About the event
Date: 6 October 2025
On 6 October 2025, the Bank of England Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) hosted a research incubator event in collaboration with the London School of Economics’ Growth Lab. The event aimed to generate ideas and proposals for collaborative academic research aligned with the PRA's secondary competitiveness and growth objective (SCGO). It was attended by leading academics in the field of financial regulation, financial economics, and competition economics.
The PRA opened the event by highlighting how it is directing its research efforts. The PRA explained that the event formed part of broader strategic efforts to advance research and address long-standing gaps in understanding the links between regulation, competitiveness, and economic growth. This builds on previous work, including the PRA conference on the role of financial regulation in international competitiveness and growth (September 2023) and the joint PRA–Warwick Business School conference on financial regulation in support of UK growth (September 2025).
First session:
The first session focused on conceptual research questions. It was noted that the concept of ‘competitiveness of an economy’ was not well defined in the academic literature and ‘overall economic productivity’ was suggested as an appropriate working definition. One participant suggested exploring insights from the Industrial Organisation literature given that the task of developing and maintaining a global financial centre has some similar characteristics to the setting up of a two-sided platform. Another suggested further inquiry into how capital is effectively measured, given the divergence between accounting and market-based measures. Attendees noted the value of the SCGO in preventing unduly restrictive requirements, to facilitate competitiveness and encourage innovation, whilst maintaining safeguards against financial instability. There was also interest in exploring how banks and non-banks have competed since the global financial crisis, and in assessing the impact of post-crisis reforms on the growth of private markets.
Second session:
The second session focused on empirical research. Participants debated the complexities around measuring the impact of regulation on firms and economic growth. Because regulatory interventions are not random, it was noted that identifying causal links is far from straightforward, and this has historically limited the evidence base for policy decisions. Two potential approaches were highlighted: (i) structural modelling, to capture underlying relationships; and (ii) stratifying the problem, for example, by breaking the link between financial regulation and growth into two stages: from regulation to financial constraints, and from financial constraints to growth. Academics also highlighted the benefits of data sharing across organisations, particularly with the ONS, to unlock new research opportunities whilst preserving confidentiality.
Final session:
In the final session the Bank of England presented practical approaches for academics to collaborate and engage with its data and in-house researchers. The Bank emphasised its strong commitment to partnering with researchers, highlighting the unique opportunity to contribute to policy development and drive innovation in this space. The offer was presented as a great opportunity to contribute to build the evidence base that regulators need to make informed decisions in a rapidly changing financial landscape and have a material impact on the future of financial regulation. The academic audience welcomed the PRA’s interest and investment in research on financial regulation. Academics interested in pursuing collaboration on any of the themes discussed at the event are encouraged to contact the Bank of England.
Organisations attending
- Bank of England
- Bayes Business School
- Birbeck, University of London
- Bocconi University
- Competition and Markets Authority
- Financial Conduct Authority
- HM Treasury
- Imperial College London
- London School of Economics
- LSE Growth Lab
- National Institute of Economic and Social Research
- Office for National Statistics
- Queen Mary University of London
- Resolution Foundation
- University of Bristol
- University of East Anglia
- University of Leeds
- University of Oxford
- University of Warwick
- Warwick Business School