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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.

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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.
Richard Davies and Vince Cable

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.
 David Stallibrass , Professor Richard Davies, Rahat Siddique and Kate Collyer

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.
An slide titled "Beyond fair play: what would a fair society look like" with a panel sitting in front.

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.
The Playfair prize's logo: a grey capital P on a dark background.

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.
A man in a suit speaks to a lecture theatre.

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.
Two small drones in front of barbed wire. Three CCTV cameras are out of focus in the background.

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.
Jakob Schneebacher presenting a title slide: "Microdata in CMA research"

AutoCPI

The Data Unit at the Growth Lab are using millions of digital price data to investigate inflation and fill important data gaps.
A cartoon of a robot in a supermarket holding a tablet.

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.
A shaded map of the world: "Share of products by identified origin". Europe and the US are most intensely shaded.

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.
A speaker addresses a conference room in front of a slide titled Paths for collaboration.

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.
A panel of Grace Blakeley
Dr Abby Innes
Ryan Shorthouse

and Chair:
Professor Richard Davies

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.
Six people in suits standing in front of copper coils in Mozambique. Deep blue sky.

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.
The launch of the "Improving competitiveness of the manufacturing sector in Tanzania" event.