Professor at @warwickecon. Macro-economist studying #unemployment, #skillsgap, and the #economics of #food.
England, United Kingdom
Joined September 2010
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What actually works when governments try to improve our diets?
A review spanning 718 studies suggests changing what companies sell may matter more than simply telling consumers what to buy.
Research: buff.ly/9UTEQ5c
AI summary: buff.ly/5lagIK5
@warwickecon
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It is time the government treated hunger and obesity as two interlinked problems
theguardian.com/global-devel…
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‘Would you like a food parcel or supermarket gift card?’ Results from our field trial giving food bank users the choice to receive cash rather than food parcels. sufra-nwlondon.org.uk/news-s… @SufraNWLondon @warwickecon
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More than a quarter of Dutch supermarket food sales now carry a sustainability certification. By themselves, these labels don't do much, but we show they can be important in combination with price incentives.
News: buff.ly/rQvpQem
Research: buff.ly/KAlG12Z
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Scotland has restricted multi-buy deals on unhealthy foods. Will it work? In a UK supermarket, we found that removing these promotions increased discounts but still reduced overall spending.
Policy announcement: buff.ly/ZB1LFXn
Research article: buff.ly/36Ex9l0
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Could healthier diets protect households from food inflation? The FT reports that healthier shopping baskets experienced lower inflation. Our ongoing research also finds that households with healthier diets are less exposed to rising food prices.
ft.com/content/7df9d057-b1b5…
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What if healthier, greener eating was cheaper and easier? The SALIENT food trials point the way ox.ac.uk/news/pulse/health-m….
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Great article! Nagging (or nudging) may work, but nowhere near enough. Healthy (and sustainable) food must become cheaper. We need regulation and above all price incentives. economist.com/international/…
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Great piece of research by my @warwickecon colleague @arunadvani. Read the (short) article, not only the title!
Britain overtaxes well-paid workers: economist.com/britain/2026/0…
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Can we eat our way out of crisis. A profile of my recent research. warwick.ac.uk/research/impac…
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Hard to disagree with these recommendations based on industry-funded research. thegrocer.co.uk/analysis-and…
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No mention of inequality in the article, but rich families getting richer, and poor families getting poorer is perfectly consistent with this observation. thegrocer.co.uk/why-waitrose…
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The United States CDC has abandoned science in its new advice about vaccines and autism theconversation.com/the-unit… via @ConversationEDU
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QS ranking requests are going out. If you need reminding about how awesome Warwick is, have a look at this website: warwick.ac.uk/about/excellen…
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Special lecture: Her Excellency Edna Adan Ismail - ‘From Rubble to Revitalisation: Building Somaliland’s Health Services’
@warwickecon @warwickmed
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The food industry has a dirty secret - and it's making Britain poorer and unhealthier, news.sky.com/story/money-new…
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This (strongly) reeks of the food industry trying to discredit the HoL report's much-needed necessary and well-evidenced call for action. Shame that @ConversationUK decided to publish this. theconversation.com/a-new-pl… via @ConversationUK
Notice the Disclosure statement:
Althugh David Benton has received funding from the food industry it has never been related to obesity. @marionnestle @warwickecon @mandala_food @OxPrimaryCare @uniofwarwick
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Professor Thijs van Rens, Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick, drew our attention to research suggesting that a 25% government subsidy of fruit and vegetables could drive a 15% increase in sales, helping close the gap between recommended and actual intake.
📢 The Government urgently needs a plan to fix our broken food system 🛠️🍽️ and end the public health emergency 🚨 of unhealthy diets and obesity.
This is the key conclusion of our new report, out today. 📝
Read it here: committees.parliament.uk/com…
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Oxford City Council is trying to reduce air pollution. If you live in Oxford, please respond to the consultation (many opponents are responding and may block this!). consultation.oxford.gov.uk/p… #AirPollution @Pete_Scarbs @OxHealthEcon @Oxford_NDPH @OxfordBiology
Van Rens said that rather than “educating the public on healthy eating habits” we need “Food companies reformulating products ... or governments lowering the prices of fruit and vegetables through subsidies” @warwickecon @warwicknewsroom @mandala_food @Pete_Scarbs @NIHRSPHR
