Impact evaluation and economic benefit analysis of a domestic violence and abuse UK police intervention (opens in a new tab)
Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1063701
DOI : 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1063701 (opens in a new tab)Political economy · Crime · Public policy
Siddhartha BandyopadhyayPhD · MA · BSc
Professor of Economics
Director, P-ACE LAB · Director, Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing · Birmingham Business School
I am an economist working on crime, political economy and public policy. My research is increasingly interdisciplinary, using economics alongside insights from other disciplines to address substantive questions in policing, criminal justice, violence and health.
50+Peer-reviewed articles
£10mApproximate total value of PI/Co-I awards, 2020–26
15PhD completions supervised
2003At Birmingham since
My work spans political economy, crime and policing, violence and health, and the evaluation of public policy.
§ 01 Profile
An economist of crime, policy and institutions
I am Professor of Economics at the University of Birmingham, Director of P-ACE LAB and Director of the Centre for Crime, Justice and Policing. I joined Birmingham in 2003 and have been a professor since 2018.
My research asks how institutions and incentives shape crime, political decisions and public outcomes. I began in political economy and public choice, and now work extensively on policing, criminal justice, domestic abuse and the public-health consequences of violence.
Much of this work is collaborative. I work with police forces, justice organisations, health researchers and communities to evaluate interventions, understand how they are implemented and assess whether their benefits justify their costs.
Research themes
My research began in political economy and public choice and has broadened into the economics of crime, policing and public policy. Increasingly, I work across disciplines on questions where economic analysis can contribute to understanding and evaluating important public problems. The themes below organise this work; the full record is on the Publications page.
- 01
Crime, policing & criminal justice
I study how criminal behaviour, police practice, prosecution and the design of justice institutions respond to incentives, evidence and institutional constraints.
- 02
Political economy & public choice
I examine how electoral rules, coalitions, information and media shape political incentives, leaders’ choices and collective outcomes.
- 03
Policy evaluation & public value
I evaluate public interventions using experiments, cost–benefit analysis, administrative data and mixed methods, working with practitioners and communities.
- 04
Violence, health & wellbeing
With colleagues across economics, health and social science, I study the long-run health and economic consequences of domestic abuse, childhood maltreatment and gender-based violence.
- 05
Development, institutions & gender
I study how institutions and public programmes affect conflict, development, gender and the distribution of opportunities.
- 06
Work, technology & social change
I examine how automation and technological change are reshaping work, skills, organisations and inequality, including through the book Work 3.0.
Selected work across my research
A selection spanning political economy, crime, violence, health and public policy.
A model of conflict and leadership: Is there a hawkish drift in politics? (opens in a new tab)
PLOS ONE, 17(1), e0261646
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0261646 (opens in a new tab)The effect of the election of prosecutors on criminal trials (opens in a new tab)
Public Choice, 161(1–2), 141–156
DOI : 10.1007/s11127-013-0144-0 (opens in a new tab)Winner of the Duncan Black Prize
§ 04 Policy & practice
Working with public services and communities
I collaborate with practitioners, policymakers and communities to evaluate interventions, understand implementation and make evidence useful in real decisions.
Service and impact →Evidence-based policing
My research on missing persons, investigative decision-making and diversion supports police forces and criminal-justice partners in strengthening evidence-based practice.
Violence against women and girls
With health and social-science colleagues, I study the long-term consequences of domestic abuse and evaluate how support for survivors can be improved.
Public engagement
I contribute regularly to public engagement, including through the ESRC Festival of Social Science. These events have provided opportunities to discuss research on topics including climate change and crime, the criminalisation of poverty, fake news, data and community policing with wider audiences.
Writing, interviews and public discussion
I write and speak about crime, violence, public trust, automation and the future of work.
§ 07 Get in touch
Interested in working together?
I welcome enquiries about research collaboration, doctoral supervision, policy evaluation and media commentary.