Publications in: Behavioural Economics

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 […]

Green Home Finance: Expert Analysis from a Behavioural Perspective

Published:1 March, 2024

Green home finance presents an opportunity to support the UK Government in achieving its Net Zero Ambitions. This study by London Economics and partners Basis Social, Cambridge University and University College London explores the appetite for GHF products amongst consumers, the barriers and enablers to GHF delivery, and how behavioural science can be used to […]

Access to Cash: Costs to Consumers and SMEs of a Loss of Access to In-person Cash and Banking Services

Published:6 February, 2024

London Economics led this study for the FCA to estimate the costs to consumers and SMEs from loss of access to cash and in-person banking services. The research explored how consumers and SMEs currently use these services and how they would behave if they lost access to these services. It identified that access to these […]

Impact of International Investment Agreements on UK Outwards Direct Investment

Published:12 January, 2024

London Economics and Ipsos were commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade to investigate the impact of international investment agreements (IIAs) on UK outward direct investment (ODI). ODI is cross-border investment from one country into another, with the aim of establishing a lasting interest in an enterprise where the investor’s purpose is to play […]

Empirical Testing of Consumers’ Perceptions of Differences in Package and Product Version of Seemingly Identical Branded Food Products

Published:20 July, 2023

London Economics worked with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre to investigate how the design of food packaging affects consumers’ perceptions, beliefs about differences between products, and ability to make informed purchasing decisions. The study used data collected via an online survey and experiment to provide insights on two fronts: it informs policymakers whether, and […]

Consumer Focused Regulation in Legal Services – June 2023

Published:15 June, 2023

London Economics was commissioned by the Legal Services Consumer Panel – an independent arm of the Legal Services Board –  to undertake research to develop a set of indicators to serve as guidance on good practice in consumer focused regulation. The Legal Services Consumer Panel is calling on legal services regulators to focus more of […]

Part and Parcel: The Economic and Social Value of Post Office – February 2023

Published:22 February, 2023

London Economics were commissioned by Post Office to analyse the economic and social value of Post Office. Post Office generated an economic impact of £4.7 billion in 2021/22 throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, with at least £2 million of economic impact originating in every parliamentary constituency. Post Office also supported nearly 50,000 full-time […]

Auto-enrolment in the UK: A Decade of Success but What Next?

Published:26 January, 2023

Calum Kennedy at London Economics reflects on the success of the auto-enrolment scheme in the UK and lays out some of the challenges for the road ahead… In October 2022, the UK auto-enrolment (AE) pension scheme celebrated its tenth anniversary. Over the past ten years, the pensions landscape in the UK has changed markedly. AE […]

New Person, Same Old Mistakes – Behavioural Economics in Public Health

Published:7 November, 2022

With winter just around the corner and health services under increasing pressure, Calum Kennedy
examines how behavioural insights can inform public health policy.

Using Behavioural Insights for Water Demand | Behavioural Economics in Focus Issue 3

Published:23rd August, 2022

Hosepipe bans across England and Wales: time to turn to behavioural insights for managing water use With England’s water reservoirs at a 25-year low and hosepipe bans being introduced by the majority of water companies, Dr Charlotte Duke and James Suter consider the evidence on the effectiveness of hosepipe bans and recommend harnessing the power […]

The Behavioural Tool Kit – What You Need to Know and Why Should You Care

Published:04 May, 2022

James Suter and Tiffany Head of London Economics’ Behavioural Team explain how behavioural economics provides many powerful insights on how people behave and why, with real-world applications in the worlds of business and policy making… What is Behavioural Economics? Behavioural economics is the study of human behaviour and how our ‘behavioural biases’ and the context […]