Andrew Leicester
Andrew is a Director at Frontier Economics and works on Public Policy issues, in particular policies around innovation, productivity and industrial strategy. He studied Economics at Cambridge and UCL, and started his career at the Institute for Fiscal Studies before joining Frontier in 2013. He was born and raised in Cheshire and moved to London after university in 2001. He is a cis gay man, and lives with his husband and cat in Ealing.
Why did you choose to study economics?
I studied Economics at A-Level, enticed by the description of it as exploring “how limited resources can best meet unlimited demands” which sounded like a challenge! I enjoyed it so much I decided to make it my undergraduate degree, where I particularly focused on aspects of Economics that related to real-life problems: industrial economics, labour markets, public policy and so on. Seeing how Economics can be applied to real-world issues has always been critical.
How would you describe economics?
I’m very much microeconomics-focused, so I’d say it’s about decision-making: exploring how different incentives affect the decisions people make and the impact this has on the outcomes we care about. Economics often talks about “firms”, “governments”, “industries,” – but underneath all of this are real people, making real choices, and facing real trade-offs.
If you had a time machine and could meet your 16-year-old self, what advice would you give them?
You’re making good choices about your studies and career. But be a bit braver about who you are and embrace yourself sooner and harder.
What is your favourite part of economics?
Right now, I spend much of my time working to evaluate government policies and see what difference they have made. I really enjoy when our clients talk to us about the impact our work has on them and seeing good policy choices being made on the back of real evidence.
Is there anything you would do differently if you had the chance?
I started a PhD at one point, and it wasn’t the right choice for where I was in my career at the time. I’d have reflected a bit sooner on what I wanted to do and what I really enjoyed, and made some different choices.