Portrait of Chris Riley

Chris Riley : Associate

Chris specialises in transport, the environment, macroeconomics and public policy. A former UK government Chief Economist with 35 years’ experience of strategic policy analysis and advice, initially in the Treasury but latterly in successive Departments of Environment and Transport, Chris started working with Oxera in mid-2005. He has extensive experience of both structural and macroeconomic issues, including monetary and fiscal policy, taxation, the environment, housing and local government, land-use planning, regeneration and regional development, and transport. He is experienced in both national and international issues, working with international organisations, including the IMF, the OECD and the European Commission.

In government, Chris worked on various transport White Papers, and he coordinated transport and environment policy inputs to successive Energy Reviews. He has worked on a range of tax policies, including the development of new taxes such as the Climate Change Levy, the Aggregates Levy and the shipping Tonnage Tax, and has advised on government environmental programmes including Climate Change, Air Quality and Sustainable Development. Chris has overseen extensive technical work on economic appraisal, evaluation and modelling in these areas and on major transport projects such as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and Crossrail. This experience, and his earlier work in the Treasury on macroeconomic modelling and economic policy, have underpinned his work with Oxera.

Oxera Associates are highly skilled independent experts who are recognised within a variety of sectors. These individuals have a wealth of knowledge within their fields, and our collaboration with them means that we can offer the best advice, inspiring our clients to make better decisions.

Chris speaks English.

Tel: +44 (0) 1865 253000

Chris' specialisms include:

Selected
professional experience

  • Advice on a framework for forecasting infrastructure cost and price inflation (2021–)

  • Advice on inflation measures back to 1900 for use in regulation (2019–20)

  • Advice on the benefits of bus franchising in Greater Manchester (2018–19)

  • Advice on fiscal incentives for independent healthcare (2017)

  • Report for Network Rail on the economic impact of increased rail capacity (2016)

  • Report for RSSB on the economic impact of a rail centre of excellence (2016)

Selected
publications

  • Bates M., Meaney, A. and Riley, C. (2018), ‘Connected and autonomous vehicles: implications for rail appraisal and demand forecasting’, Papers and Proceedings of the European Transport Conference, Dublin.

  • Riley, C. (2011), written evidence (Ev 237) to the Transport Select Committee for its report on Transport and the Economy, HC 473, February.

  • Riley, C. (2011), ‘Reducing the value of small travel time savings is not the way to improve appraisal’, Local Transport Today, Viewpoint, 562, 14 January.

  • Cartea, Á., Meaney, A., Oxley, P., Riley, C., Worsley, T. and Zamani, H. (2008), ‘How should real transport options be measured?’ Papers and Proceedings of the European Transport Conference, Leeuwenhorst.

  • Riley, C. (2008), ‘Discounting and risky transport schemes’, Papers and Proceedings of the Conference on Transport Appraisals, March.

  • Meaney, A., Riley, C., Holt, D., Noble, R. and Oxley, P. (2007), ‘Assessing the Welfare Impact of the Introduction of Secondary Slot Trading at Community Airports’, Papers and Proceedings of the European Transport Conference, Leeuwenhorst.

Qualifications

  • MA Mathematics, University of Oxford, UK

  • MA Economics, University of East Anglia, UK

Latest Insights:  Chris Riley

8 minute read
The very real prospect of large proportions of the road fleet being fully autonomous within the next 20 years means we need to capture the implications of this in demand…

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