Professor Jo Blanden awarded OBE for services to economics
Professor Jo Blanden, an applied microeconomist at the University of Surrey whose research has shaped debates on social mobility for more than two decades, has been awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the King's Birthday Honours for her contributions to economics in the UK.
Professor Blanden has been teaching and researching at Surrey since 2005 and was appointed Professor in 2022. She now serves as Associate Head for Research and Innovation in the School of Social Sciences, where she plays a pivotal role in shaping the School's research culture, mentoring early-career academics and championing interdisciplinary collaboration. She is also an elected Council Member of the Royal Economic Society.
Professor Blanden's research has created impact not only in academia but also among policymakers and the wider public, helping underpin the Government's current focus on Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity. She has also contributed to research on early years policy in the UK, and examined how school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic affected family wellbeing. Her work found that such closures posed risks to the mental health of mothers and children, particularly if schools were to close or reduce capacity again.
Professor Blanden's early work with the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics provided the first robust evidence of a fall in intergenerational income mobility in the UK and indicated that mobility in the UK is lower than in comparable countries.
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