Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens) header
Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens) profile picture

Professor at @warwickecon. Macro-economist studying #unemployment, #skillsgap, and the #economics of #food.

England, United Kingdom
Joined September 2010
Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)Photo by Thijs van Rens (@tvanrens)
‘Would you like a food parcel or supermarket gift card?’ Results from our field trial giving food bank users the choice to receive cash rather than food parcels. sufra-nwlondon.org.uk/news-s… @SufraNWLondon @warwickecon
35
More than a quarter of Dutch supermarket food sales now carry a sustainability certification. By themselves, these labels don't do much, but we show they can be important in combination with price incentives. News: buff.ly/rQvpQem Research: buff.ly/KAlG12Z
86
Scotland has restricted multi-buy deals on unhealthy foods. Will it work? In a UK supermarket, we found that removing these promotions increased discounts but still reduced overall spending. Policy announcement: buff.ly/ZB1LFXn Research article: buff.ly/36Ex9l0
64
Could healthier diets protect households from food inflation? The FT reports that healthier shopping baskets experienced lower inflation. Our ongoing research also finds that households with healthier diets are less exposed to rising food prices. ft.com/content/7df9d057-b1b5…
58
Great article! Nagging (or nudging) may work, but nowhere near enough. Healthy (and sustainable) food must become cheaper. We need regulation and above all price incentives. economist.com/international/…
2
116
Great piece of research by my @warwickecon colleague @arunadvani. Read the (short) article, not only the title! Britain overtaxes well-paid workers: economist.com/britain/2026/0…
1
237
Sorry, wrong Arun Advani. It's this one: @arunadvaniecon
30
Can we eat our way out of crisis. A profile of my recent research. warwick.ac.uk/research/impac…
2
109
Hard to disagree with these recommendations based on industry-funded research. thegrocer.co.uk/analysis-and…
1
70
QS ranking requests are going out. If you need reminding about how awesome Warwick is, have a look at this website: warwick.ac.uk/about/excellen…
1
91
Special lecture: Her Excellency Edna Adan Ismail - ‘From Rubble to Revitalisation: Building Somaliland’s Health Services’ @warwickecon @warwickmed
3
123
The food industry has a dirty secret - and it's making Britain poorer and unhealthier, news.sky.com/story/money-new…
2
152
Notice the Disclosure statement: Althugh David Benton has received funding from the food industry it has never been related to obesity. @marionnestle @warwickecon @mandala_food @OxPrimaryCare @uniofwarwick
1
1
141
The author argues for labelling instead of taxes, in the face of good evidence that the former does not and the latter does work. Main argument seems to be that the food system is "complex" and "change is out of reach". 🙄 @QMUL_WIPH
1
134
Professor Thijs van Rens, Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick, drew our attention to research suggesting that a 25% government subsidy of fruit and vegetables could drive a 15% increase in sales, helping close the gap between recommended and actual intake.
📢 The Government urgently needs a plan to fix our broken food system 🛠️🍽️ and end the public health emergency 🚨 of unhealthy diets and obesity. This is the key conclusion of our new report, out today. 📝 Read it here: committees.parliament.uk/com…
10
722
📢 The Government urgently needs a plan to fix our broken food system 🛠️🍽️ and end the public health emergency 🚨 of unhealthy diets and obesity. This is the key conclusion of our new report, out today. 📝 Read it here: committees.parliament.uk/com…
10
98
50
137
126,443