Policy Centre publications

Nudging citizens towards localism?

Nudging citizens towards localism? examines the tension between the UK government's policies to decentralise and its policies to encourage behaviour change. 

Author: Peter John, with Liz Richardson

Steering group: Peter Taylor-Gooby FBA (chair), Nick Chater, Graham Loomes 

Published 16 May 2012 

Public service broadcasting's continued rude health

Public service broadcasting's continued rude health gives an overview of the various ways in which public service broadcasting is structured and funded, and of the extent to which its output is distinctive, of high quality and capable of making a difference. 

Author: Chris Hanretty

Published 25 April 2012 

Minority legal orders in the UK: Minorities, pluralism and the law

Minority legal orders in the UK examines what are often described as ‘parallel legal systems’. It discusses the UK experience of religious and cultural diversity underpinning minority legal orders and sets out the practical ways in which the state can respond to and work with them.

Author: Maleiha Malik

Steering group: John Eekelaar FBA, Sue Mendus FBA (chair), Hugh Williamson FBA

Published 19 April 2012 

Measuring success: League tables in the public sector

Institutional rankings or ‘league tables’ are now widely used in the public sector. Measuring Success examines their application in education and policing, and reviews the available evidence to determine the benefits and the problems associated with them. 

Authors: Beth Foley and Harvey Goldstein

Steering group: Stephen Ball, David Bartholomew, Colin Crouch, Harvey Goldstein (Chair) 

 Published 29 March 2012

A response to Scotland's Constitutional Future

The British Academy has responded to the Scotland Office consultation on facilitating a legal, fair and decisive referendum on whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom.

12 March 2012

A response from the British Academy to the European Commission consultation on possible revisions to Council Directive 93/7/EEC

Directive 93/7/EEC makes provisions to ensure the return of national treasures removed from an EU member country and now located in another EU country.This response highlights the most urgent points the British Academy feel the European Commission should address regarding the functioning of the Directive.  

5 March 2012

Raising household saving

Raising household saving is a British Academy Policy Centre report prepared by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The report examines in detail what is known – and what is not known – about the effectiveness of various policies designed to increase saving by households. It offers a critical review of the literature in four main areas: financial incentives; information, education and training; choice architecture or ‘nudge’; and social marketing.

Authors: Thomas F. Crossley, Carl Emmerson and Andrew Leicester

Published 22 February 2012

Post-immigration 'difference' and integration: The case of Muslims in Western Europe

Tariq Modood presents four different options for integration and equality of opportunity for all UK citizens. Some ethnic minorities may wish to assimilate; some to have the equal rights of integrated citizens; some to maintain the cultural differences of their group identities; and some to be free to choose cosmopolitan mixed identities.

Post-immigration 'difference' and integration is published as part of the New paradigms in public policy project.

Author: Tariq Modood

Chair: Peter Taylor-Gooby FBA

Working group:
Andrew Gamble FBA
Ian Gough
Tariq Modood
Anne Power
Gerry Stoker
Pat Thane FBA

Published 9 February 2012

Individual electoral registration and the future of representative democracy

This paper for the British Academy Review examines what individual electoral registration would mean, in particular how it would impact on constituency boundaries, and concludes that under the current proposals its introduction could have a profound impact on the nature of British representative democracy.

Authors: Ron Johnston FBA, Iain McLean FBA

13 January 2012

Building a new politics?

Building a new politics? argues that policymakers need to tackle the political malaise suffered by the average UK citizen. It lays out the academic approaches to improving political engagement, and calls on experts to draw on these and design new ways of tackling anti-political attitudes.

Building a new politics? is published as part of the New paradigms in public policy project.

Author: Gerry Stoker

Chair: Peter Taylor-Gooby FBA

Working group:
Andrew Gamble FBA
Ian Gough
Tariq Modood
Anne Power
Gerry Stoker
Pat Thane FBA

Published 11 January 2012

Squaring the public policy circle discusses the strategies employed by government to strike a balance between demands for spending and the need for cutbacks. It concludes the current insistence of pressures to cut back highly valued services risks a further decline of trust in politicians. At the same time, there is an opportunity here to open up an important and informed debate about how they can be tackled.

It is published as part of the New paradigms in public policy project.

Author: Peter Taylor-Gooby FBA

Chair: Peter Taylor-Gooby FBA

Working group:
Andrew Gamble FBA
Ian Gough
Tariq Modood
Anne Power
Gerry Stoker
Pat Thane FBA

Published 28 November 2011

A response from the British Academy to 'Making open data real: A public consultation'

The British Academy has responded to the Cabinet Office's proposed approach for Transparency and Open Data Strategy. The Academy supports the release, disclosure and sharing of scientific data, so that public policy, and public debate about it, is based on the best available evidence. With adequate precautions, anonymised data, public or private funded alike, should be available to other researchers. 

28 October 2011

A response from the British Academy to the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Review

The British Academy has submitted evidence to the government’s review on Social Mobility and Child Poverty, stressing that social mobility is a complex issue that needs further unpicking before it can be properly explored and adequately addressed. The response emphasises the need for a long-term, comprehensive strategy that addresses people’s aspirations and social connections as well as education, housing and the labour market.

17 October 2011  

Economic futures

Economic futures shows how a political economy approach can contribute to the debates that continue in the wake of the 2007-8 financial crash: how the deficit should be reduced; what the future size of the state should be; and whether the British economy needs to be rebalanced.

It is published as part of the New paradigms in public policy project.

Author: Andrew Gamble FBA

Chair: Peter Taylor-Gooby FBA

Working group for New paradigms in public policy:

Andrew Gamble FBA
Ian Gough
Tariq Modood
Anne Power
Gerry Stoker
Pat Thane FBA

Published 20 September 2011

Climate change and public policy futures  

Climate change and public policy futures reviews current approaches to climate change and suggests that policy reversals and changes will be necessary to pursue 'green growth'.

It is published as part of the New paradigms in public policy project.

Author: Ian Gough

Chair: Peter Taylor-Gooby FBA

Working group for New paradigms in public policy:

Andrew Gamble FBA
Ian Gough
Tariq Modood
Anne Power
Gerry Stoker
Pat Thane FBA

Published 26 July 2011

History for the taking? Perspectives on material heritage 

History for the taking? is a collection of four essays on various problems threatening archaeology and built heritage in particular. Each makes recommendations to policymakers and academics on how to take steps to better protect material legacies of the past.

Chair: Barry Cunliffe FBA

Authors: John Curtis FBA, Michael Fulford FBA, Anthony Harding FBA and Fiona Reynolds.

Published 24 May 2011

A submission to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee: Behaviour Change - Travel-Mode Choice Interventions to Reduce Car Use in Towns and Cities 

The British Academy has submitted advice on travel-mode choice interventions to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee, in response to their second call for evidence on behaviour change.

21 January 2011 

Stress at Work

Stress at Work considers the stress caused by work, discussing not only the trends and determinants of work stress but also its costs to health, employers, the economy and wider society.

Author: Tarani Chandola

Steering Group:
Duncan Gallie FBA
Paul Edwards FBA
Kathy Parkes

Published 29 October 2010

Happy families? History and family policy

Happy families? History and family policy discusses the history of families over the last few hundred years, examining claims that families today are 'broken'.

The report considers such issues as:

• marriage;
• divorce;
• cohabitation;
• birth rates, inside and outside marriage;
• and domestic violence.

Author: Pat Thane

Published 11 October 2010

A Submission from the British Academy to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee: Behaviour Change

 The British Academy has submitted advice on behaviour change policy to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee's call for evidence. The submission focuses on psychological evidence on interventions, classification of behaviour change interventions, and the ethics of such policies.

 8 October 2010

Drawing a New Constituency Map for the United Kingdom  

Drawing a New Constituency Map for the United Kingdom discusses the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010 which will have its second reading in the House of Commons on 6 September 2010. It analyses the implementation of the new rules proposed by the Bill and makes suggestions for amendments and ways of avoiding any problems caused by the implementation.

 Authors: Michel Balinski, Ron Johnston, Iain McLean and Peyton Young, with research assistance from Angela Cummine. 

Published 2 September 2010

Choosing an electoral system

Choosing an Electoral System identifies the characteristics of the variety of electoral system used around the world, and discusses their implications for issues such as

• voter turn-out,
• minority parties,
• party politics,
• proportionality and
• effective government.

Authors: Simon Hix, Ron Johnston and Iain Mclean, with research assistance from Angela Cummine.

Published 10 March 2010

Social Science and Family Policies

Social Science and Family Policies explores the significance of social science research in issues such as

• family break-up and reconstitution;
• non-parental care;
• abuse and deprivation;
• drug use;
• and the role of communities in child well-being.

The report uses the family to illustrate that while politics is required to settle questions of value, social science is needed to establish causality and to develop effective policies.

Working group chaired by Michael Rutter.

Published 23 February 2010