I am an early career economist working in applied research at the Institute for Employment Studies. The Institute’s research informs responses to social problems and has an impact through firms, individuals and policy makers, such as government departments and agencies. Much of my research is commissioned for the express purpose of identifying asia rcs data the causal impact of public policy interventions for funders in local and central government and provides insights directly to stakeholder and policymakers, including Government departments. This presents me with many opportunities to use the data and resources provided by the UK Data Service.
Over the next two years I am likely to work on a wide variety of projects using UK Data Service data. I will have the opportunity to disseminate research findings through UK Data Service impact blog posts and this will be used to widen the audience for my work, and the range of datasets held by the UK Data Service. I will also use my Twitter account amesCockettIES) and LinkedIn to disseminate my research. This is in addition to presenting findings to key stakeholders and clients who fund the research.
My current project for the Low Pay Commission (LPC) provides the best example of how UK Data Service data are used in my research. This project has a direct impact on policy-making. The research will help the LPC to make recommendations on appropriate future rates of the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW). In 2018, increases in the NLW and NMW directly boosted the wages of 1.9 million workers and commissioners rely on robust econometric analyses to inform their decision-making.