Neil Lee

@neillee.bsky.social

3.4K followers 640 following 520 posts

Professor of Economic Geography, LSE

Videos

Economics 45%

Political science 21%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 15h

Europe's innovation problem

New WP with Herbertson, Storper, Soskice, and Pardy

researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/13...

Income, sovereignty, and cohesion: the political economy of Europe’s first mover innovation deficit

researchonline.lse.ac.uk

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 7d

Just found about it now, so no! I'd actually done another urgent one that morning - it's a bind because you don't want to be the reason a former student doesn't get a job

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 7d

Had a reference request at 9.47pm on Saturday night asking for the reference 'ideally' by midnight

Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Dave O’Brien, Neil Lee

Paul Nightingale @paulnightingale.bsky.social · 8d

Quick science policy thread 1

Changes in the governance of UK science since the mid 1980s make it extremely hard to be strategic (that was the point), in terms of both process (dropped) and capability (hollowed out).

Reposted by Neil Lee

Richard Jones @richardaljones.bsky.social · 8d

"All around us – in our homes, in everyday life, in our hobbies and pastimes – we can see, if we care to look, the products of all kinds of technological innovation in products & the materials that make them, that collectively lead to overall economic growth"
softmachines.org?p=3249

Rock climbing and the economics of innovation (revisited) – Soft Machines, by Richard Jones

softmachines.org

Reposted by Neil Lee

Richard Jones @richardaljones.bsky.social · 8d

Rock-climber Alex Honnold is in the news again, for climbing solo a Taipei skyscraper - an excuse to recycle this old post of mine about the importance of technological innovation in climbing, (contrary to the claims of a well-known economist).

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 11d

Ha! I'm not sure - I will try and check later but I think your resident point is a good one...

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 11d

Huge caveats on the data but GVA per head in Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire actually fell relative to the national average between 1998 - 2023

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 11d

Smartphones have reduced crime but made everyone unhappy. So maybe we actually liked crime?

Reposted by Neil Lee

Luke Murphy MP @lukemurphy.bsky.social · 11d

🧵 1/4 Yesterday I sat down with the @livingstandardsc.bsky.social, the @coopparty.party.coop, and several colleagues and experts to discuss how we can deliver growth felt by communities.

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 11d

confidence intervals: 1.1 in Greater Manchester, 0.7 in London so I think any errors broader than that

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 11d

Actually let me do confidence intervals and report back

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 11d

There is a nice paper on sampling error in Ashe which I think may be similar to the issues in the GVA (under sampling small firms), but I think a little more reliable because easier to attribute wage data than output

I should have done confidence intervals but I think 2-5%

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 12d

We need a Southern Powerhouse to rebalance the economy

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 12d

My contribution to the 'is Manchester growing' debate

GVA data looks fishy, but ASHE data on wages seem to show some convergence (with caveats)

(Source: ASHE, resident analysis)

Reposted by Dave O’Brien, Peter Campbell, Neil Lee , and 2 more Dave O’Brien, Peter Campbell, Neil Lee, Andrew Bell, Jon Dean

Mark Taylor @markrt.co.uk · 17d

work with me and @drdaveobrien.bsky.social as part of @creativepec.bsky.social! we're recruiting a postdoc to work on the arts, culture and heritage sectors using quantitative methods. please share, please feel free to email me directly with any Qs! jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Sheffiel...

Research Associate in Creative Industries (Quantitative)

jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk

Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 19d

JOB! I'm hiring a postdoc for 2 years on my ERC MaMo project.

Looking for someone with strong quant methods, ongoing work close to the project's aims, and a desire to publish in sociology. Start flexible in the next 12 months.

Formal call out shortly, but contact me first.

Markets and Mobility: How Employers Structure Economic Opportunity

Intergenerational mobility, measuring the ability to achieve economic success regardless of family background, is a critical reflection of a society’s commitment to equality of opportunity. Rising income inequality has raised concerns about the potential erosion of upward mobility. While education has traditionally been viewed as the path to mobility, its transformative power is facing challenges in a rapidly evolving job market. This project reorients the focus of intergenerational mobility research by highlighting the labor market as an arena for the reproduction of advantage. It employs a comparative approach, using administrative data from four countries: Sweden, Austria, England, and the United States. It also incorporates evidence from a broader set of nations through cross-national surveys, longitudinal household surveys, labor force surveys, secondary data, and digital trace data. The project employs cutting-edge empirical methods, including quasi- experimental designs, event studies, within-family comparisons, decomposition analyses, counterfactual simulations, and diagnostic checks to rigorously assess the extent of inequalities in the labor market. The research investigates how family background influences the sorting of individuals to employers and workplaces, accounting for education and occupation, and explores variations in career progression within and between employers. It comprehensively catalogues and assesses mechanisms shaping workplace inequality, contributing to the development of social closure theory. Additionally, the project evaluates intervention strategies, encompassing both employer practices and government actions, to promote fair opportunity in the labor market.

Reposted by Sara B. Hobolt, Jochen Müller, Neil Lee , and 1 more Sara B. Hobolt, Jochen Müller, Neil Lee, Jens Rydgren

Charlotte Kuberka @charlottekuberka.bsky.social · 20d

📣 Call for Papers:
🗓️ 23-24 April 2026 at LSE

Submit full papers: forms.office.com/e/9qVWeNTK0p

Please share with colleagues & early-career researchers!

Reposted by Neil Lee

Andrés Rodríguez-Pose @rodriguez-pose.bsky.social · 21d

Will you be in #Madrid in late #February? Join @neillee.bsky.social & I to decode the #geography of #discontent and the structural rise of #populism. We map the territorial revolt in this @fundacionareces.bsky.social & #LSE masterclass.
Applications: 9 February
www.fundacionareces.es/fundacionare...

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 22d

well exactly. the revenge of mixed neighbourhood policy!

Reposted by Neil Lee

Jim Gleeson @geographyjim.bsky.social · 22d

A lot of the analysis seems to be about falling shares of low income households in neighbourhoods, which in many cases (such as Woodberry Down) is probably driven by building large amounts of market rate housing. But other research suggests that will tend to lower rents and gentrification pressures.

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 22d

maybe Boris Johnson’s masterplan for levelling up was tanking London?

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 22d

Head to the Trust for London website for the nasty background: incomes in London barely shifted from 2012-2020

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 22d

Interesting if - in my view, misdirected - piece on gentrification in London
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

London gentrification forcing families out, study says - BBC News

Mum-of-two Jordan Rivera says it is "going to be difficult" to continue raising her family in Hackney.

www.bbc.co.uk

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 23d

They have no chance so long as our olive groves remain healthy

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 24d

Totally leaning into my new Spanish identity / duolingo habit (culpa de mi suegra)

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 24d

Hola.

Andrés Rodríguez-Pose y yo impartimos una clase magistral en Madrid sobre la Geografía del Populismo y la "Venganza de los lugares que no importan".

¡Es divertidísimo! Inscríbete aquí:
www.fundacionareces.es/fundacionare...

Actividades - Fundación Ramón Areces

www.fundacionareces.es

Neil Lee @neillee.bsky.social · 25d

Spoilsport

Reposted by Neil Lee

Henry G Overman @henryoverman.bsky.social · 25d

Great piece by @paulswinney.bsky.social raising serious concerns about the UK's sub-national productivity data and what it can tell us. I share his worry that misleading conclusions about a northern city miracle may already be skewing policy debates www.economicsobservatory.com/have-the-uks...