UCL Department of Economics
Established1828; 196 years ago (1828)
Head of DepartmentAntonio Guarino
Academic staff
over 50[1]
Administrative staff
18[1]
Students1,129[2]
Undergraduates906
Postgraduates223
Location
Drayton House,
30 Gordon Street,
London,
United Kingdom
Websiteucl.ac.uk/economics

The UCL Department of Economics is one of nine Departments and Institutes within the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences at University College London. It is the oldest department of economics in England and is research-intensive, currently headed by Professor Antonio Guarino.[3]

History

William Stanley Jevons

In 1824, Jean-Baptiste Say expressed his enthusiasm for the creation of a Chair of Political Economy in London in a letter to Jeremy Bentham, reading: “Joseph Hume tells me that you are going to establish a Chair of Political Economy in London. Bravo! Teach where the true national interests lie, and those who set personal interests against them will not have it easy". Bentham was a significant influence on the creation of UCL, often described as its ‘spiritual father’, and Hume was a member of the college’s original council.[4]

The Chair of Political Economy at UCL was created in 1828 in memory of David Ricardo, establishing the first Department of Economics in England.[5] The first holder of the Chair was John Ramsay McCulloch.[5] William Stanley Jevons held a professorship of economics at UCL between 1876 and 1880.[5]

Research

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF2014), the Department received an overall grade-point average of 3.78 (out of 4) - the highest of any department in Economics and Econometrics, or any field, in the UK.[6]

REF2014 also showed that 79% of all indicators of output were rated at the highest 4* level.[7]

Research centres and publications

The department is currently involved with numerous research centres and publications:

Relationship with the IFS

The Institute for Fiscal Studies is also located in Bloomsbury, a short walk away from UCL’s main campus

The Department has forged a close relationship with the nearby Institute of Fiscal Studies, with many Professors holding positions at both institutions, a high degree of research collaboration, and regular talks given by faculty members at each institution.

Director of the IFS, Paul Johnson, is currently serving as a visiting professor at the department.

Rankings

In the 2021 Complete University Guide, the programme is ranked fourth nationally, reentering the top five where it had been consistently from 2008 to 2020.[8]

The Tilburg University Economics Ranking is a worldwide ranking of Economics schools based on research contribution placing UCL third in Europe, and 15th globally.[9] Similarly, the Academic Ranking of World Universities sees UCL place fourth in Europe, and 16th globally.[10]

The 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings places UCL fourth in Europe for Economics, and 15th globally.[11]

In the 2021 QS World University Rankings by subject, UCL is ranked fourth in Europe, and 16th globally for Economics & Econometrics.[12]

The Economist’s Society

The Economist’s Society is the Official Departmental Student Society, run by an elected student committee for the undergraduate population of the Economics Department. All undergraduates of the Department are automatically members. The Society puts on numerous academic and social events throughout the academic year, including a Speaker Series, the UCL Economics Conference, the inter-university Economics Debate, and the flagship social event ‘The David Ricardo Ball’.

Notably, the Society hosted Mark Carney as he gave his last public speech as Governor of the Bank of England on 5 March 2020 in the Institute of Education’s Logan Hall.[13]

The Economic Tribune, the quarterly Official UCL Economics Magazine, is published by the Senior Editorial Team of the Society.

David Ricardo Professor of Political Economy, Richard Blundell, was tipped for the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences by Reuters[14]

Notable current faculty

Notable alumni and former faculty

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "People". [UCL]. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Student statistics". [UCL]. 1 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Leadership team". UCL. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Letter from Jean-Baptiste Say to Jeremy Bentham, 2 February 1824". Bentham Collection, UCL.
  5. ^ a b c "London and the early history of economics and statistics" (PDF). Institute for Fiscal Studies. 11 November 2010.
  6. ^ "REF2014: Institutions ranked by subject" (PDF). Times Higher Education. 17 December 2014.
  7. ^ "REF 2014: The results". Research Excellence Framework. December 2014.
  8. ^ "The Complete University Guide 2021". Mayfield University Consultants. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Tilburg University Economics Ranking 2014-18". Tilberg University. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2021". Shanghai Ranking. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  11. ^ "World University Rankings 2020 - Economics & Econometrics". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  12. ^ "QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  13. ^ "The grand unifying theory (and practice) of macroprudential policy - speech by Mark Carney". Bank of England. 5 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Economist Sir Richard Blundell among Nobel prize frontrunners". The Guardian. 11 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Richard Blundell". IFS. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Wendy Carlin". VOX EU. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Andrew Chesher". IFS. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Public profile expert: Sylvia Dal Bianco". UNESCO Inclusive Policy Lab. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  19. ^ "Christian Dustmann". VOX EU. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Paul Johnson". IFS. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Albert Marcet". Institute for Economic Analysis (IAE), Spanish Council for Scientific Research. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  22. ^ "Dr Malcolm Pemberton". UCL IRIS. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  23. ^ "Imran Rasul". IZA Institute of Labor Economics. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  24. ^ "This Day in Jewish History 1994: British Economist and Alleged Traitor Dies in Beijing". Haaretz. 4 August 2016.
  25. ^ Silberston, Aubrey (2006) [2004]. "Allen, George Cyril (1900-1982)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/54106. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  26. ^ "Baroness Altmann CBE". gov.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  27. ^ "Contributors". Democracy & Nature: The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Orazio Attanasio: Cowles Professor of Economics". Yale University. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  29. ^ "Ken Binmore CV". UCL. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  30. ^ "Nicholas Bloom Bio". Stanford University. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Company Overview of ZPG Plc: Alex Chesterman OBE". Bloomberg. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  32. ^ "Ian Crawford". IFS. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  33. ^ "Lorraine Dearden". IFS. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  34. ^ a b Cord, Robert (2017). The Palgrave Companion to Cambridge Economics. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-137-41233-1.
  35. ^ John Saville (18 March 1980). "Hugh Gaitskell (1906–1963): An assessment". The Socialist Register 1980. 17 (17). Socialist Register: 155–158. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  36. ^ "Rachel Griffith, CBE FBA". University of Manchester. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  37. ^ 734473  James J. Heckman at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  38. ^ Martin Wolf (9 October 2018). "David Henderson, economist, 1927-2018". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  39. ^ "Noreena Hertz". The Globalist. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  40. ^ a b "Famous Economists". UCL Department of Economics. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  41. ^ "Famous alumni". UCL. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  42. ^ "Professor Sandra McNally". University of Surrey. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  43. ^ "Costas Meghir". IFS. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  44. ^ "John Ramsay McCulloch". IFS. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  45. ^ "Benjamin Moll". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  46. ^ Stephen Smith (22 September 2005). "Obituary: David Pearce". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  47. ^ "John H Pencavel". Stanford University. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  48. ^ "Paul Rosenstein-Rodan". International Institute of Social Studies. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  49. ^ "Barbara Sianesi". IZA Institute of Labor Economics. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  50. ^ Fisher, Bob (11 May 2013). "Andrew Simpson obituary: British sailor who won gold with Iain Percy at the Beijing Olympics". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  51. ^ "Faculty: John Van Reenen". MIT Sloan School of Management. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  52. ^ Dunn, Will (8 January 2020). "From the Treasury to the high street: can Sharon White save John Lewis?". New Statesman. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  53. ^ John Plunkett (18 May 2015). "John Whittingdale, the horror fan putting the frighteners on the BBC". The Guardian.

External links

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