Publications in: Regulators and government

A Guide to Privatisation – Best Practices and Procedures

Published:16 February, 2023

Many countries have privatised some or all of their State-Owned Enterprises in order to improve the efficiency of their economies and raise revenues for the government. Some of the privatisation experiences have been more successful than others and a wealth of knowledge on what works in a privatisation has been accumulated over the last 40 […]

Behavioural Study on the Digitalisation of the Marketing and Distance Selling of Retail Financial Services – April 2019

Published:10 April, 2019

The study looked into the impacts on consumers of practices used by providers of retail financial services when marketing and selling their products online. Moreover, it suggested ways to improve how consumers are informed when looking to obtain financial products, such as consumer credit or bank accounts, on the internet. Some of the main findings: […]

Behavioural Study on Consumers’ Engagement in the Circular Economy – October 2018

Published:23 October, 2018

The objective of this study was to provide policy-relevant insights on consumers’ engagement in the circular economy. The study involved several research tasks including a literature review across all EU countries as well as third countries, stakeholder interviews, consumer focus groups in 4 EU countries, an online consumer survey in 12 EU countries and an […]

Reducing Roadside Litter Using Randomised Controlled Trials – June 2018

Published:27 June, 2018

London Economics produced a guide for conducting and evaluating randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for anti-littering actions on roads for the Department for Transport. The guide sets out, step-by-step, how to design, set up and implement a randomised controlled trial, as well as how to measure its success, focusing on the context of measures to reduce […]

Asset Management Market Study – Experimental Consumer Research and Focus Groups – April 2018

Published: April, 2018

As part of the FCA’s Asset Management Market study, London Economics conducted a behavioural experiment to test the impact of different ways of presenting information on charges on the extent that retail investors pay attention to charges in their decision-making. Treatments tested included: warning investors about the impact of charges a) via a written message […]

Now You See It: Drawing Attention to Charges in the Asset Management Industry – April 2018

Published: April, 2018

A behavioural experiment conducted by London Economics formed the basis of the FCA’s Occasional Paper ‘Now you see it: drawing attention to charges in the asset management industry’. Our experiment tested the impact of different ways of presenting information on charges on the extent that retail investors pay attention to charges in their decision-making. The […]

Using Behavioural Science to Drive Behaviour Change in Reducing Risks of STIs – March 2018

Published:9 March, 2018

Dr Annette Cerulli-Harms spoke at the Public Policy Exchange conference on Student Sexual Health and Well Being on March 8th 2018 about how behavioural economics can be used to change the way we speak about sexual health. Annette explained the relevance of behavioural economics and cognitive biases in the area of public health including sexual […]

Consumer Behaviour Research for Legal Services – December 2017

Published:6 December, 2017

The Law Society commissioned London Economics to undertake behavioural economic research into how consumers search for legal services. The study used a behavioural experiment, focus groups and depth interviews to investigate how consumers access, assess and act on information. The research helped the Law Society to better understand the most useful information that solicitors can […]

Behavioral Economics Guide 2017

Published:26 June, 2017

London Economics is happy to announce that we are a corporate sponsor and contributor to the Behavioral Economics Guide 2017, which this year has a forward from Cass R. Sunstein of Harvard University. First released in 2014, this now yearly publication provides an introduction to the field, developments in the behavioural sciences, insights from practitioners, […]

Study on the Functioning of the Retail Electricity Markets for Consumers in the EU – February 2017

Published:06 February, 2017

The 2nd Electricity Market Study investigated electricity market functioning for consumers in the EU, Iceland and Norway. It assessed how market performance has developed since the 1st electricity market study conducted in 2010, and the extent to which consumers have the necessary tools to make rational and empowered choices. Its findings offer a clear insight […]

Stakeholder Engagement on Complex and Long-run Issues in the Energy and Water Sectors – November 2016

Published:14 November, 2016

This paper for Sustainability First explores how different research approaches for engaging individual consumers can help uncover long-term public interest in complex areas. The paper covers both quantitative and qualitative methods, and includes behavioural experiments to test consumer responses to alternative interventions. The paper is of use to public interest advocates and energy and water […]