The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) studies the social sciences in their broadest sense, with an academic profile spanning a wide range of disciplines, from economics, politics and law, to sociology, information systems and accounting and finance.
Founded in 1895 by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, the School has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence and is one of the most international universities in the world. Its study of social, economic and political problems focuses on the different perspectives and experiences of most countries. From its foundation LSE has aimed to be a laboratory of the social sciences, a place where ideas are developed, analysed, evaluated and disseminated around the globe. To date, 16 Nobel prize winners have been LSE staff or alumni and 34 past or present world leaders have studied or taught at LSE.
Philip Noden, London School of Economics and Political Science
As parents across England wait nervously for news of where their children have been allocated a secondary school place, new admissions policies of banding and ballots have come under scrutiny. The recent…
Peter Manning, London School of Economics and Political Science
More than 30 years after they were deposed, the leaders of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge are on trial in the country they once ruled. The body set up to prosecute them, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts…
Gill Wyness, London School of Economics and Political Science
The announcement that the government intends to sell off part of the student loan book is perhaps no surprise, but it is bad economics. Debt from student loans is currently a groaning £46.6 billion on…
Do official inquiries and reports make any difference to how we run and regulate the NHS? It’s a year since Robert Francis published his findings following the high profile failings at Mid Staffordshire…
Patrick Dunleavy, London School of Economics and Political Science
The social sciences can now be seen as substantial UK industry, worth £23.4bn a year in broad economic terms according to my research. But subjects such as politics, economics, business, law and sociology…
Tim Newburn, London School of Economics and Political Science
The Office for National Statistics released the latest crime statistics last week, and the headline findings are really rather remarkable. Although approximately 8 million offences were recorded by the…
Tim Newburn, London School of Economics and Political Science
The news that a group of environmental protesters who stopped a train carrying coal to the Drax power station in 2009 have had their convictions overturned should give us pause for thought about the current…
Charlie Beckett, London School of Economics and Political Science
One fact that can unite all sides in the post-Leveson press regulation debate is that the world now thinks British journalists are less free – and less likely to be free in the future. This perception…
One of the most exciting things about working at the LSE is that we get to hear some of the world’s top thinkers and policymakers. One occasion that I recall vividly is the visit of two great Europeans…
It is difficult to write about Nelson Mandela without sounding sycophantic or as if engaged in uncritical hero worship. Mandela’s stature and personality left little room for other sentiments other than…
Lisa Trigg, London School of Economics and Political Science
Tim Kelsey, the NHS’s Director for Patients and Information, has announced that the service is to launch a TripAdvisor-style patient feedback site, following a pilot in London and the north-east. In the…
Veerle Heyvaert, London School of Economics and Political Science
In the days after typhoon Haiyan tore through the Philippines, David Cameron said that such extreme weather demanded that we take steps to prevent and mitigate against climate change. These are encouraging…
Maxine Montaigne, London School of Economics and Political Science
In the five years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the discipline of economics has had an uncomfortable spotlight turned on its inner workings and assumptions. Movements such as Occupy have passionately…
Walter Holland, London School of Economics and Political Science
The introduction of scientific principles into government decision-making began with the publication of the Haldane Report in 1918. Haldane believed that research should play a key role in government and…
Jonathan Jackson, London School of Economics and Political Science; Ben Bradford, University of Oxford; Johannes Rieken, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Mike Hough, Birkbeck, University of London
The fall-out from “plebgate” continues. What originally looked like a simple story of political arrogance turns out to have complex layers of police misconduct and mismanagement. Over the weekend it was…
The Court of Appeal is to be televised for the first time now that a ban on cameras in courts in England and Wales has been lifted. High-profile media organisations have been lobbying for such a move for…
Fatima El Issawi, London School of Economics and Political Science
Ghosts are ruling the new Libya. Muammar Gaddafi’s despotic regime has been replaced by an equally despotic republic. A chaos in which attacks carried out by unknown parties are never fully explained…
Peter Trubowitz, London School of Economics and Political Science
George Washington’s Farewell Address is usually remembered for its admonition to “steer clear of permanent alliances”. But Washington’s famous words contained a second warning too, one that is especially…
John Van Reenen, London School of Economics and Political Science
The proportion of UK-quoted shares owned by overseas investors passed the 50% mark for the first time last week. Predictably there was much wringing of hands about the decline of British business and short-termism…
There is an assumption that children perform better amongst highly achieving peers. High class achievement might be thought to indicate better teaching, or to induce academic competition between students…