Director, Clarity Economic Consulting

Policy Fellow Alumnus, Centre for Science and Policy

After gaining degrees in economics and industrial relations from Cambridge, Warwick and QMC, David became Head of External Affairs and Research for the world’s largest provider of income protection insurance, then joining HM Customs & Excise as Deputy Head of Analysis, where he led work on the economics of drugs trafficking – combining overt and covert data and analysis to evaluate options for the most effective targeting of anti-drug smuggling resources.

He moved into the transport area in 2005, as Head of International Networks Analysis & Support at the Department for Transport, where he managed a team of economists, statisticians and consultants providing economic advice to the DfT’s aviation, maritime and logistics Directorates, and finance and admin support to the Aviation Directorate. He led the first major review of UK airport economic regulation for twenty years, as well as the analytical work underpinning the Government’s decision on a third runway at Heathrow (including an economic appraisal of the case and the development of the Aviation Passenger Demand and CO2 forecasting models). He also led public consultations on the regulated status of Manchester and Stansted Airports, de-regulating Manchester and continuing to regulate Stansted, reducing regulatory costs by over £3m.

After leaving the Department for Transport in December 2010 he worked as a consultant (with clients including BIS, on the economic rationale for a Green Investment Bank and the interventions it might make). He then joined BA as Head of Airport Policy, Economic Regulation, Air Trading and Fleet Planning. He was responsible for economic regulation (including price controls) at the regulated airports from which it operates. He is also involved in European regulation matters and related analytical topics (e.g. night noise).

David visited Cambridge in 2012 for a bespoke series of meetings with researchers relevant to the core question "what is the value of a hub and of connectivity?"