New research challenges the conventional theory that the transition from foraging to farming drove the development of complex, hierarchical societies by creating agricultural surplus in areas of fertile land. In The Origin of the State: Land Productivity or Appropriability?, a team of economists shows that it is the adoption of cereal crops that is the key factor for the emergence of hierarchy.

Residents in the West Midlands could enjoy healthier and more affordable food in the future thanks to a new research project involving the University of Warwick.  Focusing on the city of Birmingham, the research team will map the current food system in the region, then explore what changes could provide fairer access to healthier and more environmentally sustainable food for everyone.

Two University of Warwick researchers have been elected as Fellows of the British Academy in recognition of their outstanding work. Professor Rebecca Earle (History) and Professor Mark Harrison (Economics) are among 52 new Fellows announced today by the prestigious institution, which supports and promotes the humanities and social sciences in the UK and around the world.

The economic shock of coronavirus has brought perennial questions about government borrowing and spending, NHS funding, social care and welfare, inequality in income and education, and wellbeing, into renewed focus. In a special edition of Advantage magazine published to mark 10 years since the Austerity budget, leading economists reflect on these issues and consider what lessons can be learnt as the UK plans its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around £11 billion a year could be raised from an Alternative Minimum Tax rate based on the total amount of income and capital gains that a person reports before applying any deductions or reliefs, according to new research which has gained unprecedented access to the tax records of the UK’s richest individuals.

The Top 1 per cent received a far greater, and faster growing, share of the nation’s income pre-crisis than previously thought, if capital gains are included in official statistics, according to major new research published today. The research – a collaboration between the CAGE Research Centre at the University of Warwick, the Resolution Foundation and the LSE – uses confidential tax return data to build a fuller picture of incomes across the UK, specifically by including taxable capital gains.

In a further contribution to the debate about how to balance the need to re-open the economy with the need to protect life, Warwick researchers Andrew Oswald and Nick Powdthavee point out the extreme dangers from any general kind of release from lockdown and present more detailed modelling on the fatality risks faced by different age groups. 

The UK could have zero new cases as early as 10^th May, but no later than the end of May, new research conducted by the University of Warwick suggests.

In the first analysis of how COVID19 affects economic sentiment, a team of researchers including Dr Thiemo Fetzer and Dr Christopher Roth from the University of Warwick has found that the arrival of the new Coronavirus in a country is associated with a sharp increase in Google searches indicative of anxieties and economic fears.

Was there such a thing as ‘the good old days’ when people were happier? Are current Government policies more or less likely to increase their citizens’ feelings of wellbeing? Using innovative methods researchers have built a new index that uses data from books and newspaper to track levels of national happiness from 1820. Their research could help governments to make better decisions about policy priorities.

Politics should no longer be divided between “left-wing” and “right-wing” because the vital dividing line between groups of voters is now between “anarchists” and “centrists”, a new study from the Centre for Competitive Global Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE) shows today.

Professor Mark Harrison from Warwick’s Department of Economics is one of the experts featured this week in a new Radio 4 documentary series exploring the economic issues behind the start of World War 2.

A third of self-assessment taxpayers do not pay as much tax as they should, meaning the Treasury is missing out on £8 billion a year. This contributes to the annual “tax gap” of more than £30 billion revenue that goes uncollected. The findings are revealed in a new research briefing by Dr Arun Advani of the University of Warwick and Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE)

The use of social media can help propagate already existing tensions and perhaps even push some potential perpetrators over the edge to carry out violent acts, according to new research on social media and violence against refugees in Germany presented today at the Royal Economic Society annual conference in Warwick.

The vote to leave the European Union has already cost the average worker more than a week’s wages thanks to higher prices, a study shows today.

The fall in the value of the pound after the June 2016 referendum caused a lasting increase in the price of many goods, costing Britons more than £400, according to research by Dr Dennis Novy, a leading expert on the economic implications of Brexit.

Donald Trump's 2016 campaign is said to have spent 44 million dollars on Facebook, running 175,000 variations of political adverts.  Was this money well-spent?

New research from the University of Warwick, ETH Zurich and the University Carlos III in Madrid has demonstrated that the micro-targeted campaigns were highly effective both in persuading undecided voters to support Mr Trump, and in persuading Republican supporters to turn out on polling day.

New research from the University of Warwick finds that many popular theories about Brexit are wrong. Using just-released data, the researchers show that it was people’s feelings about their own finances that led to Brexit, and that Brexit was not forced on the UK by older voters.