About this day
For A-level, IB, BTEC Level 3 and T Level economics students
Join us this autumn for an exciting day at Economics in Action, featuring informative discussions, interactive sessions, and inspiring stories. Our line-up of experienced speakers—including industry leaders, academics, and public servants—will offer expert insights and share their real-world experiences, covering topics across microeconomics to macroeconomics.
The day will also include a special session on examination success designed to provide students with the tools that they need to excel. With polls and quizzes throughout the day and plenty of opportunities to ask the speakers questions, this is an unmissable day, and we look forward to welcoming you and your students. Book now for Economics in Action!
Host: Dr Matthew Pritchard (Communicator) Exam Session: Peter Cramp (The Economics Factory)
“A great day with a lot of interesting ideas for our economic students!”
– Wellingborough School –
Additional speakers to be announced shortly!
Programme & speakers
International comparisons of productivity and why they matter Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Adviser, Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR)
In this talk, Vicky Pryce will discuss international comparisons of productivity, why they matter, where the UK is lagging behind and where it excels. She will also examine the role of business, regulators and the public sector in improving performance.
About Professor Vicky Pryce
Vicky Pryce is Chief Economic Adviser and board member at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and a Visiting Professor at King’s College, London. Formerly Joint Head of the UK Government Economic Service. Her recent books include How to be a Successful Economist, Women vs Capitalism and Mismanaged Decline.
Are we really growing? Ayeisha Thomas-Smith, Broadcaster
What are the origins of GDP as a means of measuring economic growth? How do the economic indicators we choose shape the way we think about the world? And in a rapidly changing economy, is GDP the right goal to guide policy making in the 21st century, and if not, what other objectives might replace it?
About Ayeisha Thomas-Smith
Ayeisha is a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Economics with Subtitles and she hosts weekly podcasts for The New Economics Foundation.
How economists think about unemployment? Stephen Millard, National Institute of Economic and Social Research
Stephen will present the ‘classical’ theory of unemployment and Keynes’s critique of this contained in his General Theory. He will then discuss the ‘Search and Matching’ theory and its link to ‘frictional’ and ‘structural’ unemployment before exploring how we can apply this theory to understand the UK labour market experience post Covid.
About Professor Stephen Millard
Stephen Millard is the Deputy Director for Macroeconomic Modelling at NIESR. Before joining, he spent 26 years at the Bank of England in various roles. Since 2011, he’s been a Visiting Professor at Durham University and, since 2021, at Portsmouth University. He holds a PhD in economics from Northwestern University, where he studied under Nobel Laureate Dale Mortensen.
How to Get Rich Quick Sophie Maclean, Mathematician and Communicator
Being able to determine the future is a great way to get money. From fairground games to the stock market, knowing what will happen is a great advantage. But even if we don’t know for certain, statistics and probability can help us make valuable predictions. In this session, Sophie gives an introduction to the world of finance and shares some of the Maths she used working as a quantitative trader.
About Sophie Maclean
Sophie is a Maths Communicator and a member of the team behind Chalkdust Magazine. She has previously worked as a Quantitative Trader, a Software Engineer, and a Maths tutor.
The economics of global catastrophic risks Stephen Davies, Institute of Economics Affairs
Global catastrophic risks may seem a strange topic for economists to think about. In fact, the increasing numbers and probabilities of GCRs plus the mathematics of them mean economists have to consider them alongside more familiar and non-catastrophic ones. Moreover, economic thinking is essential if we are to think clearly about them and the choices we have to make. This will require a shift in the focus of much economics and, in particular, a turn away from a manic focus on the immediate here and now.
About Dr Stephen Davies
Dr Steve Davies is the Head of Education at the IEA. Previously he was program officer at the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) at George Mason University in Virginia.