Timothy Charles Leunig (born 26 February 1971) is an economist at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

's Department of Economic History. He is currently on two years' leave to work as a Ministerial Policy Adviser at the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

Early life

Leunig attended

Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School ("Beneath the shadow of thy wings") , established= , closed= , type=Grammar School;Academy (English school), Academy , religious_affiliation= , president= , head_label= , head=Eliot Hodges , r_head_label= , r_head= , chair_label=, chair= , founder ...

, a boy's

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gillin ...

. Leunig gained a 1st class BA degree in Modern History and Economics, and then an MPhil in Economics in 1994, and a DPhil in Economics in 1996, all from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He won the George Webb Medley Junior and Senior Prize in 1992 and 1994 at Oxford. From the

Economic History Association The Economic History Association (EHA) was founded in 1940 to "encourage and promote teaching, research, and publication on every phase of economic history and to help preserve and administer materials for research in economic history". It publi ...

, he won their

Alexander Gerschenkron Alexander Gerschenkron (russian: Александр Гершенкрон; 1 October 1904 – 26 October 1978) was a Russian-born American economic historian and professor at Harvard University, trained in the Austrian School of economics. Born i ...

prize in 1997.

Career

In 1998, Leunig joined the London School of Economics. From January 2011 to October 2012, he was Chief Economist at the think tank CentreForum. Leunig has written for ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', '' Prospect'' and ''

Inside Housing ''Inside Housing'' is a monthly trade publication that covers the United Kingdom's social housing sector. The magazine was first published on 30 March 1984, and is part of Ocean Media Group. The headquarters is in London. In 2007, the majority stak ...

''.

Editor

Leunig was the Editor of ''

Explorations in Economic History ''Explorations in Economic History'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of quantitative economic history. It follows the quantitative or formal approaches that have been called cliometrics or the new economic history, applied to any place and ti ...

'' between 2008 and 2012.

Economic research

Leunig is interested in the

productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proces ...

of Britain's labour force, from a current or historical perspective. He is known to compare the state of Britain's economy with Britain in the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

; he has knowledge of both.

Personal life

Leunig married Julia Cerutti in 1996 in north Oxfordshire, who attended

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it ...

, from 1989 to 1992. His wife is an actuary at the

Government Actuary's Department , type = Non-ministerial government department , logo = Actuary.svg , logo_width = 150px , logo_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , dissolved ...

. He is a keen gardener, and his garden, with a stream and waterfall, is part of the

National Gardens Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

. He has been supportive of the Kingston upon Thames Liberal Democrats. He lives in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

References

External links

GOV.UK

LSE
* 1971 births Academics of the London School of Economics Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford British economists Economic historians Living people Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford People educated at Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School People from Kingston upon Thames People from Rochester, Kent {{UK-economist-stub