# Diane Coyle

> Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, where she co-directs the Bennett Institute and spends her days arguing that the numbers we use to run the economy are quietly out of date. A former economics editor at The Independent turned academic, she has written ten books, including the surprise hit GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History and her 2025 work The Measure of Progress. She has helped shape UK competition policy, sat on the BBC Trust, advised the Competition and Markets Authority, and was made a Dame in 2023 for services to economics.

- **Role:** Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge
- **Organizations:** University of Cambridge, Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Enlightenment Economics, Competition and Markets Authority (advisor), Royal Economic Society
- **From:** Bury, Lancashire, England
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Secondary education, Bury Grammar School for Girls, BA, Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Brasenose College, Oxford, MA and PhD in Economics, Harvard University
- **Known for:** Bennett Professor of Public Policy at Cambridge and co-director of the Bennett Institute, Author of ten books on economics, including the bestselling GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History, Made Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in 2023

## Career timeline

- **1985** — Economist at the UK Treasury
- **1993** — Becomes Economics Editor at The Independent (until 2001)
- **2001** — Appointed member of the UK Competition Commission (until 2009)
- **2009** — Awarded OBE for services to economics
- **2011** — Becomes Vice-Chair of the BBC Trust (until 2016)
- **2014** — Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester; publishes GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History
- **2017** — Wins the Indigo Prize for plans to overhaul GDP measurement
- **2018** — Appointed Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge; awarded CBE
- **2021** — Publishes Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be
- **2023** — Made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to economics
- **2025** — Publishes The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters; elected Fellow of the Royal Economic Society

## Achievements

- Bennett Professor of Public Policy at Cambridge and co-director of the Bennett Institute
- Author of ten books on economics, including the bestselling GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History
- Made Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) in 2023
- Winner of the 2017 Indigo Prize for proposals to overhaul GDP measurement
- Former Vice-Chair of the BBC Trust and member of the UK Competition Commission
- Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (2016) and Fellow of the Royal Economic Society (2025)
- Named one of the BBC's 100 Women in 2013

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Published The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters with Princeton University Press and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Economic Society.
- **2025-07** — Featured across podcasts and interviews discussing why the economy 'feels broken even when it's growing.'

## Links

- Website: http://enlightenmenteconomics.com/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/diane1859

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/diane-coyle
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-02