UCL-led consortium wins bid to launch new economics of education centre
This story first appeared on the UCL website.
UCL Consultants Ltd has secured a nearly £3 million contract from the Department for Education to establish the Economics of Education Research Centre (EERC).
The EERC brings together researchers from three leading institutions: UCL’s Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO), the London School of Economics’s Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The centre will be led by Professor Lindsey Macmillan (UCL), with Christine Farquharson (IFS) and Professor Sandra McNally (LSE) as co-leads.
Operating until March 2028, the EERC will work in collaboration with the Department for Education to build the evidence base on the economic and social benefits of education and skills policies. The research will examine how education affects earnings, productivity, and social mobility, while evaluating the returns to investment in areas such as early years provision and support for pupils with special educational needs.
The centre will draw on major linked administrative datasets — including the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset and ECHILD — to produce evidence that can directly inform policy decisions and funding allocation.
Early Education Minister Olivia Bailey emphasised that the government’s decisions should reflect “what the evidence tells us actually works for children and young people.”
The EERC is one of two new research centres launched as part of broader government efforts to strengthen the evidence base underpinning education reform.
More information about the EERC’s research programme will be available shortly. In the meantime, visit the About EERC page for details of the partner institutions and team.