National Institute of Economic and Social Research
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research, established in 1938, is Britain's oldest independent economic research institute. The institute is a London-based independent UK registered charity that carries out academic research of relevance to business and policy makers, both nationally and internationally. The Institute receives no core funding from government or other sources. The bulk of funding comes from research projects awarded or commissioned by a variety of sources, all acknowledged in full in our published materials. The terms of their grants prohibit any involvement from funding bodies in determining or influencing content. Funders include government departments and agencies, the research councils, particularly the Economic and Social Research Council, charitable foundations, the European Commission, and the private sector. The Institute are partners in three ESRC research centres, along with , which is funded by the Office for National Statistics.
History
The NIESR was established in 1938 with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Pilgrim Trust, the Leverhulme Trust and the Halley Stewart Trust. The vision of its founders was to carry out research to improve understanding of the economic and social forces that affect people’s lives, and the ways in which policy can bring about change.
Directors, Presidents and Council members
Professor Noel Hall was the first Director of the Institute, prior to its official existence in 1938, from 1937 until 1940. Geoffrey Crowther then became "acting" Director from 1940 but was called upon for war service in June of that year. From June 1940 to 1949, Sir Henry Clay carried out the duties of Director and Chair of Council.
There have been chairs of council since the Institute was created. The first was Lord Stamp, from 1937 to 1942. He was succeeded by Sir Henry Clay, who held the position from 1942 until 1949. Subsequent chairs included Humphrey Mynors, Sir Austin Robinson, Sir John Woods, Sir Robert Hall, Sir Hugh Week, Sir Donald MacDougall, and Sir Kenneth Berrill. Diane Coyle is the current Chair of the Council of Management, the first woman to hold the position in the history of the Institute, taking over the position from Sir Tim Besley.
Presidents
was President from 2003-2010, followed by Sir Nicholas Monck from 2011-2013, and subsequently Sir Charles Bean. The current President is Sir Paul Tucker.
Organisation
Research areas covered by the National Institute include Britain and finance; education and labour; employment and social policy; exiting the EU; macroeconomics; and trade, investment & productivity.
National Institute Economic Review
Since 1959, the NIESR has published the National Institute Economic Review. Principal topics covered by the Review include economic modelling and analysis, education and training, productivity and competitiveness, and workings of the international economy. Each edition Includes detailed forecasts of both UK and World Economies, a commentary, and special articles by Institute researchers and external authors.
NiGEM
An important output of NIESR has been a macroeconomic model called NiGEM which is used to produce quarterly forecasts for the UK and global economy. Forecasts are also published for various other OECD countries. The model is used by the UK Treasury, IMF, Bank of England, the OECD and European Central Bank. In 2014, a Societe Generale researcher used the model to analyse the effect of falling oil prices on the world economy.
