Diane Coyle

Dame Diane Coyle
Born	(1961-02-12) February 12, 1961 Bury, Lancashire, England
Occupation(s)	Economist, academic, author
Years active	1985–present
Known for	Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge; economics editor for The Independent; vice-chair of the BBC Trust; member of the UK Competition Commission; managing director at Enlightenment Economics
Notable work	The Weightless World (1997), The Economics of Enough (2011), GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History (2014)

Dame Diane Coyle (born 12 February 1961) is a distinguished British economist. Since March 2018, she has held the position of Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, where she also co-directs the Bennett Institute.

Her professional journey began in economics before she shifted to journalism, acting as economics editor for The Independent between 1993 and 2001. She was appointed professor of economics at the University of Manchester from 2014 until 2018, served as vice-chair of the BBC Trust from 2011 to 2016, and was a member of the UK Competition Commission from 2001 to 2009.

Coyle has published ten books focusing on economic topics.

Early life

Born in Bury, Lancashire, Coyle attended Bury Grammar School for Girls. She pursued undergraduate studies in philosophy, politics, and economics at Brasenose College, Oxford, followed by an MA and PhD in economics at Harvard University, completing her doctorate in 1985 with a dissertation entitled The dynamic behaviour of employment (wages, contracts, productivity, business cycle).

Career

Coyle’s initial role was as an economist at the UK Treasury (1985–1986). She later became European Editor for Investors Chronicle (1993–2001) and economics editor at The Independent. Among her published works are The Weightless World (1997), which influenced the concept of a radical centre, and The Economics of Enough (2011), addressing sustainability and economic constraints.

Between 2001 and 2009, she served on the UK's Competition Commission. Additionally, she contributed to the UK Border Agency's Migration Advisory Committee from 2009 to 2014. Coyle is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Royal Economic Society.

Her broadcasting experience includes presenting on BBC Radio 4. She was part of the BBC Trust from 2006 to 2015, holding the vice-chair position from 2011 onward. While commending the BBC’s impartial news reporting, she has critiqued its range of programming. Since 2017, she has been a regular contributor to Project Syndicate.

In academia, Coyle held the role of professor of economics at the University of Manchester from 2014 to 2018. Since March 2018, she has been Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, where she co-leads the Bennett Institute. She has voiced concerns about the economics profession’s lack of diversity and expressed reservations regarding universal basic income.

In consultancy, Coyle is managing director at Enlightenment Economics, providing advice to major corporations and global institutions on technology and globalization matters. She has also participated in EDF Energy’s stakeholder advisory panel.

After winning the Indigo Prize with an essay proposing alternatives to GDP measurement, Coyle now directs the Six Capitals research initiative at Cambridge’s Bennett Institute, supported by funding from LetterOne. This project investigates social and natural capital since its inception in 2019. In recognition of her services to economics, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours.

Personal life

She is married to Rory Cellan-Jones, who formerly served as the Technology Correspondent for BBC News. The couple lives in West Ealing, London, and they have two grown children.

Honours

In recognition of her contributions to economics, Coyle was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours. She was also included in the BBC’s list of 100 influential women in 2013.

Coyle was made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2016.

Together with Benjamin Mitra-Kahn and economics professor Jonathan Haskel, she received the first-ever Indigo Prize in 2017 for their innovative proposals to reform GDP measurement within the digital economy.

Her honours continued with an appointment as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours for her services to economics and enhancing public understanding. Later, she was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours.

In May 2025, Coyle was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Economic Society.

Published works

• The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters (April 2025). Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-17902-5
• Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be (October 2021). Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-21059-9
• Markets, States, and People: Economics for Public Policy (January 2020). Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-17926-1
• GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History (January 2014). Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-15679-8
• The Economics of Enough: How to Run the Economy as If the Future Matters (2011). Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14518-1
• The Soulful Science: What Economists Really Do and Why It Matters (2007). Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14316-3
• Sex, Drugs and Economics: An Unconventional Introduction to Economics (2002). Texere, ISBN 978-1-58799-147-9
• Paradoxes of Prosperity: Why the New Capitalism Benefits All (2001). Texere, ISBN 978-1-58799-145-5
• Governing the World Economy (2000). Polity, ISBN 978-0-7456-2363-4
• The Weightless World (1997). MIT Press, ISBN 978-0-262-53166-5

External links

• Competition Commission biography
• Biography at LSE economics department
• Interview at 3am magazine
• Diane Coyle articles at Prospect magazine
• Diane Coyle lecture to Friends of the Earth
• September 2006 podcast interview on mobile phones in Africa
• Diane Coyle Podcasts on EconTalk