The economics of UK constitutional change

Economics of UK Constitutional Change
with Lord O’Neill, Commercial Secretary to HM Treasury, and four leading researchers in the field

Date: Tuesday 21 July
Time: 9-11.30am
Venue: National Institute of Economic and Social Research, 2 Dean Trench St, London SW1P 3HE

We would like to invite you to a seminar on 'the economics of constitutional change' at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research with Lord O'Neill, Commercial Secretary to HM Treasury, and four leading researchers in this field.

The seminar will open with a keynote speech by Lord O'Neill, Chair of the Government's Cities Growth Commission which led to the Northern Powerhouse initiative. This will be followed by two presentations on devolving powers to cities and regions by Professor Tony Travers (LSE) and Dr Peter O’Brien (Newcastle University), and two further presentations on devolving powers to nations within the UK by Professor David Bell (Stirling University) and Dr Monique Ebell (National Institute of Economic and Social Research).

The completed papers will be included in the forthcoming August 2015 issue of the National Institute Economic Review. Professor Bell, David Eiser, Dr Armstrong and Dr Ebell are members of the ESRC's Centre on Constitutional Change (CCC).

Proceedings will be as follows:
08:30 Registration
09:00 Introduction by Dr Angus Armstrong (NIESR)
09:05 Keynote Speech, by Lord O’Neill, Commercial Secretary to HM Treasury
09:20 Q+A
09:30 Presentations
- Devolving funding and taxation in the UK: a unique challenge, Professor Tony Travers (LSE)
- City deals, decentralisation and the governance of local infrastructure funding and financing in the UK, Dr Peter O’Brien and Professor Andy Pike (Newcastle University)
10:00 Q+A
10:15 Presentations
- The economic case for further fiscal decentralisation to Scotland: theoretical and empirical perspectives, Professor David Bell and David Eiser (Stirling University and CCC)
- The unintended consequences of English votes for English laws, Dr Angus Armstrong and Dr Monique Ebell (NIESR and CCC)
10:45 Q+A
11:00 Tea and coffee

Registration is required.

To register please RSVP to Brooke Hollingshead:
Email: b.hollingshead [at] niesr.ac.uk (subject: RSVP%20constitutional%20change) ( ) Tel: 020 7654 1923