Timothy Charles Leunig (born 26 February 1971) is an economist at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

's Department of Economic History. After a long career as a special advisor, he became a director at the economic consultants Public First.

Education

Leunig attended

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School (SJWMS) is an all boys' grammar school with academy status in Rochester, Kent, and a co-ed sixthform, also referred to as ''Rochester Math'' or ''The Math School''. The school was founded by the ...

, a boy's

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about east-southeast of London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, ...

. Leunig gained a 1st class BA degree in modern history and economics, and then an MPhil in economics in 1994, and a DPhil in economics in 1996, all from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. He won the George Webb Medley Junior and Senior Prize in 1992 and 1994 at Oxford. From the

Economic History Association The Economic History Association (EHA) was founded in 1940 to "encourage and promote teaching, research, and publication on every phase of economic history and to help preserve and administer materials for research in economic history". It publi ...

, he won their

Alexander Gerschenkron Alexander Gerschenkron (; 1 October 1904 – 26 October 1978) was an American economic historian and professor at Harvard University, trained in the German Historical School of economics. Born into a Jewish family in Odessa, then part of the ...

prize in 1997.

Career

In 1998, Leunig joined the London School of Economics. From January 2011 to October 2012, he was Chief Economist at the think tank

CentreForum The Education Policy Institute (EPI) is an education policy think tank that aims to promote high-quality education outcomes through research and analysis. It is based at 150 Buckingham Palace Road, in central London. History It was formed in 2016 ...

. Leunig has written for ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', ''

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

'' and ''

Inside Housing ''Inside Housing'' is a monthly trade publication that covers the United Kingdom's social housing sector. The magazine was first published on 30 March 1984, and is part of Ocean Media Group. The headquarters is in London. In 2007, the majority st ...

''. Leunig was the editor of ''

Explorations in Economic History ''Explorations in Economic History'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of quantitative economic history. It follows the quantitative or formal approaches that have been called cliometrics or the new economic history, applied to any place and ti ...

'' between 2008 and 2012. He was Economic Advisor to

Sajid Javid Sir Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the ...

and

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

when they served as

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

. Leunig was the chief scientific adviser at the Department for Education between 2014 and 2017. From 7 September 2023 to 6 October 2023 he was the adviser to UK Prime Minister

on education.

Research interests

Leunig is interested in the

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...

of Britain's labour force, from a current or historical perspective. He is known to compare the state of Britain's economy with Britain in the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

Personal life

Leunig married Julia Cerutti in 1996 in north Oxfordshire, who attended

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College (full name = Principal and Council of St. Hilda's College, Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon saint Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a ...

, from 1989 to 1992. He is a keen gardener, and his garden, with a stream and waterfall, is part of the

National Garden Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

. He has been supportive of the Kingston upon Thames Liberal Democrats.

References

External links

GOV.UK

LSE
* 1971 births Academics of the London School of Economics Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford British economists British economic historians Living people Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford People educated at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School People from Kingston upon Thames People from Rochester, Kent {{UK-economist-stub