Peter Burge

Operations Director, RAND Europe

Cambridge Office

Education

M.Sc. in transport, Centre for Transport Studies, University of London; M.Eng. in civil engineering, Imperial College, University of London

One Page Bio

Media Resources

This researcher is available for interviews.

To arrange an interview, contact RAND Europe Media Relations at +44 (1223) 353 329, x2560, or email europeanmedia@rand.org.

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Overview

Peter Burge is the operations director at RAND Europe. He also maintains an active research portfolio. His main areas of research interest are stated preference market research and discrete choice modelling, and he has been involved in more than 60 studies employing these techniques to address policy issues.

Although coming from a transport demand modelling background, he has also applied his experience in the modelling of choice behaviour and quantifying preferences to studies within the health, telecoms, environmental, and postal sectors.

Burge received his M.Sc. in transport from the Centre for Transport Studies, University of London, and his M.Eng. in civil engineering from Imperial College, University of London.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

Estimating the value placed on impacts from research
Modelling the demand for postal services in a deregulated business market
Modelling the demand for high-speed rail
Developing a preference weighted measure for the outcomes of social care
Modelling patients' choices between hospitals

Selected Publications

Hui Lu, Peter Burge, Chris Heywood, Rob Sheldon, Peter Lee, Kate Barber and Alex Phillips, "The impact of real-time information on passengers’ value of bus waiting time," Proceedings of the European Transport Conference, 2017

Alex Pollitt, Dimitris Potoglou, Sunil Patil, Peter Burge, Sue Guthrie, Suzanne King, Steve Wooding, Jonathan Grant, "Understanding the relative valuation of research impact: a best–worst scaling experiment of the general public and biomedical and health researchers," BMJ Open, 6(8), 2016

Emily Lancsar and Peter Burge "Choice Modelling Research in Health Economics," in Stephane Hess and Andrew Daly, Handbook of Choice Modelling, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, 2014

Rachel Pechey, Peter Burge, Marc Suhrcke, Theresa Marteau, Emmanouil Mentzakis, "Public Acceptability of Population-Level Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Consumption: A Discrete Choice Experiment," Social Science & Medicine, 113, 2014

Leticia Veruete-McKay, Robert Sheldon, Peter Burge and Alison Lawrence "Electronic substitution and postal price elasticities: a customer market approach," in Michael Crew and Paul Kleindofer, Reforming the Postal Sector in the Face of Electronic Competition, Edward Elgar, 2013

Ann Netten, Peter Burge, Juliette Malley, Dimitris Potoglou, Anne-Marie Towers, John Brazier, et al., "Outcomes of social care for adults: developing a preference-weighted measure," Health Technology Assessment, 16(16), 2012

Dimitris Potoglou, Peter Burge, Terry Flynn, Ann Netten, Juliette Malley, Julien Forder, John E. Brazier, "Best–worst scaling vs. discrete choice experiments: An empirical comparison using social care data," Social Science and Medicine, 72(10), 2011

Ruth Robertson and Peter Burge, "The impact of patient choice of provider on equity: analysis of a patient survey," Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, 16(Supp 1), 2011

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: BBC News; Financial Times; Public Servant Magazine

Commentary

Teacher Incentives

What Factors Affecting Retention Matter Most to Teachers?
Maintaining an adequate supply of teachers is a challenge and an area of significant concern. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, a set of interventions developed to target the preferences and expectations of specific groups of teachers is likely to be most effective.
Apr 5, 2021
Schools Week
Health Care Delivery Approaches

Improving Care and Support for People Living with Breathlessness
Living with COPD puts a huge burden on patients and their informal caregivers. What measures could improve care and support among these groups?
Jun 10, 2016
The BMJ

Publications

Journal Article
Measuring Public Preferences Between Health and Social Care Funding Options
Additional funding will be needed to meet the growing demand for health and social care in the UK. What is the most acceptable way to raise it? Options range from taxation to mandatory insurance, voluntary insurance and user charges. We sought to analyse the preferences of the UK general public.
Mar 1, 2021
Research Brief
Discrete choice experiments: A unique approach to understanding teacher retention in England
RAND Europe was commissioned by the UK Office of Manpower Economics (OME) to measure the impact of pay, rewards and other working conditions on the retention of teachers, using a quantitative survey containing two discrete choice experiments.
Feb 9, 2021
Report
Understanding Teaching Retention: Using a discrete choice experiment to measure teacher retention in England
RAND Europe was commissioned by the UK Office of Manpower Economics (OME) to measure the impact of pay, rewards and other working conditions on the retention of teachers, using a quantitative survey containing two discrete choice experiments.
Feb 9, 2021
Journal Article
Use and Non-Use Values of Auckland Council Amenities: Final Report
Auckland Council commissioned this study to quantify how much the public use and value local amenities. To fulfill the study needs, a survey was undertaken with Auckland residents to collect data on their usage of these amenities.
Dec 10, 2020
Research Brief
Options for funding the NHS and social care in the UK: How the UK general public would prefer extra funds to be raised
What is the publicly preferred way to raise additional funds needed to meet growing demand for health and social care. Options are taxation, insurance, or user charges. We analyse the preferences of the UK general public using a choice experiment.
Oct 7, 2019
Journal Article
Public Acceptability of Health and Social Care Funding Options: Funding Options for the NHS and Social Care in the UK
An assessment of how popular different funding approaches for the NHS and social care are among the general public, as part of a wider study on feasible options for the future funding of health and social care in the UK.
Feb 20, 2019
Report
Hepatitis C: Understanding factors that influence the physicians' treatment decisions
A study investigating the decisionmaking process undertaken by physicians when prescribing treatment for Hepatitis C and the comparative influence and importance of specific factors and combinations of factors.
Aug 19, 2016
Report
Agreement with, and feasibility of, the emerging recommendations from the Living with Breathlessness study: Findings from an online stakeholder survey
This report contains the findings from an online survey of stakeholders who work with people living with advanced COPD to explore agreement with, and feasibility of the recommendations from the Living with Breathlessness study.
Jun 6, 2016
Journal Article
Understanding the Potential of Variable Tolling to Smooth Congestion on Downstream Facilities: Applications of a Joint Time-of-Day and Route Choice Model
The aim of this research was to understand the conditions under which time-varying tolls could be used to effectively smooth congestion on a downstream, untolled roadway.
Apr 6, 2016
Report
The Impact of Adopting Time-of-Day Tolling: Case Study of 183A in Austin, Texas
This study evaluates the traffic and revenue impacts of moving from a fixed toll rate on the 183A Turnpike in Texas to a toll structure that varies by time of day.
Jun 18, 2015
Report
Estimating the value of mobile telephony in mobile network not-spots
This study uses stated preference discrete choice experiments to quantify the value that residents and businesses in not-spot areas and local visitors and tourists to these areas are willing to pay for mobile phone coverage.
Mar 12, 2015
Report
Estimating the value of mobile telephony in mobile network not-spots: Summary
This study uses stated preference discrete choice experiments to quantify the value that residents and businesses in not-spot areas and local visitors and tourists to these areas are willing to pay for mobile phone coverage.
Mar 12, 2015
Journal Article
Public Acceptability of Population-Level Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Consumption: A Discrete Choice Experiment
This discrete choice experiment provides a novel investigation of the acceptability of different interventions to reduce alcohol consumption and the effect of information on expected effectiveness, using a UK general population sample of 1202 adults.
Jul 1, 2014
Report
Understanding the impact of differential university fees in England
This report explores the relative importance of tuition fees on the choices made between universities by students, and parents of students. We quantify the willingness to pay for aspects that may differentiate universities and their courses.
Jun 12, 2014
Journal Article
Trade-off Across Privacy, Security and Surveillance in the Case of Metro Travel in Europe
Focusing on train/metro travel we investigate whether Europeans perceive similar security and privacy issues as have been raised in recent discussions about surveillance.
2014
Journal Article
Consumers' Responsiveness to Alcohol Multi-Buy Sales Promotions: Results from a Stated Preference Choice Experiment
This study used stated preference choice experiments to gain a better understanding of how the presence of multi-buy sales promotions affects consumers' purchasing behaviour of alcohol products, in terms of both type and amount of wine, beer and spirits.
2013
Journal Article
Electronic Substitution and Postal Price Elasticities: A Customer Market Approach
Advances in technology are blurring the boundary between the delivery of communication via physical and electronic means.
2013
Journal Article
What Works in Changing Energy-Using Behaviours in the Home? A Rapid Evidence Assessment: Final Report
In November 2012, the Department of Energy and Climate Change unveiled the UK's national Energy Efficiency Strategy, setting out the direction of their policy for the coming decades. RAND Europe's research on
Nov 1, 2012
Journal Article
Outcomes of Social Care for Adults: Developing a Preference-Weighted Measure
The aim of this study was to develop a measure of social care outcome, an equivalent to the quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in health, which could be used in a range of circumstances.
Mar 1, 2012
Report
Modelling Demand for Long-Distance Travel in Great Britain: Stated preference surveys to support the modelling of demand for high-speed rail
This report provides new empirical evidence from a study into the factors influencing demand for high-speed rail in the UK. The forecasts developed from these models will inform the debate around the future of high-speed rail in the UK.
Jun 23, 2011
Journal Article
Best-worst Scaling Vs. Discrete Choice Experiments: An Empirical Comparison Using Social Care Data
This paper presents empirical findings from the comparison between two principal preference elicitation techniques: discrete choice experiments and profile-based best–worst scaling.
May 1, 2011
Journal Article
The Impact of Patient Choice of Provider on Equity: Analysis of a Patient Survey
More educated, affluent patients were no more likely to be offered a choice than other population groups, but there does appear to be a social gradient in who chose to travel beyond the local area for treatment. If these results were replicated across England, there is at least the potential risk that when local hospitals are failing, patient choice could result in inequitable access to high quality care, rather than enhancing equity as the policy's architects had hoped.
Apr 1, 2011
Report
Paying for carbon emissions reduction
This paper explores how much British citizens might be willing to pay for carbon emissions reduction, and the implication of this for climate change policies.
Feb 23, 2011
Research Brief
Security at what cost? Quantifying trade-offs across liberty, privacy and security
RAND Europe undertook an internally funded, innovative discrete choice experiment to understand the real privacy and security trade-offs individuals are willing to make in order to inform policymakers about citizens' true preferences in this domain.
Jun 8, 2010
Draft
How do the public value different outcomes of social care? Estimation of preference weights for ASCOT
This RAND Europe report establishes preference weights for the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit measures of social care outcomes. Best-worst scaling exercises were used to elicit preferences and support the development of discrete choice models.
Jun 1, 2010
Journal Article
Quantifying Individuals' Trade-Offs Between Privacy, Liberty and Security: The Case of Rail Travel in UK
This paper uses a stated choice experiment to quantify individuals' tradeoffs between privacy and security within a real-life context, namely rail travel in the UK.
Mar 31, 2010
Report
Security, At What Cost? Quantifying people's trade-offs across liberty, privacy and security
This study was aimed at understanding practical privacy, liberty and security trade-offs individuals make to better inform public policy about preferences in this domain and to inform the debate about the balance between security and civil liberties.
Jan 8, 2010
Journal Article
Security, at What Cost?
Much of the current debate concerning civil liberties and security is adversarial, and little robust research data informs these arguments.This paper outlines the results of a study that attempts to objectively understand the real privacy, liberty and security trade-offs made by individuals, so that policymakers can be better informed about the preferences of individuals with regard to these important issues.
2010
Research Brief
How to leave an Olympic Legacy: Using the past and the present to deliver the future
Setting the Agenda for an Evidence-based Olympics is a RAND Europe initiative that reveals how our rigorous research and analysis can help policy and decision makers to address the immense challenges of London's Olympic Games.
Jan 15, 2008
Research Brief
Road Pricing: Predicting the responses of drivers to road pricing
Describes some of the work that RAND Europe has been undertaking with UK clients to investigate road pricing.
Oct 22, 2007
Report
Setting the Agenda for an Evidence-based Olympics
A meta-analysis of Olympic Games and mega-event policy issues based on a review of previous evaluations and analyses, to identify issues that should be addressed in order to contribute to London 2012's aspiration as the most successful modern Games.
Oct 15, 2007
Report
Isles of Scilly: Travel Demand Study
Provides an example of how a travel demand model was used to predict travellers' responses and quantify their benefits from different ferry service options to the Isles of Scilly.
May 29, 2007
Journal Article
The Modeling of Motorcycle Ownership and Commuter Usage: A UK Study
This paper presents work, undertaken for the UK Department for Transport, to help determine how policy could affect motorcycle usage.
2007
Report
Understanding Patients’ Choices at the Point of Referral
Details joint research by RAND Europe, City University and the Kings Fund to investigate which factors might drive patients' choices at the point of referral.
May 25, 2006
Report
London Patient Choice Project Evaluation: A model of patients’ choices of hospital from stated and revealed preference choice data
Covers the choice process and the trade-offs patients are willing to make in order to obtain earlier treatment.
Jun 30, 2005
Journal Article
Do Patients Always Prefer Quicker Treatment? A Discrete Choice Analysis of Patients' Stated Preferences in the London Patient Choice Project
The London Patient Choice Project (LPCP) was established to offer NHS patients more choice over where and when they receive treatment, and to reduce waiting times. The aim of this article is to investigate questions regarding patients' response to choice.
2005
Report
EXPEDITE: EXpert-system based PrEdictions of Demand for Internal Transport in Europe
Describes a model that was developed and applied in forecasting and policy simulation for passenger and freight transport.
2003