Based on the interviews with applied macroeconomists and practitioners in economic policy, this project deals with the attitudes of policymakers towards macroeconomic theory and expertise. Policymakers use macroeconomics as a framework, which should be approached skeptically and which, however, is of increasing importance. The major factor for improving theory, policy, and theory-policy interaction are believed to be the increase of quality and quantity of empirical data. As of now, the respondents are in agreement that there is a huge room for improvement: the existing data is not readily available; it is sometimes biased; data collected by public entities is often not sufficient. Given the better data, macroeconomic models relevant for policy should be mainly improved in the direction of incorporating more heterogeneity – in consumers, firms, and regions, in expectation formation, and in possible reactions to policies. Applied specifically to the UK, the improved models should address crucial and interrelated policy challenges: stalling productivity, Brexit, climate change, individual and regional inequality. The organizational measures to better integrate economics into the policymaking process should be accompanied by fostering a critical perspective on the foundations and limitations of current macroeconomic models.

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