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EUROMOD, a tax-benefit microsimulation model developed at Essex, has been used by the European Commission and various national administrations to improve the evidence base for policymaking. EUROMOD enables the measurement of potential effects of policy changes on government budgets, income distribution, and work incentives in the EU. It is used by the European Commission to inform policymaking and model the outcome of austerity measures. At a national level it has been used by the Greek Government to assess the potential impact of various austerity policies, and the Austrian Government to assist in monitoring the effect of policies on meeting poverty reduction targets and to allow the public to understand the impact of policy changes. EUROMOD has also been adapted for use outside the EU and spin-offs have been developed in Serbia and South Africa that are used to model the outcomes of potential policy developments.
MMU's International Business (IB) impact case reflects the breadth and multi-disciplinary nature of the subject area: it demonstrates MMU impact in established and evolving IB areas, and in developed and emerging economies.
Primary impacts relate to policy development and policy outcomes at government, NGO, international organisation, and business association levels. Research has impacted by:
a) increasing understanding (for policy-makers, development agencies & companies) of drivers and attractors for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI);
b) shaping policy initiatives to support increased FDI volumes and improved outcomes;
c) increasing public awareness and informing policy with relation to requirements for successful, development-oriented economic reform; and,
d) influencing creation of new security governance paradigms to underpin expansion of (and equitable outcomes from) IB activity in emerging economies. Our research shapes international business frameworks, which, in turn, affects the strategy and practice of the business community for improved operation in the global economy.
Chang's research has covered a wide range of public policy, including industrial policy, trade policy, privatisation, and agricultural policy, as well as theories of state intervention. By successfully challenging the then prevailing orthodoxy on economic development, his research has had significant influence on the actions of many national governments, multilateral institutions (e.g., the UN, the World Bank) and NGOs (e.g., Oxfam). Chang's research has also had substantial impact on public debate concerning economic policies, especially but not exclusively those regarding development issues. He has had two best-selling mass-market books (together sold 1.15 million copies as of December 2012) and gained worldwide media exposure for his views.
There is widespread concern that UK households are not saving enough — personal saving rates fell below zero in 2007 and subsequent recovery has been modest. The challenges are whether policy can encourage households to save enough for their retirement and how to support policy makers in their thinking.
Professor Sefton developed a simulation model of the complex interaction of taxes and benefits with individual work and saving decisions. His model stimulated changes to the Pension Tax regime and informed the conclusions of the Pension Commission. This prompted further funding from HMT and HMRC, to bring his approach in-house: they now routinely embed his approach in their assessment of future tax policy changes.
The impact has therefore been that UK public policy is better informed, with fewer unintended consequences. The beneficiaries are the general public, both through minimisation of costly policy mistakes and because policy can now address the long-term sustainability of welfare policies.
This case study describes contribution to public knowledge, discussion and debate about social security policy, including contributions to policy development. It is a process where research develops through from engagement and interaction, and engagement and interaction in turn prompts the production of research. This research engagement with the field and authority has prompted a recent change in legislation affecting Scotland.
A major element of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 is the introduction of Universal Credit, which is widely recognised as the most radical reform of the UK social security system since the 1942 Beveridge Report. Universal Credit will be rolled out nationally from October 2013 and affect the lives of millions of working age people. Universal Credit recipients who are working will be the main beneficiaries receiving more than under the previous Tax Credit arrangements (which are being abolished). Increased payments to claimants will amount to over £2bn with 3.1 million households benefiting (according to the government formal Impact Assessment). The work of the Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of York (particularly the contribution of Sainsbury and Weston) has had a demonstrable impact on the development of the ideas and policies of both previous Labour administrations and the current Coalition government. Sainsbury's seminal ideas on the single working age benefit can be seen as having laid the foundations for Universal Credit.
Research undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM) has made a major contribution to understanding the role and significance of direct cash transfers as financially and politically sustainable instruments, essential in addressing extreme and chronic poverty in low and middle income countries. Research findings, outputs and related uptake activities have: stimulated, supported and led global research on antipoverty transfers; shaped policy thinking within the development community (e.g. DFID, HelpAge International); influenced national governments (e.g. UK, Sweden) and informed practice in several countries (e.g. Uganda, Bangladesh).
Sussex research has both contributed to a new phase of EU cohesion policy and been embodied into several areas of the new Chinese Poverty Alleviation Strategy. The underpinning research detailed in this case study includes analysis of the relative economic performance of regional economies in Europe and of Chinese development and disparities. It led to the researcher being invited as the only European academic to work on an EU-China high-level policy dialogue which, in turn, led to a series of major contributions to policy-focused field research where report recommendations contributed to policy development in both the EU and China.
The Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (RHVP) sought to achieve research-based change in policy approaches to food insecurity and famine in southern Africa by investigating a range of policy options and generating debate. The programme's success can be identified in evidence of use, as provided by a post-programme independent evaluation of RHVP; policy response, as observed in social protection policy changes in Malawi, Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique; and policy outcomes, measured by the impact on beneficiaries of social transfer schemes put in place or expanded in scope due to RHVP influence on social protection policy thinking in southern Africa.
There are over two million lone-parent families in the UK, including one in three children. Since the late 1990s, the key policy targets have included raising employment rates and reducing in-work poverty. Researchers at the University of Bath have engaged in innovative and influential research on lone parenthood over many years. Our work has been instrumental in the development and evaluation of policies intended to help lone parents move into, and remain in, work. Specifically, our research has influenced the design and delivery of the New Deal for Lone Parents, Tax Credits, and policies to improve lone parent job retention. These policies have a direct and ongoing impact on the social and economic circumstances, and quality of life, of the families.