The business education sector is perceived to be counter-cyclical – as the economy goes into decline and conditions in the job market become tougher, applications to MBA programmes typically increase.

However, this model does not extend to executive education. With funding for executive programmes generally coming directly from employers rather than individuals, revenues can drop off as training budgets are frozen or reduced in reaction to an economic downturn. Evidence from this year’s Executive Education survey, which took place between February and March, supports this hypothesis.