Publications in: Labour markets

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 […]

The Economic Impact of the Russell Group Universities’ R&D Activities

Published:28 February, 2024

London Economics were commissioned to assess the economic impact of research and commercialisation activities undertaken by the 24 Russell Group universities on the UK economy. Our analysis estimates that the total economic impact of the Russell Group’s core research and commercialisation activities in 2021/22 was approximately £37.6 billion. In terms of the components of this […]

Estimating the Potential Impact of Policy Changes on International Student Demand for UK Higher Education

Published:8 February, 2021

London Economics were commissioned by the Department for Education to undertake an analysis of: The price elasticity of international student enrolments with respect to changes in the level of tuition fees charged – separately at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and for EU and non-EU domiciled students. The potential impact on first-year EU student enrolments and […]

Assessing the Economic Returns to Level 4 and 5 STEM-based Qualifications – July 2019

Published:16 July, 2019

London Economics were commissioned by the Gatsby Foundation to undertake an assessment of the net graduate premium and net Exchequer benefit associated with Higher Technical Education qualifications at Level 4 and Level 5. For full-time students, the analysis suggests that the net benefits to students undertaking specific STEM-based qualifications at Level 4/5 are substantial (and […]

Estimating the Costs Associated with the Student Support Offer – December 2018

Published:10 December, 2018

Following publication in the Telegraph of some possibilities emerging from the Augar review, London Economics have estimated the economic cost associated with reducing annual tuition fees to £6,500 (with no additional Teaching grant); removing real interest rates; and reducing the repayment threshold to £21,000. The result is a £2.8 billion reduction in funding (per cohort) […]

Impact of the ONS Review on the Deficit – December 2018

Published:10 December, 2018

On 17th December 2018, the Office for National Statistics is expected to publish its recommendation on its review of the National Accounting treatment of student loans. This guidance will have significant consequences for the possible recommendations of the Augar Review, as well as the ability of the Government to implement any of those recommendations. Given […]

Understanding the Limitations of Graduate Outcome Measures in Higher Education – September 2018

Published:8 October, 2018

The structure and level of higher education student support funding continue to be key policy questions for the UK Government. Perceived as financially unstable, the current arrangements have recently been the subject of numerous Parliamentary reports on higher education fees and funding. In parallel to these reviews of the current structure of student support arrangements, […]

Evaluation of Prisoner Learning – June 2018

Published:07 June, 2018

London Economics were commissioned by the Department for Education and Ministry of Justice to undertake an analysis of the OLASS4 offender learning in prisons. The analysis combined information from the Individualised Learner Record (on publicly funded training) with Ministry of Justice data relating to prisoners’ criminogenic characteristics and re-offending, as well as earnings and employment […]

Settling the Counterfactual Debate: Is There a Preferable Counterfactual when Estimating the Returns to Vocational Qualifications? – April 2018

Published:11 April, 2018

Using information from the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data set, it is now possible to compare the characteristics and estimates for learners with different qualifications encompassing both types of counterfactuals used in the extant literature: learners in possession of qualifications at the ‘level-below’ and learners enrolling in similar vocational qualifications but failing to achieve (‘non-achievers’). […]

The Costs of Amending Student Support Arrangements – February 2018

Published:13 February, 2018

With the potential review of higher education approaching, London Economics have modelled the costs to the Exchequer associated with a reduction in tuition fees to £6,000 and the re-introduction of maintenance grants. The analysis demonstrates that the cost of cutting fees stands at £1.169 billion per cohort, while maintenance grants cost £360 million. Importantly, despite […]

Reforming Student Finance to Increase Fairness and Widen Access – November 2017

Published:16 November, 2017

London Economics was commissioned by the Sutton Trust to analyse the cost to graduates, higher education institutions and the Exchequer associated with a range of student support scenarios, including combinations of: means-tested tuition fees based on household income; the re-introduction of maintenance grants to 2015/16 levels before their abolition; and changes to the interest rates […]