Economic research competition

We awarded 6 participants up to £30,000 each to produce a report on growth, competitiveness and regulation in the UK financial services sector.

We launched a research competition to award funding for several research projects focused on growth, competitiveness and regulation in the UK financial services sector.

Successful participants are awarded up to £30,000 to produce a publishable report over approximately 3 months that succinctly summarises the research.

Competition timeline

25 November 2024

Competition launches

15 December 2024, 11.59pm

Deadline for proposals

24 December 2024

Awards made

31 March 2025

Final drafts of reports submitted

Why we launched the competition

Growth is central to our mission. Last year, Parliament set us a new secondary objective[1] to support growth and competitiveness over the medium to long term.

The objective of this competition is to:

Widen and deepen our evidence base on growth and competitiveness.
Introduce fresh and innovative thinking to the challenge of growth.
Provide actionable insights to inform future policy and strategy development.

Awarded projects

We awarded 6 participants up to £30,000 to produce a report on growth, competitiveness and regulation in the UK financial services sector.

Beauhurst (Business Funding Research Ltd) – risk appetite for innovation and productivity in private financial services companies
Edinburgh Innovations Ltd – enhancing competitiveness through increasing export volumes via foreign direct investments
Fathom Financial Consulting – using theoretical frameworks to explore how regulatory changes may have reshaped financial stability and growth risks since the global financial crisis
LSE Growth Lab – improving measurement of productivity in UK financial services
University College London – risks in the UK fintech sector: implications for consumer credit and economic growth
University of Birmingham – access and demand for new listed firms’ subsequent financing rounds

Research themes for the competition

On 17 October, we published a summary of the literature[2] on growth, competitiveness and regulation in financial services.

The literature review highlighted several important gaps in its evidence and knowledge, which are important to fill. These gaps are summarised into the following 3 research themes:

Awards and next steps

We expect the research projects to be completed over approximately 3 months (ending no later than 31 March 2025).

Participants may also have the opportunity to present their work to senior FCA leaders and other key stakeholders.

The competition is administered and overseen by the chief economist of the FCA. Successful participants are expected to provide regular updates to the chief economist or her delegates (online or in person) and may be asked on occasion to present to a wider set of stakeholders.

We’ll provide comments on drafts of the final report, but the responsibility for its contents will remain with the participants.

Selection criteria

The selection of successful research projects was made by a commission of expert practitioners and researchers in financial services and economics. The commission considered a proposal’s:

Likely contribution to answering the FCA’s key questions.

Interdisciplinarity and innovation in proposed methods.

Prior knowledge and experience of the issues.

The selection was made by a commission of industry experts and practitioners:

Kate Collyer, FCA chief economist.

Professor Julia Black, president of the British Academy, warden of Nuffield College, Oxford and external member of the PRA.

Dr Felix Martin, chair of the FCA CBA Panel.

Dr Tim Leunig, visiting professor in practice, LSE.