Dr Tanya Wilson is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn, and President of the Scottish Economic Society. 

Her research lies in applied microeconomics, with a particular focus on labour economics, education, health and the economics of the family. Much of her work uses linked administrative and survey data to understand how labour market conditions, education and public policy shape individual and household outcomes over the life course. Her research has examined topics including domestic violence, education and early motherhood, crime, entrepreneurship, healthcare and low-paid employment. She has been awarded a Leverhulme Research Fellowship beginning in 2027. 

Alongside her research, Tanya is a member of TRACE (Trusted, Accessible and Connected Economic Data), a Royal Economic Society initiative that brings together economists, data providers and policymakers to improve access to high-quality administrative data for economic research. TRACE seeks to identify barriers to the effective use of administrative data, promote best practice, and support a more coordinated and accessible data infrastructure across the UK, enabling economists to address important policy questions using linked administrative data.

I'm delighted to join the ADR UK Ambassador Programme. As an applied economist, I have seen first-hand how linked administrative data can transform the questions we are able to answer and the evidence we can provide to policymakers. Administrative data allow us to move beyond small survey samples to study entire populations, understand long-term outcomes, evaluate public policies and identify inequalities that would otherwise remain hidden. I am a member of TRACE (Trusted, Accessible and Connected Economic Data), a Royal Economic Society initiative that is working to improve economists' access to high-quality administrative data and strengthen the UK's research data infrastructure. 

As an ADR UK Ambassador, I hope to champion the value of administrative data across all four nations of the UK and within the economics community, encourage more economists to make use of these remarkable resources, and help ensure that economic research continues to provide robust evidence to inform better public policy and improve people's lives.