Growth Lab
The LSE Growth Lab conducts policy research and organises impact projects. From the reconstruction of Ukraine to regulating UK finance, we work with practitioners to evaluate policies that drive prosperity. We collaborate closely with the Economics Observatory, and with Harvard’s Growth Lab.
New research: the evolving fiscal constraint in advanced economies
New research from the Growth Lab, published in the National Institute Economic Review, investigates the increased volatility and cost of government debt.
Understanding the impact of AI in the creative industries
The Growth Lab examines AI's impact on the creative industries. In a report supported by Netflix the team reviews history, theory and the latest research to provide a state of plan on the challenges and opportunities of the 2020s.
Event: Economic Security in the age of AI
The Lab together with Georgetown University and supported by Accenture, is hosting Economic Security in the Age of AI, exploring how sovereign AI will shape economic power, national security, and global collaboration.
Festival of Economics
The Economics Observatory runs a Festival of Economics each year. Economists, journalists, and experts from around the world debate with each other – and their audiences – the key economic questions of our time.
Opportunity: Occasional Research Assistants
The Growth Lab at LSE is seeking 3-5 Occasional Research Assistants. The positions are open to current or former SPP students.
FCA growth research competition
The LSE hosted the Financial Conduct Authority and FCA guests from across the UK, for its inaugural economic growth research competition, presenting one of the research projects on improving productivity measurement in UK financial services.
Report: Ukraine diaspora and returnees' policy
The Lab launched a report on Ukrainians overseas at an event exploring diaspora engagement, return migration, and strategies for post-war recovery. The event was attended by Ukrainian refugees, policymakers, and representatives from the charitable sector.
Playfair Prize
The Growth Lab team run the annual Playfair Prize, awarded for policy-focused data visualisation. Read more about William Playfair, and see recent winners’ work.
Book launch: India, China and the West
Richard Davies spoke with former Liberal Democrat Leader, Vince Cable, about his new book Eclipsing the West: China, India and the forging of a new world.
HM Treasury Research
The LSE team hosted the inaugural HM Treasury “Areas of Research Interest” conference, discussing topics that HMT has flagged as vital to the UK: this included economic growth, productivity, regional growth, and fiscal sustainability, with economists from across the UK joining the conversation.
Microdata for policy
The Growth Lab convened a workshop exploring microdata. Statisticians, data scientists, and economists from a range of policymaking institutions discussed production and application of microdata, sharing innovative findings ranging from digital prices to card transactions and vehicle collisions.
AutoCPI
The Data Unit at the Growth Lab are using millions of digital price data to investigate inflation and fill important data gaps.
Tracking trade costs
In a NIESR paper the team use our new AutoCPI data to monitor food inflation by product origin and demonstrate how an early warning system could track the costs of trade frictions in real-time.
Finance and Growth
The team hosted a research incubator event with the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The event brought together academics, sector experts, and policymakers to discuss the PRA’s new “secondary objective”: the international competitiveness and growth of the UK economy.
Capitalism – the alternatives?
Richard Davies chaired Alternatives to Capitalism as part of the LSE’s Festival: Visions for the Future, exploring debates on reforming economic systems and the future of capitalism and its alternatives.
Mozambique – Growth Diagnostics
The Lab conducted growth diagnostic of Mozambique. The analysis, commissioned by USAID, identified poor infrastructure and burdensome regulations as key barriers to inclusive growth and economic diversification.
Tanzania – Growth Diagnostic
The Growth Co-Lab, in partnership with the Investment Climate Reform Facility, conducted a growth diagnostic of Tanzania’s manufacturing sector, identifying key barriers to industrialization and strategies to boost export competitiveness.
