Economic statistics are fundamental to evidence-based policy making and the decisions we all make. To serve their purpose they need to keep up with constantly changing economies, drawing on new data sources and the best available methods. This calls for a creative, research-led approach to maintaining and developing them.
ESCoE is all about bringing to the fore this research-led approach to measuring the economy.
Established in 2017 with the support of the UK Office for National Statistics, ESCoE is the UK’s first-ever dedicated academic centre of expertise for economic measurement and one of just a handful around the world. Its foundation followed the recommendations of the Independent Review of UK Economic Statistics by Professor Sir Charles Bean, published March 2016. This Review recommended that “in conjunction with suitable partners in academia and the user community, ONS should establish a new centre of excellence for the analysis of emerging and future issues in measuring the modern economy”.
The Centre’s ambition is to be an international point of reference for measurement research, supporting cultural change in the delivery of economic statistics.
Our approach is clear. It involves building expertise, increasing collaboration between statistics producers, academia, policymakers and other data users, and raising the profile of economic measurement issues. We do this by addressing both theoretical and practical questions that arise in describing the modern economy, relying on our large international network of Research Associates and Affiliates, and investing in the next generation of experts. We carry out our research in dialogue with statistics producers and promote constructive discussion through workshops and conferences.
There are many people involved in delivering our research programme. We bring together a partnership of over twenty UK and international institutions, including our host partner the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) and our other founding partners Fraser of Allander Institute (University of Strathclyde), King’s Business School (King’s College London), innovation foundation Nesta, University of Cambridge and Warwick Business School (University of Warwick).