From inequality and employment through to pandemics and the energy transition, a multi-disciplinary team of economics researchers at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School have broken new ground over the past decade, changing the way their field can benefit humanity and the planet.
COVID-19
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Professor Doyne Farmer and the Complexity Economics team used powerful simulations to rapidly build a model that accurately predicted the impact on the UK economy, showing it is possible to make accurate predictions of an important economic event in real-time. They further used the model to provide advice to the UK government on modifying lockdown policies to enable the economy to begin recovering while minimising health impacts.
Climate Policy
The Climate Policy Explorer, from the Climate Econometrics team, provides a rigorous and comprehensive analysis of which policies actually work in reducing carbon emissions. Using methods pioneered by Professor Sir David Hendry, the Explorer analyses over 1,500 climate policies from across the world, providing policymakers with valuable insights as to which combinations of policies would likely have the most impact in reducing emissions.
"Our researchers are radically re-thinking economics, pioneering new methods to address urgent real-world challenges. I'm incredibly proud of the breakthroughs our team has made and of the valuable insights their work is providing for governments and economic policymakers around the world."
Renewable Energy
For decades, the economic and political narrative has been that a transition to clean energy will mean higher energy prices and reduced growth. A team led by Professor Doyne Farmer, Dr François Lafond, and Dr Rupert Way found that traditional forecasting methods had significantly underestimated the cost declines in renewable energy. An improved, empirically-based forecasting method developed by the team showed the world could save $12 trillion dollars by switching to 100% clean energy technologies by 2050. This work has had a major policy impact, supporting efforts in the UK, US, and EU to accelerate the energy transition.
Inequality
Work by Professor Brian Nolan and the Economics, Inequality and Opportunity team has helped change the dominant economic and political narrative on inequality, from an acceptance that it is governed by market forces to an awareness that economic policy choices significantly impact living standards and economic mobility. The group has also worked on innovative policy solutions, including a guaranteed jobs scheme in Austria that successfully reduced long-term unemployment and has inspired other pilot projects supported by the European Parliament.
Professor Eric Beinhocker, Executive Director of INET, outlines the impact of the Institute’s work: "Our researchers are radically re-thinking economics, pioneering new methods to address urgent real-world challenges. I'm incredibly proud of the breakthroughs our team has made and of the valuable insights their work is providing for governments and economic policymakers around the world."
