Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy

Course Overview

The Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy at LSIBM is a Level 5 senior-track qualification for policy analysts moving beyond entry level — into regulatory economics teams, Whitehall-adjacent consultancies, think tanks and public-affairs shops. Sitting in the Accounting, Finance & Economics faculty, it takes applied economics into the harder territory: causal-inference methods, regulatory impact assessment, sector reviews and evidence-led policy design.

Delivered across twelve to fifteen months, the qualification is sequenced against Government Economic Service senior-assistant-economist competencies and Society of Business Economists standards. HM Treasury’s Green Book distributional-weight guidance now sits at the heart of every serious UK appraisal, and cohort cases apply those weights to real regulator dockets. Study is offered on-campus in central London, fully online, or by distance learning, and closes with a substantial policy portfolio: an impact assessment, a full Green Book appraisal and a sector review defended in front of a working economist.

Key Features

• Aligned with Government Economic Service senior-assistant-economist competencies.
• Three study modes — central London campus, fully online, or distance learning.
• Workshops on causal inference, evidence review and sector economics.
• Structured route toward the GES assistant-economist assessment centre and SBE associate membership.
• Assessment: an impact assessment, Green Book appraisal and sector-review paper.
• Portfolio-first evaluation graded on real policy artefacts.
• Direct articulation into the LSIBM Higher Diploma or MSc in Economic Policy.
• Fortnightly practitioner clinic with a working policy economist.

What You Will Learn

The Advanced Diploma trains policy economists to run a full evidence cycle — from framing a policy question through to defending an appraisal in a submission. Structured thinking and clear prose are treated as core competencies, not soft skills.

• Advanced Green Book appraisal — options, distributional analysis, sensitivity.
• Regulatory impact assessments and Regulatory Policy Committee expectations.
• Causal inference methods — RCTs, difference-in-differences, RDD, IV at intro level.
• Sector economics — energy, water, financial services under UK regulators.
• Evidence review — systematic review, rapid evidence assessment, meta-analysis.
• Policy paper craft — the two-pager, the submission, the ministerial briefing.
• Distributional and equity impacts under HMT Green Book distributional weights.
• Reading a CMA market investigation and drafting an economic response.
• Modelling in R or Stata for policy-scale datasets at intro level.
• Ethics — impartiality, sensitivity to political framing, evidence integrity.

Who This Course Is For

• Assistant economists inside Whitehall-adjacent consultancies and regulators.
• Analysts inside think tanks and public-affairs firms formalising economics practice.
• Sector analysts at UK banks moving toward regulatory economics.
• Career changers with two years of numerate analytical experience.
• NGO and charity research officers building policy-grade evidence work.

Career Pathways

Graduates move into senior-assistant policy economist and regulatory analyst seats across UK consultancies, regulators and public-affairs firms. It supports applications but does not by itself guarantee outcomes. Typical destinations include:

• Policy Economist
• Regulatory Economics Analyst
• Impact Assessment Lead
• Sector Economist
• Public-Affairs Economist
• Consulting Economist
• Competition Economics Analyst
• Government Economist (Senior Assistant)

The Advanced Diploma is a feeder into the LSIBM Higher Diploma or MSc in Economic Policy and the Government Economic Service assistant-economist route. Graduates targeting a chartered pathway typically apply for Society of Business Economists associate membership on completion.

Entry Requirements

• A relevant Diploma (Level 4), Foundation Year, or two years of substantive professional experience in a relevant discipline.
• GCSE English Language at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or equivalent).
• IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
• A short statement of intent and one academic or professional reference — applicants with a professional-body membership (AAT, CIPD Foundation, CIM Associate, CMI Level 3) should mention it on application.

Why Study at LSIBM

The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. Advanced Diploma cohorts sit in small groups so tutors track progress course by course, and every route is mapped to UK professional-body competencies — ACCA, CIMA, CIM, CIPD, CMI, CIPS, IOE&IT, CFA UK — so employers recognise the credential.

London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England and the West End within a short tube ride of every classroom. Advanced Diploma students access a fortnightly practitioner clinic, an industry-careers day each cohort and structured application coaching in the final term.

Apply for the Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy

Step up into the senior track with the Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy. Click Enrol Now and our admissions team will respond within one working day with intake dates, credit-transfer guidance and current fees. Advanced Diploma graduates articulate directly into LSIBM Higher Diploma or Bachelor’s top-up routes.