Patrick Schneider has joined the Imperial Business School as Assistant Professor of Economics. Specialising in the intersection of macroeconomics, household finance and public economics, Dr Schneider’s work highlights how policies designed to stabilise the economy affect different groups across society. 

His current research investigates unconventional macroeconomic stabilisation policies, including the economic and behavioural impacts of early access to retirement savings. Dr Schneider’s work combines rigorous empirical analysis with policy relevance, contributing to a deeper understanding of fiscal interventions and household financial decision-making in dynamic economic environments. 

Patrick earned his PhD at the London School of Economics (LSE) where his research focused on how households and firms respond to liquidity constraints and behavioural frictions. His recent work includes “Household Liquidity Policy” (with Patrick Moran), which examines how early access to retirement accounts works as an alternative to conventional stimulus, and how the two differ in their long-term implications.  

Translating real-world economic challenges into classroom insights

Before his academic career, Patrick worked as an economist at the Bank of England (2015–18), contributing to high-level policy debates on Brexit and the UK productivity slowdown. He has also held roles in management consulting and the financial sector, and more recently as a macro research intern at Eisler Capital. His policy insights are reflected in publications such as “Market Power and Monetary Policy” (Bank of England Working Paper). 

One of his working papers “Decomposing Differences in Productivity Distributions” sheds light on the UK productivity puzzle. Dr Schneider utilised a new decomposition method to show the puzzle is accounted for by a composition effect - workers moving into firms with less productive characteristics - and that this effect is concentrated in the top end of the distribution.

Another more recent paper for the Centre for Economic Performance, “Disunited Kingdom? Brexit, Trade and Scottish Independence” was co-authored with Hanwei Huang and Thomas Sampson and looks at the impact of independence and rejoining the EU for Scottish trade and incomes. 

A committed teacher, Patrick has taught widely across economics and public policy at LSE, earning an LSE Class Teacher Award in 2024 for excellence in teaching. 

Dr Schneider is keen to equip the next generation of entrepreneurs and said: “I’m most excited to work with our students. Understanding economics is essential to functioning in today’s world, and I want to help our students tool up for their futures.”