Rachel is Research Director of the IFS and Co-Director of the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy (CPP). She is Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester, a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Economic Association and a Research Fellow of CEPR. Rachel won the Birgit Grodal award in 2014, was awarded a CBE in for services to economic policy in 2015 and was made a Dame for services to economic policy and education in 2021. Her research considers the relationship between government policy and economic performance. Her specific interests relate to empirical industrial organisation, the retail food sector, nutrition, innovation, productivity and corporate tax.
Education
PhD Economics, Keele University, 1999
MSc Econometrics and Forecasting, City of London Polytechnic, 1991
BA (Magna cum Laude) Economics, University of Massachussets , 1985
We investigate the idea that increased use of ICT has facilitated outsourcing of business services, and that these are complementary activities in production because they allow firms to focus on their core competencies.
This paper documents the potential and actual savings that consumers realize from four particular types of purchasing behavior: purchasing on sale; buying in bulk (at a lower per unit price); buying generic brands; and choosing outlets.
In this we provide evidence that correlations between incumbent productivity growth and patenting arise from a causal effect predicted by Schumpeterian growth theory.
This article exploits a quasi-experimental setting to estimate the impact that a commonly used performance-related pay scheme had on branch performance in a large distribution firm.
This project provides empirical evidence on firms' demographic characteristics and the extent of specialisation and vertical integration of British firms across industries.
We examine whether discretionary government grants influence where domestic and multinational firms locate new plants, and how the presence of agglomeration externalities interacts with these policy instruments.
