London School of Economics
The London School of Economics was founded in 1895 by Beatrice and Sidney Webb, initially funded by a bequest of £20,000 from the estate of Henry Hunt Hutchinson. Hutchinson, a lawyer and member of the Fabian Society, left the money in trust, to be put "towards advancing its [The Fabian Society's] objects in any way they [the trustees] deem advisable". The five trustees were Sidney Webb, Edward Pease, Constance Hutchinson, William de Mattos and William Clark.
Society of Professional Economists
The Society of Professional Economists was initially established as The Business Economists Group in 1953. When Sir Campbell Fraser of the Economist Intelligence Unit, with the aid of three of his own colleagues as well as John Dixon of Dunlop and Clive Dalton of Esso, set up a meeting with a view to establishing a small group of economists working in business. [Reference: Donald Anderson challenge of change]. The group wanted to discuss professional challenges in responding to the UK’s relatively poor post-war economic recovery [Reference: Donald Anderson challenge of change].
The first Business Economists Group meeting took place in 1953, in the St Ermin’s Hotel in Westminster, London. The attendance list shows there were thirty-three attendees: thirteen from industry, seven from consultancies and market research organisations, three from financial sectors, and one from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research. The remaining six were from government organisations. The aim of this first meeting was to: