More than fifty Year 12 and Year 13 students from schools in Eastern England and greater London took part in this year’s computer-based simulation game ‘Running the British Economy’.

In the game, teams of 4 or 5 players have to run the economy for ten ‘years’ by taking a succession of decisions on income tax, value-added tax, public spending and interest rates.  Successful teams do well by driving economic growth (GDP) without incurring excessive levels of price inflation, unemployment or budget imbalances.

Professor Tony Cockerill’s briefing at the start of the game includes a review of the current state of the (actual) economy and the economic models on which the simulation is built.

‘Running the British Economy’ is an Economics Faculty contribution to Cambridge University’s annual ‘Festival of Ideas’.