UoA 18 Economics and Econometrics

The Economics Department within the University of Exeter Business School produces high quality research in:

  • Microeconomic and macroeconomic theory
  • Time series econometrics
  • Experimental economics
  • Applied economics

This area also feeds into the theme of our Humanities and Social Science (HASS) strategy.

Key results

  • 72 per cent of research rated as world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*).
  • This unit was ranked 18 out of 28 nationally.

Impact case studies

NameSummary
Fiscal ineffiencies in federal economies Research carried out at the Business School into the design of fiscally decentralised institutions has been instrumental in bringing ‘vertical fiscal externalities’ (an inherent feature of multi-level governments), and the resulting inefficiencies, to the attention of international organisations including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and governments worldwide. This work has informed policy decisions and provided awareness of the intrinsic issues and interdependencies between tax decisions at different levels of government through the production of significant theoretical, empirical, and policy literature, and has directly influenced taxation policy directly through changes in fiscal legislation in Germany.
Helping government and industry to communicate risk Business School research has influenced government agencies and industry to improve their communication of risk. Using experimental economics, academics provided the Met Office with the scientific evidence it required to include uncertainty information in weather forecasts and advice on how best to communicate probability. This allows the public to make more informed decisions and industry to potentially avoid expensive errors of judgment. It has shaped the Environment Agency’s flood risk training programme and supported World Meteorological Organisation guidelines. Its wider applications, including investment and pensions risk advice, have been recognised by Defra and the Association of British Insurers.

Research groups

GroupAbout the group
Behaviour, Decision and Markets (BDM) This group forms a tight link between theory and experiments: theory provides the basis on which experiments are run; experimental work produces evidence on which new theories are built. A particular focus of the group is on explicit and implicit contracting.
Public Economics, Trade and Environment (PETE) A central theme linking the research of this group concerns strategic interaction over economic policy, whether over fiscal, trade or environmental policy.
Macroeconomics

The Macroeconomics group’s research interests include: monetary policy, currency, the business cycle, inflation, exchange rates, employment, asset pricing, household behaviour, economic growth and international trade.

Econometrics

The Econometrics group’s research interests include: econometric theory, bootstrap methods, financial econometrics, econometric software development, modelling financial time series, nonlinear time series econometrics, estimation and inference in econometrics.

Laboratory, projects and networks

Lab / project / networkAbout the lab / project / network
Finance and Economics Experimental Laboratory at Exeter (FEELE)

FEELE is a fully specified computer laboratory for the conduct of experiments in economics and has a dedicated programmer who supports the lab.

During the assessment period, the FEELE laboratory ran 439 economics experiments for a total of 31 projects and was also used by seven academics who are external to the Unit.

Transparency of Food Pricing (TRANSFOP) The Transparency of Food Pricing Research Project (TRANSFOP) is a €1million EU-wide project funded by the European Commission. It investigates the determinants of food prices across EU Member States and the role that competition and other features of food chains may determine food prices. TRANSFOP involves 13 partner universities and research institutes across 10 European countries.
Institutions, Trade and Economic Development (InsTED)

InsTED brings together leading scholars researching the role of institutions, both domestic and international, in the development of countries' economies.

Research centres

Centre

About the centre

Centre for the Study of Risk and Ambiguity (CSRA)

The underlying focus of CSRA is where uncertainty plays a key role in shaping outcomes. The Centre will work to enhance our understanding of how decision-makers perceive these uncertainties, process new information and make decisions.

 

The major objectives of CSRA are to: conduct and facilitate research that will enhance the understanding of risk and ambiguity; set a research agenda to produce recommendations that will help shape policy in the UK; expand research capacity on risk and ambiguity by holding workshops and training PhD students.

Tax Administration Research Centre (TARC)

The role of the TARC is to deliver research that enhances tax policy and provides lasting benefit to the economy.

 

The Centre unites researchers from two institutions (Exeter and IFS) with distinguished reputations for research into tax administration and tax design.

The work of the TARC will significantly impact policymakers and practitioners in tax authorities in the UK and other countries. This will be achieved through sharing new knowledge generated by the TARC on how to enhance tax policies and administrative practices in order to better achieve the fundamental aims of the tax system.

UoA 18 Economics and Econometrics

The Economics Department within the University of Exeter Business School produces high quality research in:

  • Microeconomic and macroeconomic theory
  • Time series econometrics
  • Experimental economics
  • Applied economics

This area also feeds into the theme of our Humanities and Social Science (HASS) strategy.

Key results

  • 72 per cent of research rated as world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*).
  • This unit was ranked 18 out of 28 nationally.

Impact case studies

NameSummary
Fiscal ineffiencies in federal economies Research carried out at the Business School into the design of fiscally decentralised institutions has been instrumental in bringing ‘vertical fiscal externalities’ (an inherent feature of multi-level governments), and the resulting inefficiencies, to the attention of international organisations including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and governments worldwide. This work has informed policy decisions and provided awareness of the intrinsic issues and interdependencies between tax decisions at different levels of government through the production of significant theoretical, empirical, and policy literature, and has directly influenced taxation policy directly through changes in fiscal legislation in Germany.
Helping government and industry to communicate risk Business School research has influenced government agencies and industry to improve their communication of risk. Using experimental economics, academics provided the Met Office with the scientific evidence it required to include uncertainty information in weather forecasts and advice on how best to communicate probability. This allows the public to make more informed decisions and industry to potentially avoid expensive errors of judgment. It has shaped the Environment Agency’s flood risk training programme and supported World Meteorological Organisation guidelines. Its wider applications, including investment and pensions risk advice, have been recognised by Defra and the Association of British Insurers.

Research groups

GroupAbout the group
Behaviour, Decision and Markets (BDM) This group forms a tight link between theory and experiments: theory provides the basis on which experiments are run; experimental work produces evidence on which new theories are built. A particular focus of the group is on explicit and implicit contracting.
Public Economics, Trade and Environment (PETE) A central theme linking the research of this group concerns strategic interaction over economic policy, whether over fiscal, trade or environmental policy.
Macroeconomics

The Macroeconomics group’s research interests include: monetary policy, currency, the business cycle, inflation, exchange rates, employment, asset pricing, household behaviour, economic growth and international trade.

Econometrics

The Econometrics group’s research interests include: econometric theory, bootstrap methods, financial econometrics, econometric software development, modelling financial time series, nonlinear time series econometrics, estimation and inference in econometrics.

Laboratory, projects and networks

Lab / project / networkAbout the lab / project / network
Finance and Economics Experimental Laboratory at Exeter (FEELE)

FEELE is a fully specified computer laboratory for the conduct of experiments in economics and has a dedicated programmer who supports the lab.

During the assessment period, the FEELE laboratory ran 439 economics experiments for a total of 31 projects and was also used by seven academics who are external to the Unit.

Transparency of Food Pricing (TRANSFOP) The Transparency of Food Pricing Research Project (TRANSFOP) is a €1million EU-wide project funded by the European Commission. It investigates the determinants of food prices across EU Member States and the role that competition and other features of food chains may determine food prices. TRANSFOP involves 13 partner universities and research institutes across 10 European countries.
Institutions, Trade and Economic Development (InsTED)

InsTED brings together leading scholars researching the role of institutions, both domestic and international, in the development of countries' economies.

Research centres

Centre

About the centre

Centre for the Study of Risk and Ambiguity (CSRA)

The underlying focus of CSRA is where uncertainty plays a key role in shaping outcomes. The Centre will work to enhance our understanding of how decision-makers perceive these uncertainties, process new information and make decisions.

 

The major objectives of CSRA are to: conduct and facilitate research that will enhance the understanding of risk and ambiguity; set a research agenda to produce recommendations that will help shape policy in the UK; expand research capacity on risk and ambiguity by holding workshops and training PhD students.

Tax Administration Research Centre (TARC)

The role of the TARC is to deliver research that enhances tax policy and provides lasting benefit to the economy.

 

The Centre unites researchers from two institutions (Exeter and IFS) with distinguished reputations for research into tax administration and tax design.

The work of the TARC will significantly impact policymakers and practitioners in tax authorities in the UK and other countries. This will be achieved through sharing new knowledge generated by the TARC on how to enhance tax policies and administrative practices in order to better achieve the fundamental aims of the tax system.