TRUSTED DATA-DRIVEN

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Fuelling change with data Data-driven Their findings are influencing government is addressing the policies on everything from childcare to pensions. greatest global challenges of our time. Essex: The home of trusted data

Our access to an ever-growing number of Data and the infrastructures that support information sources is allowing us to use the collection of large or complex datasets, quantitative research methods to deliver new the storage of those data and their responsible insights and solutions. This data-rich approach use is essential in this journey and we are can help countries around the world address world-leaders. key global issues such as tackling the threat of terrorism, resolving conflict, protecting Pioneers such as Richard G Lipsey, David democratic processes, responding to natural Lockwood and Dorothy Smith have helped disasters, understanding climate change and us build a global reputation for excellence in dealing with mass migration. quantitative social science research and today our researchers are embracing the fourth Improving the world we live in industrial revolution, which offers even greater opportunities to access massive amounts of data to make the world a better place. Social scientists at Essex are seeking to know the world by asking critical questions and challenging Our infrastructure, our research relationships convention. They are changing the world by and global networks and our expertise makes providing compelling answers to these profound Essex a world-leading social science university. issues, with robust evidence to back them up. We are keen to work with like-minded partners Our academics are using cutting-edge across the globe who want to join us in further ESSEX FACTS and drawing on their extensive developing our work. In 2017 Essex was awarded UK higher education’s most global research networks to uncover prestigious accolade, a inconvenient truths, test and refine dominant theories and develop new areas of knowledge. for world-leading social science research By engaging beyond academia they are providing answers to how we can best govern ourselves, how we understand , acquire new languages, conduct business and interact Professor Anthony Forster with each other. Vice-Chancellor 4 / 5 OVERVIEW

World-class research UK Government research council investments n We were awarded the UK’s first and only Essex quantitative Regius Professorship of . in Essex

n The ESRC Research Centre on n We received a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in  social science recognition of research excellence in ISER. Micro- (MiSoC) promotes multidisciplinary collaboration across the social sciences. n Our political science research has been ranked top in the UK since government assessments of research began in 1986. n The ESRC-funded UK Data Service Essex social science is global in scope and internationalist provides access to the largest collection of social and economic research data in the UK, in orientation. n We are home to the UNESCO Chair in Analytics and Data Science and to the Chief and best practice advice. Scientific Advisor to Essex County Council. Our strengths stem from our nationally-funded research infrastructure n The ESRC-funded Human Rights, Big serving researchers around the world, our concentration of social Data and Technology Project is the UK’s scientists creating critical mass and research power, and the range of our Education first major project exploring human rights in pioneering quantitative research. the digital era. n We have Q-Step Affiliate Status funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Economic and n Funded by the ESRC, Understanding Council (ESRC) and Higher Society is one of the world’s largest Education Funding Council for England. household surveys following the lives of people in 40,000 households over time. n The ESRC South East Network for Social Sciences provides doctoral training in n The ESRC Business and Local quantitative social science. Government Data Research Centre provides a framework and support for data Internationally-recognised Pioneering quantitative n We have wide-ranging degrees focusing on owners and researchers. research infrastructure social science interdisciplinary social science. n The ESRC Impact Acceleration Account n We are ranked top 40 for political science delivers impact-focused social science research. n The Institute for Social and Economic n We provide evidence for how lives change Research (ISER) is a globally-recognised through expert production and analysis of and in the QS World University centre for authoritative research informing longitudinal data. Rankings by Subject, 2018. government policies to improve lives. n Essex Summer School in Social Science Data n Essex researchers invented EUROMOD, a Analysis provides pioneering teaching of n The UK Data Archive (UKDA) is a global tax-benefit micro- model which centre of excellence in acquiring, curating calculates the effects of taxes and benefits. advanced statistical methods. and providing access to social science and n Our Big Data and Analytics Summer School data. n We are partners in SOUTHMOD providing a micro-simulation model for countries in Africa provides expert training in data science and data analysis. n Our Institute for Analytics and Data Science and the global south. ESSEX FACTS (IADS) connects our expert scholars with n Our Human Rights and Research Methods businesses and to work on their n Essex sociologists designed the UK’s official Summer School provides training in using Ranked in the UK for political data needs. socio-economic classification used in surveys. science research and 5th for quantitative methods. and (REF 2014) 6 / 7 THE ESSEX APPROACH The story of social science at Essex Our commitment to excellence Professor Jean Blondel helped define our “I was privileged in social science research was distinctive approach to political science and Professor Anthony King made a significant to work with two founded in mid-twentieth-century contribution to election analysis. Taking over of the pioneers of modernism but is more relevant from Oxford, an Essex team led by Professor quantitative social than ever in today’s world. Ivor Crewe brought sophisticated quantitative science at Essex, analysis to the British Election Study for the first David Rose and It is a commitment illustrated by the pioneering time in 1974 and Professor David Sanders was Howard Newby. By researchers who have very often influenced one of our political scientists whose long-range the time I arrived at policy and practice. statistical forecasts confounded pollsters and the Economic and pundits alike, accurately showing how personal Social Research Professor Peter Townsend was a sociologist economic expectations swayed public voting in Council (ESRC) in 2000, Essex was well dedicated to eradicating poverty while 1983 and 1992. on the way to establishing itself as one of Professor Dorothy Smith helped pioneer the leading centres of quantitative social feminist standpoint theory. Professor David Professor Holly Sutherland expanded the research in Europe.” Lockwood’s work on affluence and social class influential EUROMOD tax-benefit micro- Professor Gordon Marshall was described by Professor Fiona Devine, simulation model to cover the whole of the Director of the Leverhulme Trust and writing for The Sociological Review in 2016, European Union. former Chief Executive of the ESRC as “the best of British sociology, that Picture courtesy of Rosie Hallam is theoretically-informed These are some of the scholars who helped undertaken with imagination and flair”. build the foundations of social science at Essex.

The work of our founding professor of “We need more economics, Richard G Lipsey, on links between research in every unemployment and inflation continues to aspect of modern influence public policy today. Professor , whether it is Albert Bergstrom’s research in continuous education, old age, or time econometrics laid the foundations economic growth.” for systematic analysis of macroeconomic Professor Sir Albert fluctuations and policy. Professor Sir Tony Sloman, founding Atkinson gave his name to the Atkinson Index Vice-Chancellor, 1963 which measures inequality, while Professor BBC Reith Lectures Tony Shorrocks devised an index of mobility to measure changes in inequality.

Our milestones 1967 1979 1989 1991 2001 2009 2012 2013 2016 2017

UK Data Archive is Professor Peter Essex quantitative The British A new national Understanding The UK Data Essex is awarded Professor Maria Queen’s established, initially Townsend’s social scientists Household Panel socio-economic Society starts Service is launched the first and Fasli is named the Anniversary called the Social influential Poverty establish the starts classification invented collecting data only Regius first UNESCO Chair Prize is Science Research in the UK is Institute for Social collecting data by Essex sociologists Professorship of in Analytics and awarded for Council Data Bank published and Economic is used for the first Political Science Data Science social science Research time in the UK census research 8 / 9 THE ESSEX APPROACH

Robust quantitative evidence Setting the gold standard for is vital if social scientists are to data curation influence policy and our research infrastructure across the Faculty of Our UK Data Archive (UKDA) is curator of the OU R DATA Social Sciences enables us to do largest collection of digital data in social sciences and humanities in the UK including government just that. Our highly trusted status surveys and qualitative and mixed methods data. in collecting, storing, analysing and It has a 50-year reputation for excellence sharing data has helped us build a in acquiring, curating and making available global reputation. thousands of datasets providing a unique and vital national research resource.

Survey-driven data on our It provides secure access to sensitive data changing lives and our staff engage in data management and preservation initiatives supported by the ESRC The dynamic and outward-facing Institute for and UK Research and Innovation. Social and Economic Research (ISER), deploys world-class research data and skills to address We are international advocates for wider access concerns around social inclusion. to data for research and as a key partner of the International Data Access Network we are Our researchers use advanced data analysis and enabling the sharing of controlled microdata methods to ensure robust findings. across borders.

Established in 1989 to house the British With these resources at its heart, our Faculty Household Panel Survey (BHPS), ISER has of Social Sciences and its community of 650 grown into a leading centre for the production and academics across eight departments are using analysis of longitudinal studies. quantitative research to change the world.

It encompasses the ESRC Research Centre “The UKDA is the on Micro-Social Change, renowned for almost UK’s only nationally- 30 years for policy-relevant research, and the funded research successor to the BHPS, Understanding Society, infrastructure for a UK household longitudinal study following the curation and the lives of over 100,000 people from 40,000 provision of access households. to social science data, and our ISER houses the Micro-simulation Unit which practices, especially developed the tax and benefit model, EUROMOD, around secure creating unrivalled research opportunities for testing access to data and economic policies in 48 nation states. data curation, have been influential across the world.” ISER pioneers new scientific work. It combines Professor Matthew Woollard, Director, UK advanced biological data and genetic Data Archive and Service information with socio-economic data to track changes to physical and mental health ESSEX FACTS according to life circumstances, analyses big Connecting our data expertise Our Institute for Analytics and Data Science data from administrative sources and advances ISER and the UK Data Archive hold harnesses our 50-year as the intellectual new methods of collecting data using new ISO 27001 certification, the highest home of the world’s leading experts in data technologies. international level for their information science. It is a centre of excellence connecting with scholars, businesses, institutions and authorities, to work on their data needs. 10 / 11 PROFILE

Leading the world in interdisciplinary research

Professor Emily Grundy FBA is a world-renowned expert in population science. She is also Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) one of the world’s most prestigious social science research centres. She explains what makes it such a unique centre of excellence, and how it secured a Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2017.

“The Queen’s Anniversary Prize is a tremendous honour research projects. We also host unrivalled postgraduate and remarkable recognition of ISER’s reputation for study opportunities and a thriving visitor and fellowship authoritative social and economic research that is programme.” improving people’s lives. Research that influences policy “It recognised the importance of the household study Understanding Society which collects social, economic “Our work is focused on policy-relevant studies, and biological data from individuals year-on-year, our unpicking the impact of political and social change on globally-important Micro-simulation Unit, and the ESRC people’s lives, and the methods behind collecting and Research Centre on Micro-Social Change. understanding large-scale datasets.

“ISER’s international reputation for innovative resources “Our recent work has included the impact of racial – scientific leadership for developing and improving harassment in the UK after the Brexit referendum, longitudinal studies, the invention of micro-simulation how social media overuse is affecting children’s mental models – alongside the production of robust substantive health, the factors preventing deaths in childbirth quantitative research using large datasets, attracts worldwide, how we measure obesity, the rise of the academics from around the world.” boomerang generation and the impacts on older “Our approach is truly global people’s well-being when adult children return home. and we collaborate with A global team academics and institutes “The depth and breadth of our research is outstanding worldwide” “Our researchers come from over 22 countries and and it’s not surprising that our portfolio of work include sociologists, economists, epidemiologists, continues to have impact at the highest levels of Professor Emily Grundy FBA, demographers, biologists, statisticians, survey policymaking in the UK and beyond. Director of ISER methodologists and political scientists. “Our researchers have become adept at sharing findings “Our approach is truly global and we collaborate with with practitioners and the public to change policy and academics and institutes worldwide, on a daily basis, practice for the better.” hosting workshops and conferences as well as shared 12 / 13 BIOMARKERS

Good health is a growing concern Premature ageing is evident in people living for individuals and for healthcare in a poor social environment. Stress, financial providers. As we live longer, hardship and persistent life difficulties can CONNECTING OUR alter these measures of ageing, potentially how do we ensure that we have making us more susceptible to disease. more years of good health? How SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT can we get better at preventing Targeting effective illness and in treating disease interventions when it appears? Knowing that our social environment affects We know that our social and physical our health helps target treatments for environment impacts our health, but how specific diseases, but also provides vital does it change our biological functioning? information for reducing health inequalities Understanding Society, in the Institute for across the population. Social and Economic Research, is at the forefront of investigating the links between Understanding Society has informed social environment and . research that shows when and how health inequalities begin, allowing targeted and A UK-wide household panel study that has more effective interventions to be planned. been following the same individuals and households over time, it provides researchers “Our research is and policymakers with an unprecedented level bringing together of information about people’s lives in the UK. biology and the social sciences, allowing As well as completing an annual , us to more precisely participants have allowed researchers to measure health and collect health information including measures illness. Looking at the such as height, weight and blood pressure. whole person, their physical body and the They have also given blood samples from social world around which genetic and other information has been them, helps us understand how diseases can extracted. Combining rich socio-economic be treated and prevented.” data with health measures has created a Professor Meena Kumari, Professor leading-edge research resource. of Biological and Social Epidemiology, ISER and Lead on Biosocial Research How environment affects at Understanding Society our genes

Researchers using Understanding Society have shown that markers on our DNA can change as we age and these changes can be used to assess whether our bodies are ageing prematurely.

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social science departments producing world-leading research 14 / 15 PANEL SURVEY CASE STUDY

Designing large-scale surveys “Our expertise with policy impact in mind is in longitudinal TAKING A LONG VIEW vital if social scientists want survey design and implementation to change lives. Experts at is important to TO UNDERSTAND the Institute for Social and this ground- Economic Research (ISER) breaking project. are amongst the best survey The EuroCohort designers in the world. adds to ISER’s substantial portfolio of cross-national survey research and has the A long heritage in potential for huge impact.” longitudinal study design Professor Peter Lynn, Professor of Survey at ISER and President of ISER’s history of excellence in panel studies is the International Association of Survey well established. The huge success of Essex’s Statisticians British Household Panel Survey, which began in 1991, led to a successor, Understanding Society, one of the largest studies of its kind in Surveying living standards the world. We are leading a major project aiming to transform understanding of living standards. The dataset is used by government departments, charities, think tanks and civic “Understanding the spending, saving and planners. borrowing of households is critical for assessing the sustainability of economic Advising on new studies growth, including whether the current worldwide recovery is fuelled by unsustainable consumer spending. Our experts advise governments, institutions and organisations around the world “We are trialling new with the creation of new surveys and on ways of collecting technological innovations in surveying. accurate information about household We have experts in new scientific finances adding breakthroughs in combining biological enormous policy science with social science, pioneering use potential value to panel of big data and administrative data, and surveys worldwide and experimental collection methods. cost-effective data collection methods.” Professor Annette Jäckle, Professor Tracking childhood wellbeing of and Associate Our experts are part of a team designing a Director of Innovations for Understanding survey for the first Europe-wide project to track Society, ISER children and young people from birth to 25. ESSEX FACTS

Over in external funding for ISER since 2007

Understanding Society was commissioned by a consortium of government departments, devolved governments of the UK and the Economic and Social Research Council. 16 / 17 ESSEX PARTNERSHIPS Getting smarter with our data Essex Police has put us at the forefront of local Essex Innovates’ aim is simple - to make the We want to use data in a better way authorities using the power of data science and AI county of Essex the national leader for using to transform our public services to tackle public policy challenges. and we’re lucky to be working the power of data science and AI, to the highest ethical standards, to tackle public “We are investing in with partners who share our level policy challenges. of ambition. shared resources across our organisations to make Building on success Why is this so important? Better use of data Essex a place that is an helps us make better decisions, target resources exemplar for integration and design new services to support our most Our £2.2m Catalyst Project, backed by the of data across public vulnerable residents, from children at risk to UK government, has already shown how this bodies and to create the potential victims of domestic abuse. approach can deliver results. Catalyst sees our best data science and social scientists joining forces with our data analytical capabilities in We are working with Essex County Council and scientists to work with both Essex and Suffolk the UK.” Essex Police to establish the Essex Centre for Data county councils to predict risk and better target Councillor David Finch, Leader of Essex County Analytics to set the gold standard for integrating preventative measures and early interventions. Council and Chair of Essex Partners data and predictive analytics across public bodies. We’re also the first university in the UK to embed The Essex approach is already attracting attention. We’ve been brought together through Essex a Chief Scientific Adviser in a local authority The innovation foundation Nesta has cited Essex Partners, the umbrella group for public to support Essex County Council to build its Innovates as a leading example in the UK of services in the county, to establish the Essex technical capabilities and make better use of data. collaborative public services using predictive Innovates programme. analytics. Essex Data, the precursor to Essex “The collaborative partnership between Essex Innovates, has also been shortlisted for a Digital County Council, the and Impact Award by the Local Government Chronicle.

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Over external funding for social sciences since 2007-08 18 / 19 PROFILE

Conflict research for a more peaceful world

Professor Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, an internationally-renowned scholar in the study of conflict resolution, democratisation and political change, is our Regius Professor of Political Science. He explains why it’s so important that the world learns to predict conflict.

“Contrary to popular belief there has been a decline in Considering all factors violent conflict since the end of the Cold War. “We need to consider who is likely to be involved in “Social scientists can help to understand that decline by a conflict – the specific actors – and what their investigating its causes and the possible challenges to it. motivation is, as well as the large geographical variations within countries. “My work centres on developing more rigorous conflict prediction, based on systematic statistical models and data.” “These are all indicators of situations that may motivate conflict. Focusing on these will not only improve How can we predict conflict? forecasts of where we are likely to see new conflicts, but also when existing conflicts are more likely to become “It is difficult, but not impossible, to forecast conflict settled and not recur. events, and we can do it better through systematic approaches as opposed to informal expert predictions, “Moreover, considering these alongside real time which are known to have a poor record in anticipating information from digital news media can prove invaluable future events. in identifying short-term shifts in the risk of conflict and “My work centres on developing help us make the world a safer place.” more rigorous conflict “Government agencies and initiatives seeking to receive early warnings of conflict are increasingly interested in “If we are to make the world prediction, based on systematic approaches that use the best available prediction data. more peaceful, it will be statistical models and data” through knowledge of the kind “I have given presentations on conflict prediction to the that Professor Gleditsch has Professor Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, UK Cabinet Office and the Federal Foreign Office developed.” Regius Professor of Political Science, in Germany.” Professor Steven Pinker, Department of Government Johnstone Family Professor, Department of , Harvard University

Picture courtesy of Rose Lincoln/Harvard University 20 / 21 LANGUAGE CASE STUDY UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF LEARNING

Language is crucial to us all. It What happens when a ties us to where we were born, to language is lost? our families, our relationships and our cultures. Without it we lose As a German living in the UK, Professor our identity. Monika Schmid has personal experience of first language attrition and made it her mission to raise awareness and understanding of the Linguists at Essex have made major break- emotional and cultural consequences of losing throughs in our understanding of how we learn your native language. a language and how we can also lose it.

Supporting bilingual children “For decades it has been assumed that by puberty most people have mastered their native language and will never forget it. I have shown Dr Claire Delle Luche was part of a team to this is not the case, and those exposed to other interview almost 400 families with bilingual languages every day find their native language children to find out more about language begins to elude them. development.

“Parents of bilingual children are sometimes “My findings have concerned about the language development particular relevance in a of their children. Unfortunately, bilingual norms society where politicians of language development have not been advocate forcing established, making it difficult for health and immigrants to only speak education professionals to evaluate if children the language of their new may be at risk of a language delay. country. I have shown this policy is misguided and “Our study provides the would damage, rather first tool to help accurate than enhance their proficiency in that language.” diagnoses of whether Professor Monika Schmid, Department of a bilingual two-year-old Language and Linguistics may be behind.” Dr Claire Delle An internationally-recognised expert in her field, Luche, Department Professor Schmid has used both behavioural of Language and measures and experimental methods, including Linguistics reaction time data, EEG and eye-tracking in her research. She has organised seminars on ESSEX FACTS language attrition and has developed a website social science subjects ranked in the to share her findings with other academics and global top 40, politics and sociology linguistic professionals. (QS World Rankings) 22 / 23 PROFILE

Changing the debate on benefits, incentives and child poverty

A multi-disciplinary approach and commitment to producing policy-relevant research helps researchers from our ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (MiSoC) influence debate like never before.

The Centre’s global community of researchers is work incentives and labour supply decisions, through exploring individual and family behaviours in a new era understanding past changes in the distribution of living of uncertainty and change. standards, and forecasting future trends given expected economic and policy changes. Their work will help the world better understand how individuals and families are affected by and react to “These strands overlap: core to both is the use of changes in their life circumstances, how new members microsimulation methods or models running on large of society – children, young people and new migrants representative household datasets.” – develop and are integrated into it, and how values, attitudes, expectations, tastes and identity are formed. “He has few peers in how well he effectively combines a A director who leads by example commitment to understanding poverty issues through robust MiSoC Director Professor Mike Brewer knows how research in order to influence policy important this work can be. He is an internationally- with a similarly high commitment to recognised expert on welfare reform who has changed methodological rigour.” public debate and understanding of how tax credits and Chris Goulden, Deputy Director welfare benefits affect incentives to work, and on what of Evidence and Impact at the causes child poverty in the UK. Joseph Rowntree Foundation

His work influenced a comprehensive report on “Mike Brewer was responsible Universal Credit, produced by the Resolution for the definitive and trailblazing Foundation in 2015. Policy work relating to tax analysis of child poverty through credits and child poverty undertaken by the Child the Labour years. His work on Poverty Action Group (CPAG) during the 1997-2010 the policy options to reduce Labour government also drew on his findings, as did child poverty inspired numerous work relating to poverty undertaken by the Joseph campaigns, policy prescriptions and ESSEX FACTS Rowntree Foundation. direct campaigns.” Alison Garnham, Chief Executive, major UK government research investments Professor Brewer said: “These impacts are based Child Poverty Action Group in social science infrastructure on two long-running strands of research that span my career with both the Institute for Fiscal Studies (until 2011) and at Essex. I’ve looked at how the tax and welfare affects individuals’ financial  www.iser.essex.ac.uk/misoc 24 / 25 UK DATA ARCHIVE CASE STUDY

The most productive area of the It revealed how four key changes could UK is three times more productive significantly reduce differences in regional UNDERSTANDING than the least and the UK productivity: transport links that widen access to labour; better management practices; a higher economy could grow by over proportion of firms who export and innovate; PRODUCTIVITY £200 billion if local areas and educational attainment of young people. improved productivity. These were the key findings of a 2016 The CBI believes the findings provide an study made possible by Essex’s evidence base for local leaders to test and shape their priorities and spending decisions expertise in storing and sharing and inform policy. national data. “Our evidence-based The UK Data Service (UKDS) enables recommendations researchers to access complex collections can help solve the of over 7,000 digital datasets held by the UK’s productivity UK Data Archive (UKDA). It is the trusted challenge; creating repository of national data resources including a more prosperous surveys conducted by the Office for National society and (ONS) and the National Centre for improving living Social Research, as well as census data. standards. By bringing together different datasets we’re in a stronger The UKDS provides over 23,000 global position to shape and implement the industrial users with flexible support, training and strategy, building upon a place’s strengths access to data. and addressing its challenges.” Jim Hubbard, Head of Regional Policy, CBI Some of those users include analysts at McKinsey and Company. They used the Governance, ethics and Service’s Secure Lab to study ONS data and link it to longitudinal business and earnings confidentiality data held in the Archive, creating a unique level of insight into productivity. UKDA experts provide advice at a national and international level. They were able to build a productivity map of the UK to help the Confederation of British They advised the Cabinet Office on the Industry (CBI) understand the strengths and development of the draft ethics framework, weaknesses of each geographical location. influencing the implementation of the Digital Economy Act 2017. Unlocking regional growth They also led the development of the Five Safes Framework, in collaboration with the The resulting CBI report on why variations ONS to enable secure research access to in productivity and growth exist across the data while protecting confidentiality. regions and nations of the UK focused on how businesses and government can address the issue.

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external funding for UKDA over the last ten years

 data-archive.ac.uk  www.ukdataservice.ac.uk 26 / 27 MIGRATION CASE STUDY

The successful integration The three-year study, funded by EU Horizon of immigrants is a challenge 2020, included , and THE TRUTH ABOUT across the globe. Essex statistical analyses of existing data. research shows how it can be Recommendations include: INTEGRATING done to benefit both individuals and host countries. n Better education and training, particularly for vulnerable migrants such as refugees. Improving work prospects n Greater efforts to help migrants settle by reducing red tape and speeding up asylum applications. Those moving to the UK for work do not take n Harmonising professional training to jobs from local people, according to make it easier for candidates to transfer new research. qualifications between countries. n Improved measures to strengthen Essex sociologist Dr Neli Demireva, who EU citizenship and expand access to leads the Growth, Equal Opportunities, permanent residency and dual citizenship Migration and Markets (GEMM) project took for migrant workers. an in-depth look at the jobs market across Europe and came up with recommendations for the successful integration of migrant Improving health workers. In a separate project Dr Renee Luthra also “The number of people moving around set out to understand the paradox of why Europe continues to grow and countries immigrants’ life expectancy decreases as they face a challenge in managing numbers and become more immersed in their new country. making sure people settle into their new country and are able to use their skills and Dr Renee Luthra’s research used data from knowledge to benefit both themselves and the Understanding Society and concluded that wider community. maintaining links with your ethnic origins is good for your health – an insight which has “There is little evidence to suggest migration important implications for immigration policies. policy is in chaos and having an increased number of migrants is not associated with “Our research is poor job prospects for the local population. important not just when we are looking “However, there at the health of are some worrying immigrants, but also trends. To ensure a for the wider debate competitive Europe about immigrant that fosters innovation integration and the and growth, Europe potential benefits of needs a market people maintaining that capitalises on strong links with their cultural, racial and everyone’s talents religious backgrounds.” and skills.” Dr Renee Luthra, Department ESSEX FACTS Dr Neli Demireva, Department of Sociology of Sociology in the UK for social science research (REF 2014) 28 / 29 ECONOMICS AND EQUALITY CASE STUDY

It’s the 21st century yet women The Gap still earn less than men and EXPOSING face professional discrimination Our research on how gender bias played out when students were asked to evaluate based on their gender. their university lecturer has led other IN Committed to addressing universities to re-think how teaching inequality, our economists are are conducted. THE WORKPLACE working to uncover how and why this is still the case. The study took a dataset of nearly 20,000 teaching evaluations where students were randomly allocated female or male The Pay Gap instructors.

In a study that followed over 50,000 “Essex offered German university students, researchers excellent found a year after completing university men opportunities were paid 30% more than women to conduct this on average. vital research programme, with “The single most important proximate factor facilities such as that explains this gap is the field of study ESSEXLab - our at university. Women are tending to choose state-of-the-art fields of study and then employment that is experimental not as highly paid, for example favouring the laboratory where humanities over STEM subjects. some of this research agenda is being conducted.” “These findings Professor Friederike Mengel, illustrate the Department of Economics importance of subject choice This research on gender bias has been amongst students discussed in numerous mainstream and of the way media outlets, including The Economist universities and the German national newspaper, prepare men and Sueddeutsche Zeitung. women to enter the labour market.” In a separate study the research team Professor Marco Francesconi, found that committee deliberation can Department of Economics sometimes reduce, but also sometimes increase gender bias.

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Nobel Prize-winning economics graduate, Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides, Regius Professor of Economics, London School of Economics 30 / 31 ECONOMICS AND EQUALITY CASE STUDY

Poverty ruins lives, blighting Simulating policies for families and societies for decades. the global community A GLOBAL TOOL TO Failing to understand the impact of government policies can make EUROMOD has been so successful new forms TEST POLICY AND lives harder still, but policies also have been developed, based on the Essex model, have the power to pull people out to test policies beyond Europe. of poverty. In 2009 its spin-off for South Africa, SAMOD, was launched and models are now available for 19 EUROMOD is a tax benefit micro-simulation model, further countries, including Australia, Argentina, developed by the Institute for Social and Economic Ethiopia, Russia, and Vietnam. Research, and it’s having a huge impact on policies that challenge poverty. EUROMOD’s global success cannot be underestimated. It is making a real difference Funded by the European Commission since 1996, to challenging poverty in 48 nations including it provides a testing ground for comparing the developed economies and developing countries impact of tax and benefit policies for 28 countries and it has received praise from organisations in Europe, both within a country and in cross- including UNICEF and the . country comparisons. “We rely on EUROMOD. Predicting policy impact It has helped us improve the timeliness of social Using household income data from individual statistics; including the countries and applying tax and benefit rules, famous ‘nowcasting’ researchers can look at how policies impact simulation of poverty rates households and individuals, predicting changes and income distribution. that policymakers need to understand. This has enriched our analysis of poverty and It can test the impact of changes to tax inequality – two of the EU’s within a country, compare hypothetical scenarios, most pressing challenges.” and researchers can even ‘swap’ policies between Marianne Thyssen, the European countries to see if a policy in one country could Commissioner for Employment, Social make a difference in another. Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility,

EUROMOD is used widely by the European Commission to analyse the budgets of each country and to ‘nowcast’ poverty rates before officially-collected statistical information is available. ESSEX FACTS

countries using EUROMOD or a EUROMOD-inspired micro-simulation tool

 www.euromod.ac.uk 32 / 33 BUSINESS AND FINANCE CASE STUDY

FINANCIAL FORECASTING THAT

Essex research has revealed how long-term, Many developing countries depend on the large-scale financial forecasting is vital in production of one or two major commodities protecting us from the next global financial to generate a large proportion of national crisis, increased poverty, inequality and income. Fluctuations in world prices of those poorer child health. commodities can therefore have an enormous effect on poverty, inequality and child wellbeing. Traditional economic models failed to predict the 2007-2009 global financial crisis. Professor “Our findings have highlighted a number of Dimitris Korobilis’ Financial Conditions Index issues. Countries that produce raw commodities allows policymakers to monitor financial will potentially become poorer in the long-run conditions in real time and before a crisis and therefore policy initiatives require economic happens, by providing statistical methods to planning over longer periods of time.” determine which of a large set of possible financial factors are important. “Large price fluctuations increase child mortality The model has been used by the International in many commodity- Monetary Fund and has influenced economic dependent countries research in central banks and institutions across – although democracies the world. are able to mitigate that negative impact.” “Such influential research Professor Neil relies on being able to Kellard, Essex model big data in finance, Business School hence, this research is inherently interdisciplinary Professor Kellard’s research has informed policy drawing heavily from discussion on food prices at the World Bank fields such as machine and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of learning and engineering.” the UN. Professor Dimitris Korobilis, Essex It’s also been employed by central banks such Business School as Colombia in their investigations of price behaviour and by countries such as New The impact of one-crop Zealand and Australia to inform debates about future prices that have provided the framework ESSEX FACTS dependency for fiscal policy and recommendations for diversifying exports. subjects ranked in the top 200 in the QS Professor Neil Kellard’s research examines the World University Rankings by Subject, 2018, price movements of commodities such as oil, wheat, including linguistics, economics, politics maize and gold, and their effects on economic and sociology growth and health in developing countries. 34 / 35 THE NEXT GENERATION

Stepping up our approach to education

We can transform our understanding of social issues through quantitative research methods so we ensure our students develop the skills they need to evaluate evidence, analyse data, and design and commission research.

These skills are essential to employers across all sectors. Unique insights We are a Q-Step Affiliate and part of a £19.5 million national programme funded by the Nuffield Foundation, Politics graduate Madeleine Leathley was one of the Economic and Social Research Council and the our first Q-Step students to take advantage of our Higher Education Funding Council for England. Q-Step specialised degree pathways and work placements. is designed to promote a step-change in the number of Madeleine, who now works as a Commissioner and undergraduates engaging with quantitative social science Project Manager at the London Borough of Havering, and help them develop the skills essential to employers. completed her placement at pollsters YouGov.

The value of a quantitative approach “I was able to run my own on the funding of Professor Nick Allum, our Q-Step Co-ordinator and a the public sector. It gave me a researcher in our Department of Sociology, understands fantastic insight into the industry the value of quantitative approaches across a range and taught me skills that I could of fields from the public understanding of science then use in the final year of my to perception of risk. He is an expert on research degree.” methodology and is also a Research Associate at the Madeleine Leathley, Essex Institute for Social and Economic Research. Q-Step graduate “Our Q-Step Centre is a critical component of our commitment to quantitative social science in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Global focus “Almost all of our social science “Undergraduate students in Sociology, Government and For more than half a century our Essex Summer School undergraduates are exposed Essex Business School who elect to take our specialist in Social Science Data Analysis has been bringing to quantitative data as part of Applied Quantitative Methods (AQM) degrees develop researchers from around the world together. skills that are highly valued by employers and help their studies” enable them to become the data scientists of the future. Through classes, lectures and lab work, it offers a chance for leading social scientists to discuss Professor Nick Allum, “More than this, almost all of our social science research methods, , techniques for Q-Step Co-ordinator undergraduates are exposed to quantitative data as data collection and approaches to . We’re part of their studies and the Q-Step Centre acts as a building on its success through the Essex Big Data and beacon that helps to spread the message about the Analytics Summer School which provides a focus for importance of these valuable skills throughout the this emerging field. undergraduate community.” Professor Nick Allum, Q-Step Co-ordinator “One of the nicest messages that I received, after the award of the Nobel Prize in Economics for my work on unemployment, was from Professor Richard G Lipsey… the driving force of economics at Essex. , he said.”

Christoper Pissarides Nobel Prize-winning Essex graduate and Regius Professor of Economics, London School of Economics

Please join us in using quantitative social science research to improve lives around the world www.essex.ac.uk/about/faculty-of-social-sciences Conversion rates correct - December 2018