School of Economics REF2021

The School of Economics is delighted to have been ranked 5th for Economics and Econometrics in the United Kingdom in the REF2021. 

The school was positioned among the top UK economics departments on all main criteria of assessment: 44.8% of our outputs/publications were rated as ‘World-leading’ (4*) and a further 54.1% as ‘Internationally Excellent’ (3*). Our Impact was rated as being 66.7% ‘Outstanding’ (4*) and a further 33.3% as having ‘Very Considerable Impact’ (3*). In comparison with the REF2014, the school saw marked improvements in the percentages ranked as 4* in all the main criteria of assessment (outputs, impact, and environment). The overall grade point average (GPA) increased from 3.05 to 3.52.

Although the size of the school’s submission was the same as in the REF2014 (35 Full-time Equivalent staff submitted both in the REF2014 and REF2021), we have become more diverse: In the REF2014 we had no female professors whereas our REF2021 submission included six female professors. The tremendous success of the School of Economics in the REF2021 thus reflects broad-based improvements in environment and diversity, in the quality of our research, and in our impact on society.