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Research at the University of Strathclyde has increased the economic and policy modelling capacity of the Scottish Government. This has been affected through collaboration between researchers at Strathclyde and the Office of the Chief Economic Advisor (OCEA) and the Scottish Government-funded Centre of Expertise in Climate Change, ClimateXChange. The improvement in modelling capability and scope has enhanced the process of policy formation and evaluation, as well as the outcomes from it. This has allowed for improved decision making in the Scottish Government, allowed significant budget savings, improved advice to Scottish Ministers, improved interaction with the Westminster Government and resulted in a more informed public debate on policy decisions.
Regulating telecommunications has been difficult for policy-makers, who must balance freedom for business operation with fairness and value for consumers. Termination rates — the cost of ending phone calls using other networks — have been particularly contentious.
Professor Valletti's work helped regulators, including Ofcom, to model the processes involved and thereby improve regulatory pricing guidelines.
By developing a new theory of regulation — how dynamic incentives price regulation — his research has influenced policy in both UK and international telecommunications markets.
Research carried out by Cairns (Maxwell Institute), Blake (Cass Business School) and Dowd (Nottingham, now Durham) in 2006 produced the `CBD' model for predicting future life expectancy. The CBD model and its extensions developed in 2009 by Cairns and collaborators have had a major impact on pensions and life industry risk management practices: multinational financial institutions [text removed for publication] and other stakeholders have relied on the CBD model to risk assess, price and execute financial deals [text removed for publication] since 2010. CBD is also used by risk management consultants to advise clients, is embedded in both open-source and commercial software, and is used by the UK's Pension Protection Fund to measure and manage longevity risk.