ESRC Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP)

The Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP) is continuing and expanding on its research agenda of the previous five years. Our goal is to carry out core analytical research that will allow informed microeconomic analysis of major public policy issues, from productivity growth to poverty reduction, and from promoting employment to ensuring sound public finances. Our focus is on the careful modelling of individual, household and firm behaviour, combining cutting-edge empirical analysis with detailed understanding of policy options and implementation. More details of our research programme are available here.

The stable funding provided by the ESRC through the Centre allows IFS as a whole to maintain a rigorous, scientific approach to research, while offering scope for timely, independent, well-informed contributions to public debate.

The Centre is directed by Professor Richard Blundell and co-directors, Professor Orazio Attanasio, Professor Steve Bond, Professor Rachel Griffith and Professor Costas Meghir. Our research takes place within the team-based environment at IFS, providing advanced training for young researchers. The Centre acts as a national resource for analysis of emerging policy challenges and draws on extensive collaboration with leading researchers in the UK, Europe, North America and the developing world. We have an established record of effective dissemination to and interaction with policymakers, civil society, the business community, academics and the general public - and we continually seek to broaden and strengthen those links. Richard Blundell is the chair of the EC Action A23: the evaluation of European labour market programmes

Complementing our policy-based research, IFS also hosts the ESRC Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice (cemmap), for the development of evaluation methodology and other econometric and statistical methods. cemmap, which builds on the strengths developed at the ESRC Centre, is funded by the Leverhulme Trust. This has further strengthened our commitment to evidence-based policy and to the development of suitable research methods in parallel with our empirical analysis.

More about the Centre