Professor Andrew Smith

Profile

Andrew joined the University of Leeds (joint post between the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) and Leeds University Business School (LUBS)) as a lecturer in 2004, becoming Professor of Transport Performance and Economics in 2016. Andrew leads the Institute's Rail Research Theme. He has a visiting research position in the Department of Economics at the University of Masaryk, Czech Republic and is an Editor of the Journal of Transport Economics and Policy. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Italian Transport Regulation Authority, and was elected to the International Transportation Economics Assocation (ITEA) Executive Committee in 2018. He has spent time seconded to the rail and road regulator (ORR) to provide support on econometric benchmarking and track access charges, and has been academic advisor on econometric benchmarking to water regulator Ofwat since 2013. Prior to joining the University of Leeds Andrew completed his PhD at the Unversity of Cambridge. Prior to starting his PhD Andrew worked as an economist for Coopers & Lybrand and Deloitte & Touche, and in a regulatory / financial strategy role at the BBC.

Employment History

• Professor of Transport Performance and Economics, Institute for Transport Studies and Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds (2016-ongoing)
• Visiting Researcher, Department of Economics, Masaryk University, BRno, Czech Republic (2016-ongoing)
• Visiting Researcher, Centre for Transport Studies, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), Sweden (2009 to 2016)
• Senior Lecturer in Transport  Regulation & Economics, Institute for Transport Studies and Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds (2011 to 2016)
• Lecturer in Transport Economics, University of Leeds (2004-2011)
• PhD Student, Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge (2001-2004)
• Manager, Financial Strategy, BBC Corporate Finance (1997-2001)
• Consultant, Strategy Division of Deloitte Consulting (1996-1997)
• Consultant, Coopers & Lybrand (1992-1996)

Responsibilities

• Rail Research Theme Leader

Research interests

Andrew leads the Institute's Rail Research Theme.  His research is focused on: (1) cost and efficiency modelling, with particular focus on rail transport, utilities (water and energy) and health; (2) rail infrastructure access pricing and marginal cost research, rail regulation and the impact of rail reforms on economic efficiency; and (3) modelling the economic impact of rail technology innovations. He has published important work in these areas and has led or is leading a wide range of research projects, funded by, for example, the British Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Ofwat, the European Commission, SNCF Reseau, the International Transport Forum (ITF), UK Research Councils, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and the UK Department for Transport.  Andrew led the cost benchmarking work that formed the main analysis used by ORR in its price determination in 2008 (and provided technical advice to ORR during the 2013 periodic review through a part-time secondment). More recently Andrew has been involved in efficiency and capital benchmarking projects for ORR in respect of Highways England; and led an International Transport Forum project on capital bias and efficiency analysis in the rail and road sector. Andrew has led business case evaluation and economic incentive work packages as part of multi-disciplinary rail research projects, bringing together technical rail research with an understanding of the costs and benefits of innovations, and how they can be implemented. Andrew is also academic advisor to Ofwat on efficiency benchmarking. Andrew is a member of the advisory board of the Italian Transport Regulation Authority and an Editor of the Journal of Transport Economics and Policy. Andrew has a visiting research position at the University of Masaryk, Czech Republic. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Transportation Economics Association (ITEA).

SELECTED RESEARCH PROJECTS AND EXPERIENCE

• Editor of the Journal of Transport Economics and Policy.
• Member of Advisory Board of the Italian Transport Regulation Authority (2017-ongoing). Role: Advisor.
• Strategic Partnership Economics of Rail Transport: 2017-2020, SNCF Reseau. Role: Principal investigator.
• Academic advisor to OFWAT on econometric efficiency analysis in the water sector, OFWAT (2013 to ongoing). Role: Principal Investigator
• The Impact of Rail Industry Structure and Incentive Mechanisms on Rail Innovation, funded as part of Needs Tailored Interoperable Railway (NeTIRAIL-INFRA), EU Funded - Horizon 2020. Principal Investigator at University of Leeds (international consortium).
• Relative cost of damage mechanisms on rail infrastructure: combining economic and engineering approaches, EU funded, SUSTRAIL (2012 to 2015). Role: Task leader (international consortium).
• Designing steel composition and microstructure to better resist degradation during wheel-rail contact, 2015-2017. EPSRC. Principal Investigator at University of Leeds (UK based consortium).
• Road to Rail Energy Exchange (R2REE). Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); 2016-2019. Principal Investigator at University of Leeds (UK based consortium).
• Econometric modelling of rail maintenance costs for infrastructure charging: SNCF Reseau, funded project, 2015-2017, with Stratec and Ecoplan. Role: Principal investigator.Capital expenditure efficiency scoping project, Office of Rail and Road, 2018. Role: Advisor
• Capital bias in economic regulation and capital benchmarking in rail and road sectors, for the International Transport Forum (ITF) – 2017-2018.
• Secondment, Special Economic Advisor to Office of Rail Regulation on econometric cost modelling and efficiency analysis (2011 to 2014). Role: Principal Investigator.
• International rail infrastructure econometric cost modelling and efficiency analysis of Network Rail, Office of Rail Regulation (2005 to 2012). Role: Principal Investigator.
• International Study on Railway Unbundling (2012). Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER). Role: Principal Investigator.
• Benchmarking Highways England, project for the Office of Rail and Road, 2016. Role: Advisor
• Academic advisor to KPMG on econometric benchmarking analysis for Heathrow Airport (2016). Role: co-investigator.
• Visiting Researcher, Centre for Transport Studies, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) (2009 to 2017).
• Econometric modelling of the impact of open access competition in rail, Competition and Markets Authority, 2015. Role: co-investigator.
• National Modelling Framework Franchised Train Operating Company (TOC) Econometric Model Development, Department for Transport (2009-2010). Role: Principal Investigator (with SDG).
• Econometric Evidence on Train Operating Company Size (2009-2010). Project for ORR. Role:  co-Investigatoor.
• Economic Incentives for Innovation (Feasibility Study under the “Half Cost Train” Initiative), Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB); 2013-2014. Role: Co-Investigator (UK based consortium).

• Assets4Rail
• NeTIRail-INFRA: Sustainable Railways
• Optimising the Design, Maintenance and Operation of Branch Lines

Qualifications

• PhD, Economics of Rail Regulation, University of Cambridge
• MSc, Economics, University of Warwick
• BSc, Economics, University of Hull

Professional memberships

• International Transportation Economics Association (ITEA)

Student education

Andrew teaches at both undergraduate (3rd year microeconomics and regulatory economics) and at masters level (cost modelling, efficiency analysis and regulation).

Research groups and institutes

• Economics and Appraisal

Current postgraduate researchers

• Kacper Rossa