Economic and Social Sciences Causal Inference Lab (ESSCIL)

Using causal inference to understand what drives social and economic outcomes and provide reliable evidence for policy and practice.

About the network

The Economic and Social Sciences Causal Inference Lab (ESSCIL) conducts empirical research addressing important questions in economics and across the social sciences.

Our research uses rigorous econometric and statistical techniques. We identify causal relationships rather than correlations. These include experimental designs, quasi-experimental approaches and advanced panel data techniques.

We apply these methods to diverse sources of evidence, including large-scale surveys, administrative records and experimental data. Our work examines questions around:

individual behaviour
policy effectiveness
institutional impacts
market outcomes

What we do

Applying causal inference

Our research spans areas including labour and health economics, political economy, crime and policing, trade and market structure.

Current and recent work has explored issues such as gender pay gaps and wage transparency, childcare and educational outcomes, electoral behaviour, tax evasion and the health impacts of electric vehicle adoption.

By testing theories and evaluating real-world outcomes, we aim to provide reliable evidence that can inform academic debate and policy discussions at local, national and international levels.