Understanding and Explaining Management Practices to Promote Higher Productivity in UK Businesses

Lead Research Organisation: King's College London
Department Name: King's Business School

Abstract

Our Management and Expectations Survey (MES), cited in the ESRC call, arose from a partnership between the ONS and ESCoE: it is the largest ever survey of UK management capabilities, executed on a population of 25,000 firms across industries, regions, firm sizes and ages documenting the variable quality of management practices across UK businesses. Our analysis found a significant relationship between management practices and labour productivity amongst UK firms, and examined whether certain types of firms have poor management practices and stagnant productivity, drawing conclusions about the links between them, ONS (2018). This team, with two seminal contributors to management practice and performance (Bloom, Stanford, and Van Reenen, MIT) who initiated the World Management Survey, partners from the ONS (Awano, Dolby, Vyas, Wales), and the Director and Fellows of the ESCoE (Riley, Mizen, Senga, Sleeman) at the NIESR, will investigate five issues:
1. Longitudinal changes in management practices and performance
The initial MES offers a cross section of variation in management practices and expectations between firms, but it does not explore variations within businesses through time due to the missing longitudinal dimension to the data. A second wave of the MES will expand our scope of analysis so that we can interpret how management practices in the UK have varied over time. This extension addresses the 'broad consensus' from the recent ESRC-ONS workshop that 'there is not enough longitudinal data around productivity that allows for consistent, ongoing analysis, and in particular data that enables researchers to identify, isolate and accurately measure changes over time.'
2. International comparisons
Drawing on our links through Bloom and Van Reenen with the US Management and Organizational Practices Survey (MOPS) at the US Census Bureau will enable us to i) test identical hypotheses using their methods and variables to draw research insights that help identify causal drivers of productivity at the firm level, and compare and contrast the UK and US data; ii) draw together a unique joint ONS-Census Bureau methodological forum for collecting the most useful micro-data for measuring management, investment and hiring intentions for UK and US firms. Similar data collection exercises have been taking place across other countries. We have established links with German and Japanese teams and we intend to discuss key differences, e.g. between the US and European business environments, and similarities, e.g. the Japanese experience of low productivity.
3. Analysis of linked business surveys and administrative data
Partnership between academic researchers and ONS facilitates the matching of data from other sources to answer key questions around: a) management and firms' ability to cope with uncertainty by linking MES responses to trade data, administrative data on VAT, R&D expenditure, and patenting data, and exploiting variation across firms in exposure to EU markets through supply chains and export destination of goods; b) evidence of superior innovation, R&D and export performance from evidence of how business innovation and exporting varies across firms and over time in response to management practices and cultures. This will directly inform practical lessons for UK businesses.
4. Experimental analysis using big data
We will use natural language processing and machine learning to investigate big data from job-search companies to objectively identify the factors that affect staff satisfaction and performance in the UK. Matching to the MES and other micro datasets we will examine links between mental health and management practices.
5. Randomised control trials
Nearly 9,000 responding businesses in the MES sought 'feedback' on their management score. By varying feedback to respondents we will observe in collaboration with BIT (the 'Nudge Unit') and CMI the impact on firm's subsequent adaptation and performance.

Planned Impact

We will take a number of steps to ensure effective impact.

Government:

1. Informing, implementing, and evaluating The UK's Industrial Strategy
The key structure of our pathways is the collaboration that we have developed between ESCoE and ONS, and the links we have built with HM Treasury and BEIS that allow us to work towards shaping the UK's Industrial Strategy. During our initial design of the 2017 MES survey we worked collaboratively at the pilot and implementation stages, we published the results of the survey as joint working papers, and engaged in conference and dissemination activities together (Royal Economic Society Conference 2018; ESCoE Economic Measurement Conference 2018; ONS website posts). We intend to continue this established pattern of collaboration at all stages of this project. We will provide policymakers with timely basic information on firm responses and data analysis using state-of-the-art methods to produce results suitable for policy advice.

2. Providing inputs to the HM Treasury-BEIS Business Productivity Review
Recently, the results of the MES survey were cited in the Call for Evidence in the HM Treasury-BEIS Business Productivity Review. We submitted evidence and were encouraged to develop further our evidence base by extending the MES. Our second wave of the MES will provide vital information to improve understanding of the links between performance and management practices. Upon the upcoming release of the government's modern Industrial Strategy in Autumn 2018, we will resume our meetings with BEIS to fashion our second wave MES survey and link to appropriate micro-datasets to ensure we answer key questions.

3. We will engage with the Bank of England Agents' Network (12 Agents operate across the country) through Rosie Smith (East Midlands Agent based on University of Nottingham campus) to share best management practice and explore the possibility of an Agents' survey on business' views on the effects of management practice on productivity.

Business:

1. ONS direct business engagement - survey feedback to businesses
Making use of the feedback option for MES respondents we will conduct an RCT in collaboration with the Behavioural Insights Team (Nudge Unit), observing the impact of feedback on management and performance versus a control group in the second wave of the MES survey. The results will provide insights on the effectiveness of support, advice and knowledge exchange to businesses and the adoption of best practice.

2. BEIS - regional Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs)
The UK business community is divided by BEIS into 38 regional LEPs but data is not routinely collected or analysed on performance and practice. As we discover the practices that are associated with better performance and productivity by using our survey responses and links to other micro datasets we will engage with businesses through the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) networks to communicate interventions that work well. We will create a Business Engagement Usergroup to advise us on how best to communicate our findings to business comprising members from McKinsey, CBI, CMI, BEIS, LEPs, Be the Business.

Academics:

1. Conferences
a) three annual one-day conferences in June organised by NIESR, QMUL and Nottingham, combining academics, media, policy makers, interested members of the public and our international network of 75 ESCoE researchers and fellows.
b) three annual SITE uncertainty conferences (Stanford) and Empirical Management Conferences (Harvard, MIT and Stanford) organised by Bloom/Van Reenen.

2. External-facing workshops organised by ONS and ESCoE. We will also communicate findings to policymakers via the ESCoE Advisory Board.

3. We will engage with the ESRC Coordination and Evidence Hub, sharing our findings and inviting other participants to our events.
 
Description We have improved survey methods:
We have contributed significantly to improving survey methods, developing a longitudinal survey of management practices and expectations of UK businesses. The survey was updated with Covid-19 questions prior to placement in the field in September 2020, to also be able to document the ability of better- (worse-) managed firms to respond to shocks.

Our survey has generated new knowledge about:
1. How management practices lead to better business performance.
We link a new UK management survey covering 8,000 firms to data on productivity in manufacturing and services. There is a large variation in management practices, which are highly correlated with productivity, profitability and size. We find that better managed firms make more accurate forecasts of GDP and of their own turnover. We also show better managed firms appear aware that their forecasts are more accurate. These stylized facts suggest that one reason for the superior performance of better managed firms is that they knowingly make more accurate forecasts, enabling them to make superior operational and strategic choices.
2. Business resilience to shocks.
We demonstrated using a new UK management survey that better managed firms were more resilient and more able to adapt and innovate during Covid, accepting the move to working from home and adopting online sales to replace in-person sales when required. This provided firms with more resilience, and these practices meant that the UK economy declined by less than it would have done without this resilience.
3. Who wants to improve their management.
Data show management practices are robustly correlated with superior performance, and firms can change these practices year-on-year, yet wide dispersion of management quality persists. Combining evidence from four business surveys we seek to explain why so few firms seek to improve their management practices. We identify the characteristics of firms that have made improvements in their management practices between 2016 and 2020, and which firms wanted to improve. When we examine the evidence on subjective barriers to improvement, lack of time and resources are barriers to improvement, but for more than half of firms it is a failure to identify any barriers to improving management practices. These firms have poorer managers.

Our analysis of a novel dataset of online employee reviews has generated new knowledge:
We analysed online employee reviews, from Indeed's UK website, to enhance our understanding of job quality. Keywords within the reviews were extracted and then clustered to form the first data-driven and multi-level Quality of Work Taxonomy for the UK. The resulting taxonomy includes several new dimensions of job quality, and could inform the development of an official taxonomy. Analysis of the taxonomy shows that the emphasis placed on different dimensions of work quality has shifted over time, with a marked increase in references to culture, atmosphere and the broader workplace environment. Our analysis also reveals differences between occupations; workers in some occupations value pay and rewards, while others value the workplace atmosphere and environment.
Exploitation Route This funding has led to the establishment of a longitudinal survey of UK businesses, the "Management and Expectations Survey". The survey can be used to inform UK growth policy and to improve understanding of the UK productivity puzzle.

The dataset and methods, developed as part of our analysis of online employee reviews, could form a useful early warning system to detect changes in the drivers of work quality and to measure the impact of new working practices.
Sectors Creative Economy

Education

Financial Services

and Management Consultancy

Government

Democracy and Justice

Manufacturing

including Industrial Biotechology

Retail

Other

URL https://mes-survey.org/
 
Description Establishment of a longitudinal survey of UK businesses "Management and Expectations Survey". This survey has been used to inform UK growth policy. The survey is gaining wide usage by the academic and policy communities to improve understanding of the UK productivity puzzle, the role of intangible assets in determining productivity, and to inform the development of business support programmes such as "Help to Grow" and their evaluation. The precedence set by the Management and Expectations Survey 2020 has led to the development and conduct of a third wave of the survey (implemented by ONS and funded by HMT) and the development of a Public Sector Management Practices Survey as part of the ONS Public Services Productivity Review established in response to the Chancellor's plans to boost productivity in public services.
First Year Of Impact 2021
Sector Creative Economy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Retail
Impact Types Societal

Economic

Policy & public services

 
Description 19/12/2023 - Paul Mizen - Catherine Mann Meeting
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact Looked at the current output of the DMP project as well as looking at areas of economic uncertainty for the future.
URL https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/catherine-mann/biography
 
Description 25/10/2023 - Paul Mizen - talk for Elgin Advisory to a large audience of professional economists online.
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact Sharing ideas with other Economists
URL https://www.elginadvisory.com/
 
Description 29/11/2023 - Paul Mizen - Huw Pill Meeting, Bank of England to discuss DMP
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact Looking to the future of the DMP, and how to incorporate the current economic uncertainty factors
URL https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/people/huw-pill/biography
 
Description Citation of MES research in The Economic 2030 Inquiry, Resolution Foundation
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Citation in other policy documents
URL https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Ending-stagnation-final-repo...
 
Description Feedback to businesses on their management practices
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description HM Treasury about the effectiveness of super deduction policy and full expensing in July 2023 (audience of senior officials);
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Discussed the effectiveness of super deduction policy and full expensing with senior officials
 
Description MES Advisory Group
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Development of the third wave of the Management and Expectations Survey (MES2023).
 
Description Meeting with MPC External Members 13 March 2023
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Raising awareness of economic measurement challenges and opportunities to develop better data with key policy makers and economic statistics users.
 
Description Meeting with MPC and FPC 23 May 2023
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Raising awareness of economic measurement challenges and opportunities to develop better data with key policy makers and economic statistics users.
 
Description NISRA implementation of MES2023
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact Implementation of the Management and Expectations Survey 2023 and extension of its coverage to Northern Ireland.
 
Description ONS Economic Experts Working Group
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Development of economic statistics, including new surveys.
URL https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/programmesandprojects/economicstatisticstransformation/engag...
 
Description Public Sector Management Practices Survey Expert Advisory Group
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Development of the ONS Public Sector Management Practices Survey
 
Description Visit with PSE and INSEE
Geographic Reach Europe 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Regular meetings with PSE and INSEE to foster joint research development and organisational learning to enhance collaboration between academia and statistics producers.
 
Description COVID-19: Measuring the effects of Covid-19 on businesses and the UK economy
Amount £667,485 (GBP)
Funding ID ES/V004387/1 
Organisation Economic and Social Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2020 
End 11/2022
 
Title Reduced set of MES survey questions 
Description ONS explored the suitability of a reduced set of MES survey questions that could be used in other surveys to provide an indication of a firm's management practices without the need for the full MES scoring framework. Results have been developed based on various methods used to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of a reduced question set. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact The recommendations were shared with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS). 
 
Title Distribution of management practices scores by region and industry 
Description ONS produced percentile distribution of management practices scores by ITL1 region, and ITL1 region x industry. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2023 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Anna Stansbury from MIT Sloan School of Management has requested the data output to study regional differences in management capacity. The data provide new insights compared to previous data releases: ITL1 region x industry split of a distribution of MES scores for 2017, 2019 and 2020. 
URL https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/economicoutputandproductivity/productivitymeasures/adhocs/15633distri...
 
Title Management Expectations Survey 2020 (MES) 
Description This project commissioned and developed in partnership with the Office for National Statistics the 2020 Management and Expectations Survey (MES) to collect information from businesses in both the services and production industries about their management practices and expectations for their business in the future. Built on the first-wave MES conducted in 2017, MES 2020 has embraced several developments, including switching from paper to online, a larger sampling frame (increased from 25,000 to 50,000 firms), a more developed sampling strategy, and the inclusion of COVID-19-related questions to cater for emerging research and policy interests. The survey went live on the 9th November 2020 and ran until the end of December 2020. Results are anticipated to be released in Spring 2021. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact The information will be used to further investigate how management practices and uncertainty relate to productivity, as well as gauge businesses' expectations of Great Britain's economic climate in the near future. The data may be used by the government to inform policy-making on the economy and by other relevant institutions for research and decision-making. This may also be beneficial to businesses as the published statistics can be used as a benchmark to compare their business against the same, or across different, sectors. 
URL https://www.ons.gov.uk/surveys/informationforbusinesses/businesssurveys/managementandexpectations
 
Title Management and Expectations Survey closed 
Description
Type Of Material Data analysis technique 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact
 
Title Management and Expectations Survey quality control and deposit in Secure Research Service 
Description Survey and deposit in SRS 
Type Of Material Data analysis technique 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact
 
Title Management benchmarking tool 
Description We created a benchmarking tool publicly available and hosted on the website: Management Research (https://managementresearch.com). It is based on the management survey and managers can identify their relative position in terms of operational efficiency and structured management practices, enabling them to improve their operations. 
Type Of Material Computer model/algorithm 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact An international collaboration emerged, involving researchers from policy institutions like the World Bank and national statistical agencies like the US census bureau, comparing management and productivity implications across countries. 
URL https://managementresearch.com/
 
Title UK business responses to Covid-19 
Description Webscraped data, regularly (fortnightly) collected information on responses to Covid-19 from business websites and news sources from February 2020 for 12 months based on set of keywords. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2020 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact These data will be linked to other data sets to help to understand and monitor the responses of UK businesses to the Covid-19 crisis. Analysis is currently underway. 
 
Description Be the Business 
Organisation Be the Business
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. An agreement has been entered into between ESCoE (NIESR) and Be the Business to carry out a programme of mentoring interventions as part of the Random Control Trial (RCT). Businesses completing the MES will be invited to sign up to take part in RCT and mentoring programme, when receiving feedback on their results from the MES.
Collaborator Contribution Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials (RCT). Be the Business have agreed to carry out a programme of mentoring interventions as part of the RCT with respondents to the MES2020 survey who have agreed to participate. An agreement with ESCoE (NIESR) and Be the Business has been entered into. The work will be undertaken as an in-kind contribution and is due to begin spring 2021. - Roundtable meeting with Be the Business's intervention delivery partners to discuss collaboration on evaluation of interventions to promote better management. - Business Engagement Group meeting 7 January with participants from BEIS, Cass Business School, Chartered Management Institute, CBI; NIESR
Impact No outputs yet, RCT scheduled to begin spring 2021.
Start Year 2019
 
Description CBI 
Organisation Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
Department Confederation of British Industries
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings.
Collaborator Contribution Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials. Have agreed to help trial the letter of engagement with survey respondents with a member panel (to do).
Impact No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Cass Business School 
Organisation City, University of London
Department Cass Business School
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings.
Collaborator Contribution Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials.
Impact No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Chartered Management Institute (CMI) 
Organisation Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings.
Collaborator Contribution Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials.
Impact No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy 
Organisation Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings.
Collaborator Contribution Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials.
Impact No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020.
Start Year 2019
 
Description McKinsey 
Organisation McKinsey & Company
Department McKinsey & Company, UK
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings.
Collaborator Contribution Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials.
Impact No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020.
Start Year 2019
 
Description ONS 
Organisation Office for National Statistics
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Advised, supported and helped develop the Management Expectations Survey 2020, with regular project meetings to discuss: questions to be included with additional questions relating to Covid-19; survey format (moved from paper to online); and sampling to maximise research applications as well as policy use. Worked with ONS project team to gain ethical approval from ONS for Random Control Trial (RCT).
Collaborator Contribution Developed the Management Expectations Survey 2020 (MES). Survey live date delayed due to Covid-19. Developed and finalised questions in collaboration with research team, including questions on Covid-19; moved survey from paper to electronic survey as result of Covid-19. Survey went live 9th November 2020 with data collection to 12 Mar 21, including telephone response chasing (from 11 Jan) to increase the response rate and remove measurement error. To date more than 6,000 phone calls have been made. Provided advice and support on RCT and support in obtaining ethical approval for RCT from ONS. ONS MES team published a blog (ONS intranet, 19 Nov 2020) to increase MES exposure within ONS. The blog post was picked up in several internal meetings. ONS MES team provided briefing document for the ONS Chief Economist, Grant Fitzner (18 Dec 2020), with the aim of increasing visibility within ONS. Presented MES design to Cabinet Office (5 Mar 2021), to inform ongoing policy development surrounding business support, homeworking and supply chain disruptions. Seven members of ONS personnel worked on the MES 2020 in 2020. Member of the MES Business Engagement Group (BEG). Conference paper proposal stemming from ongoing research on business demography and the organisation of the firm, which used MES data accepted at the annual ESCoE conference on Economic Measurement 2021, 11-13 May 21. Conference paper abstract by the ONS team exploring the initial findings of MES2020 has been accepted for the IARIW-ESCoE conference on Intangibles to be held June 2021.
Impact Management Expectations Survey 2020
Start Year 2019
 
Description The Behavioural Insights Team 
Organisation Behavioural Insights Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Created and convened an expert panel - the MES Business Engagement Group, with members from business, government, business management and academia to provide a two-way conversation to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings.
Collaborator Contribution Member of MES Business Engagement Group created to help shape the research design and to disseminate research findings. Group providing particular support and advice on the MES 2020 survey and engagement with respondents and advice on conducting the Random Control Trials.
Impact No outputs yet, MES survey to be conducted July 2020.
Start Year 2019
 
Description 11/10/2023 - Nick Bloom - Estimating The Impact of Brexit - Wharton University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation on Estimating the Impact of Brexit to Wharton University
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description 12/10/2023 - Nick Bloom - Estimating The Impact of Brexit - Yale University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation on Estimating The Impact of Brexit to Yale University
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description 12th CompNet Annual Conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Jakob Schneebacher presented 'Managing to Adapt: Structured Management Practices and Firm Resilience' at the 12th CompNet Annual Conference, 19-20 October 2023, Brussels.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description 2023 - References In Other Publications 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Speech by Ben Broadbent, Member of the MPC, Signal Versus Noise, December 2023
Speech by Megan Greene, Member of the MPC, Are We There Yet? A Journey into Monetary Policy And Medium-Term Factors, November 2023
Speech by Dave Ramsden, Member of the MPC, Back to the Future, November 2023
Speech by Jonathan Haskel, Member of the MPC, Implications of Current Wage Inflation, November 2023
Speech by Catherine L. Mann, Member of the MPC, Inflation Models and Research: Distilling Dynamics For Monetary Policy Decision-Making, September 2023
Monetary Policy Report, October 2023, p. 20, p. 98
VoxEU Profits In A Time Of Inflation: Some Insights From Recent And Past Energy Shocks In The UK, September 2023
Monetary Policy Summary and Minutes, September 2023, p. 5, p. 7
Report Reveals Impact Of COVID-19 Research And Innovation Funding (UKRI), September 2023
Speech by Catherine L. Mann, Member of the MPC, Inflation Models and Research: Distilling Dynamics For Monetary Policy Decision Making, September 2023
Monetary Policy Report, August 2023, p. 10, p. 49, p. 66-69, p. 88
Slides From Huw Pill, Recent Experiences In Macroeconomic Forecasting, June 2023
Monetary Policy Summary and Minutes, June 2023, p. 7
Monetary Policy Report, May 2023, p. 22, p. 47-48, p. 68-69, p. 77-78, p. 84-86
Speech by Huw Pill, Inflation Persistence and Monetary Policy, April 2023
Monetary Policy Summary and Minutes, March 2023, p. 11
Speech by Huw Pill, Member of the MPC, Gauging (dis)Inflationary Pressures: Comparing Tools and Current Findings, February 2023, Slides, 7, 9-10
Speech by Catherine L. Mann, Member of the MPC, Turning Points and Monetary Policy Strategy
Monetary Policy Summary and Minutes, February 2023, p. 50-51, p. 53, p. 55, p.62, p.87-88
Monetary Policy Report, February 2023, p. 88
Speech by Huw Pill, Member of the MPC, UK Monetary Policy Outlook, January 2023
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://decisionmakerpanel.co.uk/references-in-other-publications/
 
Description 21/0/2023 - Phil Bunn - Management & Big Data - Venice - Impact of Brexit on UK Firms 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact What data firms collect, how they use them, and whether they have tools in place that facilitate data driven decision making, including machine learning and AI based methods, is at the core of modern productivity studies. As is the question of what facilitates or hinders adoption of these modern methods. With this workshop the organizers brought together researchers to discuss the state of affairs and push the frontier of knowledge on these extremely important questions.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.cesifo.org/en/vsi23-big-data
 
Description 25/10/2023 - Nick Bloom - Estimating The Impact of Brexit - Davis University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presenation on Estimating the Impact of Brexit to Davis University
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description 5th July 2023: Bart van Ark, Rebecca Riley and Anthony Venables present expert panel at: CEP-POID Economy 2030 Inquiry Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact 5th July 2023: Bart van Ark, Rebecca Riley and Anthony Venables present expert panel at: CEP-POID Economy 2030 Inquiry Workshop.
The event brought together academics and policy stakeholders to inform ongoing work in the Economy 2030 inquiry. Presented in the London School of Economics
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/events/event.asp?index=8996
 
Description Assisi Workshop April 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation of 'Who Wants to Improve their Management? Evidence from a Failed Experiment' - Rebecca Riley - at "The Future of Education, Skills and Productivity. A Tribute to Geoff Mason", held on April 28 and 29, 2023, Assisi.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Business Engagement Group workshop March 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Understanding and Explaining Management Practices to Promote Higher Productivity in UK Businesses
MES Business Engagement Group, Workshop 23 March 2022

Morning 10:00-12:00:
10:00-10:20 Project overview and objectives (Rebecca Riley, KCL)
10:20-10:50 Do well managed firms make better forecasts? (Taka Kawakubo, LSE)
10:50-11:20 What is the state of management in Great Britain? Evidence from MES2020 (Jakob Schneebacher, ONS)
11:20-11:50 Who wants to improve their management? Evidence from the MES (Charlotte Meng, NIESR)

Afternoon 13:30-15:30
13:30-14:00 Building a data-driven taxonomy of job quality (Cath Sleeman, Nesta)
14:00-14:30 International comparisons with the MES (Tatsuro Senga, QMUL)
14:30-15:00 Did better managed firms also cope with Covid-19 better? (Wei Li, Nottingham)
15:00-15:20 MES going forward (Paul Mizen, Nottingham)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Cambridge TPI workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation "Managing to grow: Evidence from new longitudinal business data"
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Cath Sleeman presenting at EM2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Cath Sleeman presented 'Extracting drivers of job quality from online employee reviews' at the ESCoE annual conference 2023.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.escoe.ac.uk/em2023-contributed-sessions-2/
 
Description Contributed paper at RES annual conference, 12-14 April 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation of Managing Expectations by Taka Kawakubo
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.res.org.uk/event-listing/res-conference-overview/2021-annual-conference.html
 
Description Detailed feedback to UK businesses on their management performance Apr-May 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Provided via website with login code. Outreach via email (ONS and CBI).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description EM2023 Special Session on Productivity and Management 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Rebecca Riley organised and spoke at a Special Session on Management and Productivity at the annual conference of the ESCoE May 2023. The session included presentations and a panel discussion with Tera Allas (McKinsey&Co), Nick Bloom (Stanford), James Phipps (Nesta), and Dan Mawson (Dept for Business and Trade).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.escoe.ac.uk/em2023-special-sessions/
 
Description ESCoE Economic Measurement Webinar - Cath Sleeman 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Cath Sleeman presented "Extracting Dimensions of Job Quality from Online Employee Reviews"
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PohVByblLzo
 
Description ESRC UKRI Productivity Programme Board - 4 May 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Presentation to and discussion with the ESRC UKRI Productivity Programme Board regarding productivity measurement and data gaps.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Economic Measurement Group 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation: "Managing to grow: Evidence from new longitudinal business data"
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Empirical Management Conference 2022 - John Van Reenen 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Keynote presentation at the Empirical Management Conference, Washington DC, December 2022: "The Natural Laws of Management"
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Empirical Management Conference 2022 - Paul Mizen 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Presentation at the Empirical Management Conference 2022, Washington DC: "Who wants to improve their management?"
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description GES Darlington presentation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Jakob Schneebacher presented 'Managing to Adapt: Structured Management Practices and Firm Resilience' at the Government Economic Service, Launch and Learn event, Darlington, 14 November 2023
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Government Economic Service - presentation by Jakob Schneebacher 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Presentation of Management and Expectations Survey related research to the Government Economic Service, February 2022
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description IARIW-ESCoE Conference on Intangible Assets 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW), in partnership with the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE), held a conference on the measurement of intangible assets and their implications for growth and productivity, at RSA House, London, 11-12 November 2021.

The aim of the conference was to bring together academics, statisticians, policymakers and other data users, interested in the measurement of intangibles, to take forward an agenda for understanding the importance of these rapidly growing investments.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.escoe.ac.uk/events/iariw-escoe-conference-on-intangible-capitals/
 
Description Knowledge, skills, behaviours: An international workshop on the systematic analysis of job vacancy data 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact I gave a 25 minute presentation at the workshop: "Knowledge, skills, behaviours: An international workshop on the systematic analysis of job vacancy data".

Description: The workshop - part of the project "Digital Skills in Apprenticeships" - focuses on the systematic analysis of job skills at a granular level and changes affecting occupational roles when making use of large and unstructured data and applied data analytics, in particular text analytics. The workshop will take place at the School of Business and Law, University of Brighton on 13 October 2022 from 8:30 - 17:30 BST and is co-organised by the University of Zurich (Switzerland), and IAB, Nuremberg (Germany).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description MES website 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Website created to bring together research that used the Management and Expectations Survey
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://mes-survey.org/
 
Description Nick Bloom - 16/01/2023 - Estimating The Impact of Brexit - Chicago University 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact presentation given to main academic on Estimating the Impact of Brexit
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.uchicago.edu/en
 
Description Nick Bloom - 31/03/2023 - IMF - Estimating The Impact of Brexit 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact presentation given to 100 Academics & Policy Makers
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.imf.org/en/Home
 
Description November 2023 - Paul Mizen - senior officials from DLUHC 15 to talk about DMP data 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Talk/presentation to present and discuss key finding from the DMP data
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-levelling-up-housing-and-communities
 
Description POID LSE presentation - Charlotte Meng 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Seminar presentation of "Who want to improve their management?". Feedback received from POID researchers.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentation at Economic and Social Research Institute - Cabinet Office 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Presented a list of research findings on firm expectations and macroeconomic performance based on my research, elaborating more for policy-making perspectives and stimulating discussions on Japanese policy in productivity and growth.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Presentation at KBS Econ Research Day 15 December 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Presentation of 'Managing to Adapt: Structured Management Practices and Firm Resilience'.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Presentation of final results to Indeed.com 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact I presented the final results of this research project to a group of approximately 20 international economists and data scientists from Indeed.com (the data provider), at their monthly technical meeting.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Presentation to Social Finance 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact I was invited to present our research on improving Labour Market Information to Social Finance (https://www.socialfinance.org.uk/). They are a not-for-profit focussed on tackling societal challenges in the UK and globally. My presentation included a section on measuring job quality using employee reviews.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Presentations at Nottingham-CMA workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Rebecca Riley presented "Who Wants to Improve their Management? Evidence from a Failed Experiment"
Jakob Schneebacher presented "Managing to Adapt: Structured Management Practices and Firm Resilience"
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description ProPEL Critical Friend Reflection event (ESRC Hub) at Nottingham June 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation and discussion of findings regarding engagement with feedback and others lessons from RCT
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Productivity Puzzles Podcast: Can we still measure productivity in the modern economy? 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The one big question anyone working on productivity issues gets most is: how do you actually measure it? How do we count what we make? And can we capture everything needed to produce products and services? And can economists and statisticians keep up with the rapid changes in today's modern economy?

To answer these questions, host Bart van Ark is joined by Josh Martin, Head of Productivity at the Office for National Statistics, Rebecca Riley, director of the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence and Professor of Practice at King's Business School and Jonathan Haskel, Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School. Together they discuss productivity measurement from the widget counting days of economist founding father Adam Smith to today's methods that include the service economy, new technologies, worker well-being and the environment.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/can-we-still-measure-productivity-in-the-modern-economy/id1567...
 
Description Productivity Puzzles, April 2022: Staying Productive In Uncertain Times 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact How do we respond to uncertainties that crises create? Are they holding us back in investing, hiring and innovating? Or can crises make us more agile and resilient, perhaps even more creative and inventive? How do we balance risks and opportunities? And what might that mean for productivity?

The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit and the renewed level of geopolitical uncertainty from the war in Ukraine will upset our economies, businesses, jobs and living standards for years to come.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://pod.co/productivity-puzzles/staying-productive-in-uncertain-times
 
Description RES Special Session sponsored by Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Royal Economic Society Annual Conference 2023: Special Session on Productivity sponsored by Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow. Rebecca Riley moderated a discussion with Chad Syverson, John Van Reenen and Miaojie Yu.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Rebecca Riley is interview on BBC radio 4 about French productivity growth and what the UK can learn 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact 2nd February 2023- Rebecca Riley is interviewed as part of a panel on The Bottom Line radio show on BBC Radio 4 about French productivity growth and what the UK can learn.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hnn3
 
Description Resolution Foundation 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Third sector organisations
Results and Impact A presentation to the Resolution Foundation on May 12th, showing preliminary results and discussing the implications.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Royal Economic Society Keynote - Nick Bloom 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Nick Bloom gave the Hahn Lecture at the annual conference of the Royal Economic Society 2022, chaired by Rebecca Riley.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Special Session on 'Missing Capitals' at RES annual conference, 14 April 2021 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact TPI-ESCoE-ONS special session on "Missing Capitals" at RES 2021 annual conference, including paper on intangible capitals and management; broadcast by Bloomberg.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.res.org.uk/event-listing/annual-conference/res2021-special-sessions.html
 
Description TPI Productivity Lab Special Session at RES Annual Conference 2023 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Rebecca Riley presented and discussed the development of and research using the Management and Expectations Survey at a TPI Productivity Lab Special Session at the RES Annual Conference 2023.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description University of Nottingham and ESRC PrOPEL Hub event 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact University of Nottingham and ESRC PrOPEL Hub event 
Reimagine Management and Productivity in a Post-pandemic World:
Trends and Lessons on Building a Productive Workforce

Presentation of:
Understanding and Explaining Management Practices to Promote Higher Productivity in UK Businesses: Helping firms to grow through better management

and panel discussion
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.propelhub.org/reimagine-management-and-productivity-in-a-post-pandemic-world/
 
Description Venice Summer Institute 2023 presentations 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Paul Mizen presented 'Who Wants to Improve Their Management? Evidence from UK Microdata' and Charlotte Meng presented 'Do Well Managed Firms Make Better Forecasts?' at the Venice Summer Institute 2023: Decision Making in Firms - Big Data and Management Practices, CESifo.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.cesifo.org/en/vsi23-big-data
 
Description VoxEU Post, February 2024: Managers Say Working from Home Is Here To Stay 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The Covid-19 pandemic led to a dramatic increase in remote work across the world. This column uses new firm-level data from the UK to study expectations about working from home. Managers forecast levels of remote work within their own firms in 2028 that are almost identical to the levels in 2023. But aggregate working from home could still increase as younger firms tend to make more use of remote working, and they are likely to grow more quickly in the future. Matching this survey data to detailed firm accounts data shows that firms with higher levels of working from home have higher productivity and lower wage growth.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2024
URL https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/managers-say-working-home-here-stay
 
Description VoxEU Post, January 2022: 'Potential Capital', Working From Home, And Economic Resilience 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The impact of an economic shock depends both on its severity and the resilience of the response. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a widespread decline in recorded GDP, but this was buffered by an unprecedented and spontaneous deployment of 'potential capital' - the dwelling/residential capital and connective technologies used while working from home. This column estimates that together, potential capital and labour working from home provided additional output margins and capacity which roughly halved the decline in GDP in the US and revises downwards the estimated total productivity gains in the business sector during the pandemic.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/potential-capital-working-home-and-economic-resilience