Dr Aveek Bhattacharya is Research Director of the SMF, having joined as Chief Economist in September 2020, and served as Interim Director between 2023 and 2024. Previously, he was Senior Policy Analyst at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, researching and advocating for policies to reduce alcohol-related harm. He has also worked for OC&C Strategy Consultants, advising clients across a range of sectors including retail, consumer goods, software and services.
Aveek studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at undergraduate level, and has Master’s degrees in Politics (from the University of Oxford) and Social Policy Research (from the London School of Economics). He holds a PhD in Social Policy from the London School of Economics, where his thesis compared secondary school choice in England and Scotland.
Aveek is co-editor of the book Political Philosophy in a Pandemic: Routes to a More Just Future. He was an adviser to the Gordon Brown Commission on the UK’s Future. He is a trustee of the David Hume Institute.