Henry G Overman
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henryoverman.bsky.social
Henry G Overman
@henryoverman.bsky.social

Economics, Cities, Policy.
Professor, London School of Economics. Research Director Centre for Economic Performance @cep-lse.bsky.social. Director @whatworksgrowth.bsky.social. President @urbaneconomics.bsky.social

Economics 66%
Political science 24%

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Great piece here on the work of Philippe Aghion - winner of the Nobel prize, which was awarded jointly with Peter Howitt and Joel Mokyr. Written by John Van Reenen published by the European Economic Association.

www.eeassoc.org/news...

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Out now! AI and the future of work. Nobel laureate Chris Pissarides and productivity expert Prof Mary O’Mahony on what’s changing and how to prepare.

In the redesigned CentrePiece magazine.

@helen-ward1.bsky.social @econromesh.bsky.social

Read: cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/d...

I don't understand what is going on with sub-national productivity data in the UK. @centreforcities.bsky.social doing their best here, but I'd be wary drawing any substantive conclusions: www.centreforcities.org/publication/...
How productive are the UK’s big cities? - Centre for Cities
This briefing dives into the latest subregional productivity data to understand the trends over the past 20 years and what it can tell us about local and national economic performance
www.centreforcities.org

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Competition is an important driver of productivity as it can push businesses to become more efficient, innovative and productive.

But local government should think carefully about how to intervene.

Check out the latest blog👇
buff.ly/v2UFZ3N
Understanding the drivers of productivity: Enterprise and competition - What Works Growth
This blog focuses on enterprise and competition, and complements the blogs on GVA and productivity published in summer 2024.
buff.ly

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Our North American #UEA2025 meeting, hosted by Université du Québec à Montréal, featured keynotes by Cecile Gaubert & Keith Head and more than 60 paper sessions.

urbaneconomics.org/meetings/uea...

Thanks to local organizers Kristian Behrens, Julien Martin & Florian Mayneris.

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Congratulations to Andrea Herrera @aaherrerab.bsky.social (LSE) & Zane Kashner @zkashner.bsky.social (Stanford), who shared the student prize at our North American #UEA2025 meeting in Montréal.

urbaneconomics.org/meetings/awa...

Read their papers: aaherrerab.github.io & www.zanekashner.com

Thanks to everyone who came to the @urbaneconomics.bsky.social North American Meetings in Montreal and to all those who worked behind the scenes to make it happen. Our next meeting will be in Barcelona, 8-9 May 2026. Call for papers coming soon.

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

In September the government published the last of eight sector plans in the industrial strategy, covering defence.

Our new blog gives suggestions for how places can think through support to local businesses in responding to these plans👇
buff.ly/qR0b8yL
Local opportunities in the Defence Industrial Strategy - What Works Growth
In September the government published the Defence Industrial Strategy 2025. This is the last of eight sector plans in the national Industrial Strategy, alongside Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy…
buff.ly

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Capital is an important driver of productivity 📈

If businesses want to improve productivity, they might invest in new machinery to speed up production, or new software to tackle more complex and higher value tasks 💰

Read in full 👇
buff.ly/R7oZVrz
Understanding the drivers of productivity: Capital - What Works Growth
The drivers of productivity include skills, capital, innovation, enterprise and competition, and land. This blog focuses on capital.
buff.ly

Looking forward to our North American @urbaneconomics.bsky.social meeting. Program now online: urbaneconomics.org/meetings/uea....
UEA 2025 Montréal
urbaneconomics.org

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

The @cep-lse.bsky.social @warwickecon.bsky.social Junior Trade Workshop will take place on Sept 22 @cep-lse.bsky.social. Come meet and provide feedback to six promising JMCs! UK-based trade/urban/spatial aficionados are welcome to register here: cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/events/...

An important point from @centreforcities.bsky.social on the uneven impact of the university crisis. While bigger universities matter for the national impact, the local economic impact will be bigger where smaller universities dominate their local economy www.centreforcities.org/publication/...
Town and gown: The role of universities in city economies - Centre for Cities
This briefing sets out how local universities contribute to cities’ economic development as high-skilled employers, international exporters, catalysts for city-centre regeneration and innovators.
www.centreforcities.org

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

In the first blog in our new series we provide an overview of skills and local growth—looking at policy levers available, things to consider, and useful resources.

This is a great primer to understanding how skills affect local growth and productivity👇
buff.ly/A99kPQ3
Understanding the drivers of productivity: Skills  - What Works Growth
This blog is the first in our new series on the drivers of productivity, including include skills, investment, innovatio and enterprise.
buff.ly

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Paul Cheshire cautions against rushed, short-term changes to stamp duty when there is a overwhelming case for a fully thought-through reform of stamp duty and council tax in combination.
Housebuyers hate stamp duty. Why hasn’t it been reformed before now?
Stamp duty has been around for centuries but it is bad in principle and poor in execution.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

With more flights than ever taking off from the UK, airport expansion is a hot topic ✈️

But what might expansion mean for local growth in the areas around airports? Our new blog discusses some of the issues to consider👇
buff.ly/GSYeoO6
Can expanding airports help local growth take off? - What Works Growth
August means airports, and now that air travel has rebounded from the lows during the Covid-19 pandemic to reach levels where globally there are more flights than ever, airports face bigger and…
buff.ly

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

@whatworksgrowth.bsky.social is running our final 'thinking through' event next Wednesday 11th December 09.15-10.00 on Local Green Growth. Sign up details here: whatworksgrowth.org/events/think...
Thinking through local green growth - What Works Growth
09:15 – 10:00 Wednesday 11th December The green transition necessary to deliver on the UK’s net zero commitment will have impacts on all parts of the country, and the government is keen to drive this ...
whatworksgrowth.org

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Looking forward to this session on devolution next week. @henryoverman.bsky.social and Victoria Sutherland will pack a lot into this 45min session for policymakers.
📅 Effective devolution: lessons learned over ten years

With an increased focus on devolved local growth powers, how can we improve the effectiveness of local growth policies? What roles do data, analysis, and evaluation play?

Join us on 5th February 👇
Effective devolution: lessons learned over ten years - What Works Growth
09:15 – 10:00 Wednesday 5th February With an increased focus on devolved local growth powers, how can we improve the effectiveness of local growth policies? What roles do data, analysis, and…
buff.ly

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

EVENT | Thinking through multipliers: Learning from BBC relocation

Hear from @maxnathan.bsky.social, Professor of Economic Geography at @ucl.ac.uk, on the multipliers arising from the relocation of the BBC to Salford.

Join us on Wednesday 👇
loom.ly/VfsGTH4
Thinking through multipliers: Learning from BBC relocation - What Works Growth
09:15 – 10:00 Wednesday 12th February Policymakers want to understand the direct and indirect effect of policies on the local economy. Multipliers are one way of capturing the way that increased emplo...
loom.ly

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

@poid-lse.bsky.social is recruiting a research assistant to work with me and Steve Machin on UK spatial disparities in private and public capital stocks, self-employment and productivity. Details here: jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

EVENT | Economic inactivity: Thinking through local responses

Join us to hear from @naomiclayton.bsky.social , Director of Policy and Research at @learnworkuk.bsky.social and our Deputy Director, Victoria Sutherland.

Book your place for 26th February 👇
loom.ly/S7zoVCk
Economic inactivity: Thinking through local responses - 26th February 2025 - What Works Growth
09:15 – 10:00 Wednesday 26th February More people in work, and higher productivity from those workers, will – all else equal – increase local economic growth.  This matters to places—not only in terms...
loom.ly

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Check out the latest edition of the Innovation and Diffusion podcast. Tune in to hear about directed technical change, inventors / engineers, why the British Industrial Revolution persisted. Walker Hanlon from Northwestern University joins Ruveyda Gozen.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeW3...
S2 E6: Inventors/Engineers, Directed Technical Change, and the British Industrial Revolution with...
YouTube video by Centre for Economic Performance
www.youtube.com

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

📣 Call for papers 📣

19th North American Meeting of the Urban Economics Association
October 3 - 4, 2025
Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada

Keynotes by Cecile Gaubert and Keith Head.

Please submit your paper by May 30.

urbaneconomics.org/meetings/uea...
UEA 2025 Montréal
urbaneconomics.org

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

Two more weeks left to apply for our @urbaneconomics.bsky.social summer school. Details below.
PhD students interested in urban: Apply to join us at Tufts University for summer school July 21–23.

Learn from leading scholars, including @alvinmurphy.bsky.social, @econhist-allday.bsky.social. Get feedback on your research and meet other urban economists.

urbaneconomics.org/workshops/su...

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

For the first time in (at least) 15 years @centreforcities.bsky.social is looking for a brilliant individual to be the our next Director of Research & Policy. If you fancy it check out the details on our website www.centreforcities.org/about/career...
Director of Policy and Research - Centre for Cities
Title: Director of Policy and Research Location: London (3 or 4 days in the office with flexibility). Full-time remote position will not be offered.
www.centreforcities.org

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

PhD students interested in urban: Apply to join us at Tufts University for summer school July 21–23.

Learn from leading scholars, including @alvinmurphy.bsky.social, @econhist-allday.bsky.social. Get feedback on your research and meet other urban economists.

urbaneconomics.org/workshops/su...
Ten days until the submission deadline for our meeting in Montréal. #econsky
📣 Call for papers 📣

19th North American Meeting of the Urban Economics Association
October 3 - 4, 2025
Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada

Keynotes by Cecile Gaubert and Keith Head.

Please submit your paper by May 30.

urbaneconomics.org/meetings/uea...
UEA 2025 Montréal
urbaneconomics.org
The submission deadline for our October conference in Montréal is tomorrow!

Submit at editorialexpress.com/conference/n...
📣 Call for papers 📣

19th North American Meeting of the Urban Economics Association
October 3 - 4, 2025
Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada

Keynotes by Cecile Gaubert and Keith Head.

Please submit your paper by May 30.

urbaneconomics.org/meetings/uea...
UEA 2025 Montréal
urbaneconomics.org

Reposted by Henry G. Overman

✍️ "While correctly rejecting criticisms that existing guidance is biased, the latest Green Book review suggests changes that should improve appraisal and decision making."

Professor @henryoverman.bsky.social‬, Director of @whatworksgrowth.bsky.social, gives his overview👇
buff.ly/DPfANWV