Diploma in Economic Policy
Course Overview
The Diploma in Economic Policy at LSIBM is a Level 4 practitioner qualification for people working with the applied side of economics — impact assessments, sector reviews, cost-benefit analysis, and the running order of a policy paper as it moves through a UK department or regulator. Sitting in the Accounting, Finance & Economics faculty, it is written for graduates and early-career analysts joining Whitehall-adjacent consultancies, regulatory economics teams, think tanks and mid-market policy shops.
Delivered over nine to twelve months, the diploma is sequenced against the Government Economic Service assistant-economist competencies and Society of Business Economists standards. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s biannual Economic and Fiscal Outlook is a running reference throughout, so students learn to read UK fiscal forecasts alongside their appraisal work. Study is offered on-campus in central London, fully online, or by distance learning, and finishes with an applied portfolio: an HM Treasury Green Book-style appraisal, a policy note, and a short evidence-review paper.
Key Features
- Aligned with Government Economic Service assistant-economist competencies and Society of Business Economists standards.
- Three study modes — central London campus, fully online, or distance learning.
- Workshops using HM Treasury Green Book methodology on real UK cases.
- Structured route toward the GES assistant-economist assessment centre with tutor support.
- Assessment: a Green Book-style appraisal, a policy note and an evidence-review paper.
- Portfolio-first evaluation graded on genuine policy artefacts.
- Progression into the LSIBM Advanced Diploma or Higher Diploma in Economic Policy.
- Optional Westminster policy-briefing session each cohort.
What You Will Learn
The diploma covers economics as it lands on a policy officer’s desk — imperfectly, urgently, and in prose that a minister has to be able to read on a train. You will finish able to write a policy note, run a first Green Book appraisal, and hold your own on a technical steer.
- Microeconomic reasoning applied to UK regulatory cases.
- Macroeconomic context — OBR forecasts, MPC decisions, fiscal rules.
- Cost-benefit analysis using the HM Treasury Green Book method.
- Impact assessments and Regulatory Policy Committee expectations.
- Writing a two-page policy note that a Whitehall submission can carry.
- Evidence review — RCTs, quasi-experimental methods, meta-analysis at intro level.
- Sector reviews for UK regulators (Ofgem, Ofwat, CMA context).
- Reading a Bank of England Monetary Policy Report for policy-relevant signals.
- Basic distributional analysis for a UK equalities impact assessment.
- Ethics — impartiality, evidence quality and public-service duty.
Who This Course Is For
- Graduates joining Whitehall-adjacent consultancies and regulatory economics teams.
- Junior analysts inside UK regulators and public-affairs firms.
- Think-tank researchers moving from communications into applied economics.
- Sector analysts inside banks and consultancies covering UK policy risk.
- Charity and NGO staff building policy-appraisal capability for grant-funded work.
Career Pathways
Graduates use the diploma to move into applied economics seats at UK consultancies, regulators, think tanks and public-affairs firms. It supports applications but does not by itself guarantee outcomes. Typical destinations include:
- Applied Economist
- Policy Economist (Assistant)
- Impact Assessment Analyst
- Regulatory Economics Analyst
- Sector Economist
- Consulting Economist (Junior)
- Public Affairs Analyst
- Think Tank Research Associate
The Diploma is a feeder into the LSIBM Advanced Diploma in Economic Policy and the Government Economic Service assistant-economist route. Graduates commonly apply for Society of Business Economists associate membership within eighteen months of completion.
Entry Requirements
- A relevant Certificate (Level 3) or equivalent — mature applicants with two years of professional experience are welcomed on a portfolio route.
- GCSE English Language at grade 4/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or international equivalent).
- IELTS 5.5 overall (no band below 5.0) for non-native English speakers.
- A short statement of intent (referencing a UK policy question) and one academic or professional reference.
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. We teach in small cohorts so every student is visible to their tutor, run a single intake schedule that students can rely on, and partner with UK professional bodies — CMI, CIM, CIPD, ACCA, CIMA, CFA UK, CIPS and IOE&IT — so qualifications carry weight with employers.
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. Diploma cohorts run structured cohort clinics with working practitioners — a Big-Four tax adviser, a CIM Fellow in marketing, a CIPD-chartered HR director — so students meet professional expectations well before graduation.
Apply for the Diploma in Economic Policy
Take the practitioner step with the 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 fee schedule. Diploma students are eligible for direct progression to LSIBM’s Advanced Diploma or Higher Diploma routes on completion.
