Publications in: Public Policy

Behavioural Economics in Retail Financial Services: Training Workshop, 30th September 2014, Central London

Published:19 August, 2014

The London Economics’ Behavioural and Financial Services teams will provide a training workshop on the application of behavioural economics to retail finance. The course will address: The underlying principles of behavioural economics; Regulators’ understanding and use of behavioural economics; How behavioural economics is applied in retail financial services ; and, how to design, apply and […]

General Insurance Add-ons: Experimental Consumer Research Report

Published:13 March, 2014

Behavioural experiment by London Economics which formed part of the FCA’s Add-on Insurance Market Study. The experiment with 1,500 UK residents tested for common patterns of consumer behaviour that arise due to add-on insurance mechanisms and assessed how insurance add-ons may lead to poor outcomes for consumers in these markets.

Financial Conduct Authority Practical Use of Behavioural Experiments in Financial Regulation – March 2014

Published:25 March, 2014

The Financial Conduct Authority finds that behavioural experiments have an important role to play in financial regulation, and often provide insights into the ways markets work that may not be possible otherwise. Download the paper on the practical application of behavioural experiments in financial regulation jointly authored by London Economics and the FCA.

Consumer Protection Aspects of Financial Services

Published:10 February, 2014

The financial crisis of 2007/2008 has clearly shown that inadequate consumer protection, especially in the US mortgage market, was a major contributor to financial instability. Moreover, many holders of sub-prime mortgages suffered considerable harm as a result of mis-selling or inappropriate selling. However, the USA is not the only country where weak consumer protection resulted […]

Impact of EU Ban on Higher Nicotine E-Cigarettes on Tobacco Smoking

Published:25 February, 2014

The proposed ban compromises e-cigarettes’ role in supporting smoke cessation and is forecast to lead to 210,000 fewer successful quitters each year across the EU. E-cigarettes’ role in smoke reduction is also affected and a 0.8% increase in tobacco smoking or the equivalent of an extra 9.6 million cigarettes being smoked each day across the […]

Using Behavioural Experiments to Identify Consumer Problems in Markets: Partitioned Pricing Practices

Published: January, 2014

This presentation at the OFT’s Economic Seminar series, considers how behavioural experiments can be used to identify problems consumers can have in markets and details an experiment completed for the OFT on partitioned pricing, the practice of splitting prices into parts. The study identifies that these pricing practices can reduce consumer welfare and lead to […]

Voluntary Food Labelling Schemes Study

Published: January, 2014

This market study for the European Commission included a pan-European behavioural experiment to test consumer willingness to pay for products associated with voluntary food labelling schemes. The study also included a web sweep of voluntary food labelling scheme in Europe, a consumer survey and assessment of schemes performance with the requirements of the 2010 Commission […]

2012/2013 Annual Report on European SMEs

Published: November, 2013

The 2012/13 report on European SMEs was prepared by a consortium comprising CARSA, DIW, DIW econ, Innova, London Economics, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (University of Manchester) and PwC Luxembourg. The report provides an overview of the size, structure and importance of SMEs to the European economy and their contribution to growth and jobs, as emphasised in the Small […]

Lotteries in Europe

Published: November, 2013

The note published by European Lotteries first describes recent EU27 trends in the value of the sales of lottery products  and gross gambling revenue (the value of the sales of lottery products and prizes paid to buyers of such lottery products). Next it underlines the significant contribution of lotteries to society in terms of taxes […]

Lotteries in Europe

Published: November, 2013

2013 EL Sustainable Gambling Conference, Sports Integrity in Europe and the Role of Lotteries, 12 November 2013 – Brussels.