Moira Wallace

Moira Wallace serves as a CASE Visiting Professor of Practice at the London School of Economics, where she has conducted research on policy and outcomes for disadvantaged young people since 2018. She also holds a position as Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

Her expertise encompasses:

• Youth disadvantage and social exclusion
• School absence and exclusion patterns
• Teenage pregnancy prevention
• Neighbourhood renewal strategies
• Cross-cutting youth policy development

Professor Wallace's research examines two decades of policy shifts affecting adolescents in England, analyzing how Labour's spending-focused approach (1997-2010) and subsequent Coalition/Conservative austerity policies impacted outcomes across child poverty, educational attainment, school exclusion, teenage pregnancy, substance use, and youth offending. Her work demonstrates significant reductions in school absence during the 2000s that reversed after 2013 and surged post-pandemic.

Her notable publications include the 2023 report 'Trends in Adolescent Disadvantage' which documents policy evolution across three UK governments. She will present her latest findings on school absence solutions at an upcoming CASE seminar on October 16, 2024, co-presenting with Anne Longfield of the Centre for Young Lives.

Professor Wallace brings extensive governmental experience to her academic work, having served as Director of the Social Exclusion Unit (1997-2001) where she developed cross-departmental strategies on youth issues, following earlier roles in the Treasury, No 10, Home Office, and Department of Energy and Climate Change.