Warwick Economics is in the top five British departments of economics for research quality, tied third equal with Essex and Oxford (LSE and UCL occupy the first two places). That is the verdict of RAE 2008.

The Warwick economics department has built an outstanding research performance on the sheer quality of its faculty and their scholarship. Unlike Oxford and Cambridge we do not have the benefits of large endowments or a thousand-year history. Unlike LSE and UCL we do not have the advantages of location in a vibrant capital city. We do better because we ourselves are better, not because of our endowments.

Our placement in RAE 2008 confirms the high placement we achieved in RAE 2001, when Warwick Economics was ranked first equal with three other departments (Essex, LSE, and UCL).

In 2008 our rank is the same whether our graded research profile is evaluated on the proportion of our submission that is judged to be of the highest quality (denoted in the RAE 2008 methodology by 4*) or on our weighted average across the profile. However, on the proportion of our work that is 4* or 3* --- the RAE 2008 research ratings range from the highest, 4*, through to 1*, with the lowest rating being "unclassified" --- we come out first equal in the United Kingdom, sharing that position with the same four other departments.