In this issue:
This third issue of the Kent Economics Degree Apprentice Research Journal features contributions from 14 of the final year Professional Economist Degree Apprentices from the third cohort of the programme, the class of 2025. These papers were selected from a list recommended by the Independent Assessors who had sight of the year’s Dissertations. Papers were chosen for inclusion because of their clear merit, based on the objectivity and quality of the work and on the intellectual novelty displayed in the work.
This issue of the Journal contains contributions from 14 Apprentices who started their studies in September 2021 after the disruption of Covid and school lock-outs.
In this issue, we have split the contributions into two sections. The six papers collected into the first section address predominantly macroeconomic issues while the 8 works in section two cover a wide range of microeconomic questions. All address real policy problems 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:
Jack O’Hara, from the Bank of England, assesses the effectiveness of Central Bank actions to promote lending by commercial banks during the 2020-22 Covid Crisis in the UK.
Emily Masters-Moses, from the Department for Business and Trade, considers the determinants of bi-directional FDI flows between OECD member countries.
Jessica (Jess) Hill-Barreiro, from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, explores the potential economic impact of demographic changes, particularly population aging, across a selection of developed economies.
Fatimah Tariq, of the Bank of England, uses a cross-country study to estimate the impact of education on economic performance.
Frederick (Fred) McConnell Smith, from ARUP, Examines the potential growth dividend that might be delivered from Green Energy transitions.
Beatrice Wood, from His Majesty’s Treasury, seeks to estimate the extent of the impact of Armed Conflict on of wellbeing as measured Human Development Index using an extensive conflict data set collated by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program.
Microeconomics Contributions:
Robin Ferdous, from the Department for Business and Trade, asks whether parameter estimation strategy matters when constructing Gravity Models of Trade and applies a range of approaches to estimate the impact of the UK/EU Trade Cooperation agreement on Services. In doing so, he produces useful advice for modellers and some clarity of the economic impact of the agreement itself.
Jack O’Callaghan the Department for Business and Trade, estimates the potential impact of policy uncertainty, whether from domestic or global systems, on FDI flows across OECD nations.
Alex Bell, from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, considers the potential impact of charging for medicines in the UK. He exploits the policy discontinuity that exists at the age of 60 to assess whether reducing the prescription charge could yield Health benefits.
Hannah Hewitt, from the Department for Work and Pensions, looks at the differing fortunes of pensioners under either Defined Benefit (often Final Salary type) or Defined Contribution schemes.
Cara Jamieson, from the Department for Transport, asks whether fuel prices influence the fuel economy of new vehicle purchases in the UK. Looking at petrol powered car registrations she finds that new car buyers are responsive to fuel price signals which, since fuel prices are subject to environmental taxation and VAT supports a significant government policy action.
Neha Shah, from His Majesty’s Treasury, utilises the UKHLS to ask questions about the career costs of parenthood. Specifically, she uses an event specification to estimate both a Motherhood Penalty and a potential Fatherhood Premium across socioeconomics groups.
Naomi Thomas from the Office for National Statistics, investigates whether the well know Motherhood Penalty is sensitive to second and subsequent children in a way that could help better refine policy and labour market regulation to help for multi-child mothers.
Jason Leedham, from the Ministry of Justice, asks whether access to justice really does boost economic activity. It’s an old but important question for which he uses variation in legal aid use across LA regions to explore.
Each of these authors have been given the opportunity to revise their final Dissertation paper in the light of written feedback provided by staff who marked their paper and the discussion they undertook with an employer representative, the Independent Assessor and their supervisor at viva voice examination. In addition, the Executive Summary, as specified by the EPA plan, has been edited down into an Abstract form for this use. 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 28th 2025)