1. What Harvard referencing actually is
Harvard is an author-date system. That means every time you use someone else’s ideas, numbers or words, you do two things:
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Put a short citation in the text, usually like this:
(Surname, Year) or Surname (Year)
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Add the full details in a reference list at the end of your assignment.
Most UK universities use their own small version of Harvard, but the basic idea is the same: author + year in the text, full details at the end. For a fuller breakdown of the UK “Cite Them Right” version, you can check the Open University’s official quick guide to Harvard referencing. Open University
Always check your module handbook as well, because your lecturer may follow a specific university version.
2. Why Harvard matters more in economics than you think
In economics, you are constantly using other people’s work:
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theory from textbooks
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articles from journals
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data from the Office for National Statistics, World Bank or IMF
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graphs and ideas you’ve adapted from lecture slides
Harvard referencing helps you:
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Avoid plagiarism – you’re showing clearly which ideas are yours and which ones come from someone else.
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Prove your argument – your tutor can see exactly where your data or theory came from.
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Look professional – economics is full of reports and policy papers; clean referencing is a basic skill in that world.
Think of referencing as part of the marks, not an extra chore at the end.
3. In-text citations for economics assignments
Here are the main patterns you’ll use again and again.
3.1 One author
Use the author’s surname and the year.
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Idea in your own words:
According to Parkin (2021), a rise in interest rates usually lowers investment.
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At the end of a sentence:
Higher interest rates usually lower investment (Parkin, 2021).
3.2 Two or three authors
List all surnames.
Game theory can explain pricing in oligopolies (Jones, Smith and Patel, 2020).
3.3 Four or more authors
Most UK Harvard styles let you use et al. after the first author.
Recent studies show a strong link between education and growth (Ahmed et al., 2019).
3.4 Organisations as authors
For statistics and reports, the organisation is often the author.
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UK unemployment fell in 2022 (Office for National Statistics, 2023).
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Trade data for the UK–EU relationship shows… (HM Revenue & Customs, 2024).
3.5 Page numbers (helpful in essays)
For direct quotes or very specific points, add a page number:
“Monetary policy works with long and variable lags” (Taylor, 2017, p. 45).
If your assignment is more about data and less about quoting words, you may not use page numbers very often, but they’re useful in essay-style questions.
4. The reference list for an economics assignment
At the end of your assignment you create a reference list (or sometimes a bibliography). Basic rules:
4.1 Economics textbook
Format (typical UK Harvard):
Surname, Initial(s). (Year) Title of book. Edition (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher.
Example:
Mankiw, N. G. (2021) Principles of economics. 9th edn. Boston: Cengage Learning.
4.2 Journal article in economics
Format:
Surname, Initial(s). (Year) ‘Title of article’, Title of journal, volume(issue), page range.
Example:
Blake, R. and Turner, L. (2020) ‘Housing markets and interest rate shocks in the UK’, Journal of Applied Economics, 27(3), pp. 210–232.
4.3 Government statistics or official report
Format:
Organisation (Year) Title. Place of publication: Publisher (or Organisation).
Example:
Office for National Statistics (2023) Labour market overview, UK: June 2023. London: Office for National Statistics.
If you used the online version, most Harvard styles ask you to add [online], the URL and the date you accessed it. Check your uni’s Harvard guide to see the exact layout.
4.4 Website or online article (economics blog / think-tank)
Format (common pattern):
Author or Organisation (Year) Title of page or article. [online] Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month Year].
Example:
Institute for Fiscal Studies (2022) The impact of rising energy prices on UK households. [online] Available at: URL [Accessed 5 March 2024].
5. Simple way to keep on top of your referencing
Instead of leaving everything to the last minute, build referencing into how you work:
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When you research:
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Keep a notes file or spreadsheet.
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For each source, write the author, year, title, place, publisher, or URL straight away.
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When you write:
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As soon as you use someone’s idea or number, drop in a quick in-text citation: (Surname, Year).
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It doesn’t have to be perfect at first; you can tidy it later.
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When you finish the draft:
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Final check:
This habit saves marks and a lot of stress at the deadline.
6. Common Harvard mistakes in economics assignments
Markers in UK universities see the same issues again and again:
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Missing sources for data. Students use graphs or numbers from ONS or World Bank but never mention where they came from. Always cite the data source.
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Mixing styles. Part of the assignment is in Harvard, but other parts look like footnotes or another system. Stick to one style.
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Inconsistent details. Some books have publishers and places, others don’t. Keep the pattern the same throughout.
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Random order. References thrown together in the order they were used. Remember: alphabetical by surname.
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No link between text and list. Citations like (Smith, 2020) in the essay but nothing under “Smith” at the end.
If you fix just these points, your referencing already looks a lot more professional.
7. Getting help while staying within the rules
Harvard referencing is a skill, and it gets easier the more economics assignments you write. Your university library will always have its own guide, and you can double-check tricky sources against the official Harvard guide linked earlier.
If you’re struggling with the whole assignment – structure, diagrams, data and references, you can also look at our Economics assignment help page, where support is focused on UK marking criteria and proper academic practice. Referencing is still your responsibility, but having a clear model in front of you makes it much simpler to copy the style correctly in future work.
