In this issue:
This fourth issue of the Kent Economics Degree Apprentice Research Journal features contributions from 15 of the final year Professional Economist Degree Apprentices from the fourth cohort of the programme to complete their apprenticeship, the class of 2026.
In this issue, we have again split the contributions into two sections. The eight papers collected into the first section address predominantly macroeconomic issues while the remaining seven works, in section two, cover a wide range of microeconomic questions. Topics covered in the Macro section range from trade, with 2 papers focusing on enriching or using gravity models, to the effect of shocks on financials or differential price inflation. Within the Micro section, education, the impact of family cohesion on labour market outcomes, maternal work patterns on child wellbeing and spatial impacts on health outcomes through to the effect on real estate valuation due to either power-line proximity or energy efficiency. All address questions of real policy relevance and make valuable contributions in that regard. All also adopt a strongly objective approach to the measurement of their parameter of interest and showcase the care apprentices bring to their academic and professional work.
Macroeconomics Contributions: (Click to move to each PDF.)
Nathan Lea, from the Department for Business and Trade, paper entitled ‘The impact of Immigrant stocks on Bilateral exports: A Global Gravity Analysis.’
Evelyn Robbins, from the Department for Business and Trade, paper entitled ‘Logistics Performance and Agricultural Exports from Developing Countries: A Gravity Model Approach.’
Rachel Hunt, from Arup, paper entitled ‘Does agglomeration have a positive and statistically significant impact on regional labour productivity in Great Britain?’
Jamilla Blake, from the Bank of England, paper entitled ‘Exploring the Impact of the Negative Interest Rate Policy on Bank Profitability in Japan.’
Veenaa Sasikaran, from the Bank of England, paper entitled ‘Sectoral Heterogeneity in the Transmission of Monetary Policy: Panel Analysis of UK Business Investment.’
Amelie Hallam, from the Bank of England, paper entitled ‘Monetary Policy Transmission to Great Britain’s Housing Market: An IV-Local Projections Analysis of Mortgage Rates, House Prices, and Rent Prices.’
Charlie Symonds, from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, paper entitled ‘The Evolution of UK Bank Stock Sensitivities to Macroeconomic Conditions following the 2008 Financial Crisis.’
Angel Rai, from the Bank of England, paper entitled ‘Shared Shocks, Divergent Dynamics: A Comparative Analysis of Food Inflation in the UK and Euro Area.’
Microeconomics Contributions: (Click to move to each PDF.)
Adwoa Owusu, from the Bank of England, paper entitled ‘Are the Self-Employed More Exposed to Income Volatility Than Employees? A Panel Analysis of Employment Status in the UK.’
Aditi Anand, from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, paper entitled ‘The effects of attending a prestigious university on UK graduate earnings.’
Muaadh Tanveer, from the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero, paper entitled ‘From the Dinner Table to the Labour Market: Family Cohesion during Youth and Future Adult Wages’.
James Mitchell, from the Department of Business and Trade, paper entitled ‘Maternal Work Schedule Autonomy and Children’s Socioemotional Outcomes: Evidence from the United Kingdom.’
Emily Hopewell, from the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero, paper entitled ‘Infrastructure Externalities: Estimating the Impact of Transmission Lines on Residential Property Values.’
Nihad Attab, from Oxford Economics, paper entitled ‘Exploring Whether Place Shapes the Poverty-Health Relationship in England.’
Gabriella (Gabby) Martins-Rothman, from the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero, paper entitled ‘Energy Efficiency and House Prices in England: A Repeated-Sales Analysis Using SAP Energy Efficiency Scores.’
Muaadh’s paper was highly commended in the national Dissertation competition organised by the UK Data Service, see the announcement.
Each of these authors have been given the opportunity to revise their final Dissertation paper in the light of feedback provided by staff who marked their paper and conducted their viva voice examinations, including an employer representative, the Independent Assessor and their supervisor. In addition, the Executive Summary, as specified by the EPA plan, has been edited down into an Abstract form for publication here. Each contributor has taken this opportunity to varying degrees but readers should be aware that these works are the product of the apprentices’, now graduates’, efforts and not of academic faculty or of their workplace colleagues. They are published here as an example of the excellent research Professional Economist degree Apprentices can produce but should not be considered as peer reviewed research on which decisions can or should be based.
In all cases, the works presented here do not represent the views or opinions of either the University of Kent or each apprentices’ employer.
Editor: Alastair Bailey (October 21st 2026)