Christian Krekel

Dr Christian Krekel is Associate Professor of Behavioural Science in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is Co-Director of the Wellbeing Programme at LSE's Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), one of Europe's leading economic research centres, as well as Research Affiliate at LSE's Behavioural Research Lab and LSE's Data Science Institute.

In his work, Christian looks at policies and interventions to improve people's lives, specifically their behaviour, health, and, ultimately, their wellbeing. Recent examples include the evaluation of a nationwide mental health service in England (NHS Talking Therapies); estimating the causal effects of volunteering in the NHS (and Care) Volunteer Responders programmes on happiness, mental health, trust, and pro-sociality; nature exposure, including urban green spaces, and its impacts on wellbeing, mental health, and pro-environmental behaviour; and estimating the social value generated by the 2012 London Olympics and the London Marathon.

His work aims to inform evidence-based policy on how to improve these outcomes in a cost-effective way. It has featured extensively in the media, including The Financial Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, as well as on broadcast outlets including BBC News and BBC Radio 3.

Christian is a frequent adviser to international organisations such as the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well as national governments including those of the UK and New Zealand. His work has had a significant impact on policy.

He has co-developed the concept of the 'Wellbeing-Year' (or 'WELLBY'), a measure of welfare used in cost-benefit analyses that has been officially adopted by the UK and New Zealand Treasuries. It is routinely used by governments for policy appraisal and evaluation, and by businesses and NGOs to demonstrate the social impact and value of their operations.

Christian has spoken on topics including whether happiness should be the ultimate goal of society, how to use wellbeing data to make better policy decisions, workplace quality, productivity, artificial intelligence, and how to cultivate wellbeing at work. He also speaks more broadly on behavioural science, including behavioural public policy and nudging.