-sided flexibility for businesses and workers.

Dr Nikhil Datta said: “Given there are some workers who show a strong preference for zero hours contracts, firms have a greater ability to mark down their wages compared to colleagues in fixed-hour jobs. Targeting that discrepancy should be a priority.”

Using detailed timesheet data, the research also uncovers new information on the volatility of hours and earnings experienced by ZHC workers.

Many workers actually see very little week-on-week hours and earning volatility, but there is a small proportion of workers who experience a lot of volatility: around 10% of workers see changes in their weekly earnings of £175 or more. Over the same period a full-time minimum wage worker would have expected to earn £318 a week.

From the employers' perspective, the study demonstrates how firms rely on ZHC workers to cover for staff absences from issues like sickness, staff turnover and responding to sudden changes in consumer demand and thus why they are more prevalent in industries such as hospitality, leisure and retail.

“This new research is important for those in government,” Dr Datta added.

“Policy makers should be cautious with how heavily the use of ZHCs is regulated. Many workers on ZHCs prefer them, and they play an important role for firms facing varying conditions.

"Outright bans would be counterproductive, but policies aimed at offering workers a right-to-request a fixed number of hours after some time in employment, are more reasonable. Attention should also be paid to ensuring that ZHC staff get paid the same wage rate as their fixed-hour counterparts.”

• Read the full paper here: Why do flexible work arrangements exist?

The Department of Economics is delighted to announce that for the third year running we have been ranked top of the specialist subject table for Economics in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.

Published annually in September by the Times and Sunday Times, The Good University Guide provides British university rankings based on five categories: teaching quality, student experience, research quality, entry standards and graduate prospects.

We have achieved an overall score of 100 (with 93.3% for graduate prospects) which puts us ahead of the LSE, Cambridge, Oxford and St Andrews.

We have been ranked in the top 5 amongst UK's departments of Economics over the last few years, and reaching the top position four times previously: in the Good University Guides 2024, 2023, 2020 and 2015.

Our recent achievements also include high positions in other important league tables: 23rd place in the world in the QS World University Rankings 2024 for Economics and Econometrics as well as 5th place in the Complete University Guide 2025 published in June 2024.

Professor Ben Lockwood, Head of Department of Economics, said:

“This external recognition highlights our success in producing world class research and providing students with outstanding learning opportunities that support their graduate prospects. It also reflects the hard work and commitment of our staff and students in all areas of our work.”

Related items

The Times and Sunday Times UK University Rankings 2025: League table

University of Warwick shortlisted for University of the Year in 2025 Good University Guide

• Affordable home ownership is at its lowest for 30 years with house prices now eight times higher than the average salary.
• The UK’s planning system has been seen as the culprit of this crisis, reducing housing supply and causing a huge shortage of homes for the growing population.
• Academics from Warwick Economics analysed 18 million planning applications and have pinpointed new evidence on the UK’s planning system.

Their research shows that planning refusals aren’t the problem, and the attention they get is somewhat misguided. Over the past decade, refusal rates for new housing units were almost half the rate than the previous 10 years.

It is the bigger projects which have become more significant. Large projects of over 50 housing units now represent two thirds of newly permitted developments, with very large projects of over 500 units representing 38% of new developments. Twenty-five years ago, these very large developments only made up 8% of new housing.

These bigger developments are much less likely to be refused planning permission than smaller developments. The evidence shows that a single unit project is twice as likely to be refused planning as one with over 500 houses. However, these bigger projects face far more hurdles, delays, red tape and paperwork than smaller ones. Many of these hurdles set in only once permission is granted.

It takes an average of 4.5 years for the planning process to be completed for very large developments, and in some cases can take over 11 years. This suggests that the Labour government’s focus on building new towns to meet the 1.5 million home pledge may mean these new homes do not materialise very quickly.

The research identifies five possible reasons for delays from case study evidence.

1. Financial contributions to the local area: A developer responsible for a 7000-unit estate in Bedfordshire was required to contribute almost £80m for local infrastructure (schools, roads, community facilities and transit services) and unexpected costs.
2. Infrastructure delays: The new development of Northstowe in Cambridgeshire was left in limbo for around 4 years due to a delay in the Highways England-led expansion of the A14, which the new town was entirely dependent on.
3. Regulatory barriers: The Eastern Green development in Coventry was required to comply with seven environmental regulations including sustainable drainage systems and flood risk management.
4. Council led delays: In Ebbsfleet Valley, a new town near London, the planning process for 43,000 houses started in 1996. Delays to decision making and resubmissions has meant that work did not start until 11 years later in 2007. To date only 4000 of the 43,000 houses have been built.
5. Community opposition: The Eastern Green development received over 300 pages of local objections and 173 letters in opposition were filed. The first outline application was made in 2018 and the land remains undeveloped as of 2024.

Nikhil Datta, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick and co-lead on the project said:

“Our research has shown that there are many often unrelated barriers which impact on the housing supply, and it is not simply planning refusal rates which are the problem. The UK government needs to consider this when setting and implementing policies. Not only is new housing hampered by the planning process itself, but regulatory barriers, infrastructure setbacks and community opposition all play a part. We will be investigating these factors further to quantify their relative importance.”

Amrita Kulka, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick and co-lead on the project said:

“If the UK is to meet housing delivery targets within shorter timelines, addressing planning delays is essential. Our research highlights a shift since the early 2000s towards a greater reliance on large-scale developments for housing supply. Such developments take substantially longer to go through the planning system than projects of smaller sizes. To speed up housing delivery, the government should consider a mix of small and medium-sized developments, alongside urban extensions and new neighbourhoods.”

Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive, Home Builders Federation said:

“As this important research demonstrates, there are a number of significant barriers to successfully bringing forward large sites, within a realistic time frame. Policy makers need to create a framework within which sites of all sizes can come forward more efficiently if we are to meet communities’ housing needs and allow builders of all sizes to increase output.

“Whilst the new Government’s speedy interventions on planning are welcome, there is no silver bullet and further interventions on the supply and demand side will be required. Amidst a dearth of affordable mortgage lending more support for buyers is required to provide the necessary confidence in demand that allows industry to invest. Building the homes we need will deliver both the social change and economic growth the new Government needs but will take commitment across a range of policy areas.”

• Read the briefing: Five facts on the UK planning system
• The UK planning system - Technical Appendix

This work was supported by Research England under the Policy Support Fund funding stream.

About the authors:

• Amrita Kulka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick
• Nikhil Datta is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick and a fellow at the Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
• Edoardo Badii is a PhD student in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick.
• Johannes Brinkmann is a PhD student in the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick.

We look forward to welcoming our new students to the Department of Economics in September 2024.

We are delighted that you have chosen to study here and we look forward to welcoming you this academic year. Your first few weeks have been designed with a series of activities and events enabling you to settle in and adapt to student life at Warwick.

Dr Claudia Rei, Deputy Head of Department in Teaching and Learning, has a welcome message for all incoming students:

"Welcome to the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick. Please take some time to read the information about your Economics Programme below. There is a lot of information here so do not hesitate to contact your programme team if you have queries (economics.ugoffice@warwick.ac.uk or economics.pgoffice@warwick.ac.uk). I look forward to meeting you at various welcome events over the next few weeks!"

Professor Sascha Becker is one of 45 new Fellows appointed this week to the Academy of Social Sciences in recognition of his excellence in research and his significant contributions outside the academic world.

A small number of fellows are elected each year by the Academy to highlight the importance, breadth and relevance of the social sciences to understanding and tackling the varied challenges facing society today.

Professor Becker, who has recently returned to the Department of Economics after several years as the Xiaokai Yang Chair of Business and Economics at Monash University, Melbourne, works on labour economics, political economy and economic history. He recently published on forced migration, genocides, the legacy of the Hapsburg Empire and the persecution of Jewish academics in Nazi Germany.

Commenting on his Fellowship, Professor Becker said:

“I feel honoured to be named a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

“I would like to pass on thanks to the colleagues who nominated me and the Fellows who elected me into the Academy.

“Social sciences are key to understanding the past, present and future of our societies and the Academy champions the vital role social sciences play in education, government and business."

Will Hutton FAcSS, President of the Academy, said, “It’s a pleasure to welcome these 45 leading social scientists to the Academy’s Fellowship. We look forward to working with them to further promote the important role the social sciences play in our daily lives.”

The Academy's Fellowship comprises 1,600 leading social scientists from academia, the public, private and third sectors. Their expertise covers the breadth of the social sciences, and their practice and research addresses some of the major challenges facing communities, society, places and economies.

All Academy Fellows are elected for their excellence in their fields and their substantial contributions to social science for public benefit. Selection is through an independent peer review which recognises their excellence and impact.

• Read a short profile and Q and A with Professor Becker on the Academy's website here.

Professor Sascha Becker has been elected to the leadership team of the Society for Institutional and Organisational Economics (SIOE) as Second Vice President.

He will become First Vice President next year, and anticipates taking on the role of President in 2027 when one of his responsibilities will be to host the SIOE Annual Conference at Warwick and give the Presidential Address.

Founded in 1997 as The International Society for New Institutional Economics, SIOE promotes interdisciplinary study of the institutions of social, political and commercial life, aiming to integrate an economic perspective with strategic management, political science, law, and history.

As well as the annual conference, SIOE awards several prizes for outstanding contributions to the field at different career stages.

The Society was co-founded by three Nobel Laureates in Economics - Oliver Williamson, Ronald Coase, and Douglass North. It prides itself on its international outlook and membership.

Commenting on his election, Professor Becker said: “I am delighted that the members of SIOE elected me into the leadership team of SIOE. It will be an honour to host SIOE at Warwick in 2027.”

• SIOE website: https://www.sioe.org/