People

Dr Angus Holford

Senior Research Fellow
Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER)
Dr Angus Holford

Profile

Biography

I'm an economist based in the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex. Research Agenda: My research agenda is focused on the mechanisms in determining gender, socio-economic and ethnic differences in health, educational attainment and early labour market outcomes. At present, this means one strand of work focusing on the impacts of Universal Free School Meal programmes,  school breakfasts and local food environments; and another on the economics of Higher Education, including analysing a ground-breaking longitudinal study of student life. External appointments: I serve on the UK Government's 'Evaluation and Trials Advice Panel', to support the design and implementation of robust, high-quality evaluations of new government policies. I am affiliated with the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England and as of July 2025 am the prospective Theme Co-Lead for Prevention and Early Detection in Health and Social Care, if the ARC is re-funded for the 2026-2031. I'm also a Research Affiliate with the IZA (Institute for the Study of Labor) and was a Research Fellow at the Behavioural Insights Team ('Nudge Unit') at the Cabinet Office, Oct 2012-Jan 2013. Research Interests: Evidence-based policy; microeconometrics; family economics; education inequalities; health inequalities. I'm available to discuss proposals for potential PhD supervision in any of these topics. Teaching: I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in recognition of my practice in teaching and learning support. I deliver the course Introduction to Impact Evaluation annually through the National Centre for Research Methods. I was the course convenor and lead lecturer on the MSc module "EC969: Applications of Data Analysis" run jointly with the Department of Economics ; which is a compulsory module for the MSc Applied Economics and Data Analysis and optional for MSc Economics; from 2020 to 2025. Supervision: I am first or co-supervisor for three PhD students, Stephanie Ruscillo, Dipanwita Ghatak, and Ziyi Huang; and co-supervised Tomasso Sartori , Sonkurt Sen and Joshua Fullard to Award. I'm available to discuss proposals for potential PhD supervision.

Qualifications

  • PhD Economics University of Essex, (2015)

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Applications of Data Analysis (EC969)

Previous supervision

Tommaso Sartori
Tommaso Sartori
Thesis title: Empirical Studies in the Economics of Education
Degree subject: Economics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 27/6/2025
Sonkurt Kemal Sen
Sonkurt Kemal Sen
Thesis title: Essays in Economics of Education
Degree subject: Economics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 10/6/2022
Joshua John Fullard
Joshua John Fullard
Thesis title: Money Matters? Essays on Human Capital Accumulation, Occupational Choice and Worker Productivity.
Degree subject: Economics
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 4/8/2021

Publications

Journal articles (12)

O'Connell, R., Ludlow, A., Holford, A., Hamilton, L., Brady, L-M., Denyer, L., Feltham, A. and Wellsted, D., Adapt-Ed: co-designing adaptations to a whole school intervention to improve the uptake and impact of food provision in special schools – scoping research for a future trial. NIHR Open Research. 5, 50-50

Holford, A. and Sen, S., (2025). Racial Representation among Academics and Students' Academic and Labor Market Outcomes. Labour Economics. 96, 1-18

Delavande, A., Del Bono, E. and Holford, A., (2025). Imprecise health beliefs and health behavior. Journal of Health Economics. 102 (August), 103003-103003

Holford, A. and Rabe, B., (2024). Universal free school meals and children’s bodyweight. Impacts by age and duration of exposure. Journal of Health Economics. 98, 102937-102937

Morando, G., Costas-Fernández, J. and Holford, A., (2023). The Effect of Foreign Students in Higher Education on Native Students’ Outcomes. European Economic Review. 160, 104595-104595

Delavande, A., Del Bono, E. and Holford, A., (2022). Academic and non-Academic Investments at University: the Role of Expectations, Preferences and Constraints. Journal of Econometrics. 231 (1), 74-97

Holford, A. and Rabe, B., (2022). Going universal. The impact of free school lunches on child body weight outcomes. Journal of Public Economics Plus. 3, 100016-100016

Holford, A., (2021). Access and Returns to Unpaid Graduate Work Experience. Labour. 35 (3), 348-377

Holford, A., (2020). Youth employment, academic performance and labour market outcomes: Production functions and policy effects. Labour Economics. 63, 101806-101806

Fournier, AMV., Holford, AJ., Bond, AL. and Leighton, MA., (2019). Unpaid work and access to science professions. PLoS One. 14 (6), e0217032-e0217032

Holford, A., (2015). The labour supply effect of Education Maintenance Allowance and its implications for parental altruism. Review of Economics of the Household. 13 (3), 531-568

Holford, A., (2015). Take‐up of Free School Meals: Price Effects and Peer Effects. Economica. 82 (328), 976-993

Scholarly Editions (4)

Holford, AJ., Youth Employment and Academic Performance: Production Functions and Policy Effects

Holford, AJ., Do Parents Tax Their Children? Teenage Labour Supply and Financial Support

Holford, AJ. and Pudney, S., Survey Design and the Determinants of Subjective Wellbeing: An Experimental Analysis

Holford, AJ., Access to and Returns from Unpaid Graduate Internships

Grants and funding

2024

NIHR ARC Contract extension

National Institute for Health Research

Adapt-Ed: co-designing adaptations to a whole school intervention to improve the uptake and impact of food provision in special schools

National Institute for Health Research

Impact of school breakfast programmes

Nuffield Foundation

2023

Free School Meals, Diet Quality and Food Insecurity in Secondary School Pupils: a Mixed Methods Study

National Institute for Health Research

2021

Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy (2)

Nuffield Foundation

2020

Mind the Gap: Educational Inequalities during Covid-19

Economic and Social Research Council

2019

The Research Centre on Micro-Social Change (MiSoC)

Economic and Social Research Council

2017

Impact of the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy

Nuffield Foundation

2015

Inequality in Higher Education Outcomes in the UK: Subjective expectations, preferences, and access

Economic & Social Research Council

2014

The Research Centre for Micro-Social Change (MiSoC)

Economic & Social Research Council

Contact

ajholf@essex.ac.uk

Location:

2N2.5B.07, Colchester Campus

More about me
See departmental web page for latest blog posts and media coverage: https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/people/ajholf