Set up in 1982, the Oxford Economic Research Associates, or Oxera, is an independent consultancy that helps its clients navigate their way through the ups and downs of the global economy. Through a range of measures, including trend spotting and analysis of market development, the firm claims it can aid companies in creating business strategies to exploit economic changes no matter what industry they are in. Oxera provides this insight to a range of multinational companies, governments and regulators across the world.

The consultancy was actually borne out of the process of privatisation during Margaret Thatcher's tenure in early 1980s Britain. Oxera's original remit was to provide the government and other organisations with detailed analysis on how the new model espoused by Thatcher would affect Britain's economic landscape. Since then the firm has grown, and now encompasses a range of industry expertise, covering financial services, communications, water, transport and energy. Its services, meanwhile, span market analysis, regulation, corporate finance, competition policy, performance assessment, environmental economics and policy analysis.