BMW headshot

Ben McWilliams

Affiliate fellow

Ben is working for Bruegel as an Affiliate fellow in the field of Energy and Climate Policy. His work involves data-driven analysis to critique and inform European public policy, specifically in the area of the energy sector and its decarbonisation. Recent work has focussed on the implications of the ongoing energy crisis and policy options for responding. Other topics of interest include tools for stimulating industrial decarbonisation and the implications for new economic geography from the advent of new energy systems, particularly from hydrogen. 

He studied his MSc in Economic Policy at Utrecht University, completing a thesis investigating the economic effects of carbon taxation in British Colombia. Previously, he studied his BSc Economics at the University of Warwick, with one year spent studying at the University of Monash, Melbourne.

Ben is a dual British and Dutch citizen.

Featured work

Dataset

European natural gas imports

This dataset aggregates daily data on European natural gas import flows and storage levels.

Georg Zachmann, Ben McWilliams, Ugnė Keliauskaitė and Giovanni Sgaravatti
Book

Sparking Europe’s new industrial revolution: A policy for net zero, growth and resilience

This book assesses what must be done to implement industrial policy in a way that will achieve overarching goals while minimising distortions.

Philippe Aghion, Ketan Ahuja, Chad P. Bown, Uwe Cantner, Chiara Criscuolo, Antoine Dechezleprêtre, Mathias Dewatripont, Ricardo Hausmann, Guy Lalanne, Ben McWilliams, Dani Rodrik, Simone Tagliapietra, Alessio Terzi, Cecilia Trasi, Laura Tyson, Reinhilde Veugelers, Georg Zachmann and John Zysman
Policy brief

How have sanctions impacted Russia?

In this paper we assess both the immediate economic impact and the likely longer-term impact of sanctions on the Russian economy.

Maria Demertzis, Benjamin Hilgenstock, Ben McWilliams, Elina Ribakova and Simone Tagliapietra
External publication

How it can be done

What would be the economic consequences of a complete halt to Russian gas imports?

Rüdiger Bachmann, David Baqaee, Christian Bayer, Moritz Kuhn, Andreas Löschel, Ben McWilliams, Benjamin Moll, Andreas Peichl, Karen Pittel, Moritz Schularick and Georg Zachmann
Policy brief

How to make the EU Energy Platform an effective emergency tool

The platform could become an effective emergency tool to safeguard Europe’s gas supply, but policymakers need to address challenges to make it work.

Walter Boltz, Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, Thierry Deschuyteneer, Leigh Hancher, François Lévêque, Jean Pisani-Ferry, Ben McWilliams, Axel Ockenfels, Simone Tagliapietra and Georg Zachmann
Blog post

Lessons learned from the electricity tracker

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Bruegel’s new tool has gauged the impact of the crisis on economic activity by tracking changes in electri

Georg Zachmann and Ben McWilliams