Experts

Ahmed Jamal Pirzada is a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Bristol and a Fellow of Advanced Higher Education (FHEA). He specialises in macroeconomics with particular interest in understanding the role of nominal rigidities and production networks in firms’ pricing decisions and the monetary policy. His interests also include exploring questions relevant to emerging economies

Lucinda Platt is Professor of Social Policy at the LSE. A quantitative sociologist, her research focuses on inequalities, particularly those relating to ethnicity, migration, gender and disability. She has published widely on these topics. Lucinda is Associate Editor of the European Sociological Review, co-investigator of Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, and a panel member of the IFS Deaton Inequality Review.

Alexander Plekhanov is Director, Transition Impact and Global Economics, at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. He edits EBRD’s annual economic report, Transition Report, and the Regional Economic Prospects. His responsibilities also include trade policy and analysis of development impact of EBRD projects. Prior to 2007, he worked at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC.  Alexander holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Cambridge.

Thomas Pope is deputy chief economist at the Institute for Government. He works across the Institute’s programme areas. He was previously an economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, working on tax and the public finances. He has an MSC in economics from UCL and a BA in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Oxford.

Jonathan Portes was Chief Economist at the Cabinet Office from 2008 to 2011, where he led economic analysis during the financial crisis and the G20 London Summit. From 2011 to 2015, he was Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. His research concentrates on immigration and labour mobility and the economic implications of Brexit. Other research interests include labour markets, fiscal policy, social security, and the use of evaluation and evidence.