About the Policy Studies Institute

Policy Studies Institute (PSI) is one of Britain's leading independent research institutes, conducting research to promote economic well-being and improve quality of life. PSI enjoys a reputation for the rigorous and impartial evaluation of policy in the UK and Europe, and the publication and dissemination of research findings is central to our ethos.

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Latest news

PSI appoints four new Visiting Research Fellows

PSI is delighted to announce the appointment of four new Visiting Research Fellows. Andrew McIntosh (right) was Minister for the Media and Heritage at DCMS from 2003 to 2005. Stephen Tindale was previously Executive Director of Greenpeace UK. Gabriel Chanan is Co-Director of Research and Policy at the Community Development Foundation. Dr Mark Rickinson is a research consultant with a particular interest in the environment who specialises in educational research and evaluation, research reviews and research training.

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Making work pay

PSI's Lesley Hoggart (right) addressed a fringe meeting at the recent Women's TUC conference in Eastbourne on the issue of 'lone parents and the challenge of making work pay'. Lesley's speech was based on a chapter of the same name, co-authored with Sandra Vegeris, for a new Save the Children book, Why Money Matters. The book argues that the damaging impact of poverty on the lives of children in the UK can be significantly improved with government investment. The book is available for download here [pdf].

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PSI launches new discussion paper series

Policy Studies Institute has launched a new series of Discussion Papers aimed at promoting original research and new thinking on policy. The first paper, by PSI's Getinet Haile (right), provides a unique insight into the factors affecting self-employment in his native Ethiopia. With the problem of employment high on the agendas of development policymakers, this paper offers important new insights into the role that self-employment plays in a developing country

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Public sector unions raise their members’ pay

Public sector workers who are unionised are likely to earn more than non-union colleagues who work in the same place doing the same job as them. That is one of the findings of new research by Monetary Policy Committee member Professor David Blanchflower and Alex Bryson (right) of the Policy Studies Institute at the University of Westminster, to be presented at this year’s Royal Economic Society conference.

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Putting the clocks forward, once and for all

Twenty years ago, Mayer Hillman of PSI published a report entitled Making the Most of Daylight Hours. In 1993, this was updated under the title Time for Change. It concluded that the benefits of putting clocks forward for one hour throughout the year far outweighed the disadvantages. At the time this view attracted remarkable public and political support but not, alas, from government. The main benefits Mayer identified were accident reduction, much increased daylight leisure opportunities, and considerable energy savings. He also examined the case against change, concluding that it was weak and often ill-founded. How much has changed in the intervening years? Read the 1993 report and judge for yourself!

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