Sequentially he studied and worked another year at the University of California, Los Angeles, on a Fulbright Travel scholarship.

Culyer started his academic career at the University of Exeter in 1965 and subsequently moved to York in 1969, where he became professor at the Department of Economics & Related Studies.

In Toronto from 2003 to 2006, on leave from York, he was also chief scientist at the Institute for Work and Health, of which he is still an adjunct professor, and chaired the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board's Research Council.

[7][8] In 1994 Culyer chaired a task-force into Research and Development in the National Health Service of England and Wales which resulted in major changes in its organisation and funding.

In 1999 Culyer was appointed as the vice chair of the National Institute for Health Excellence (NICE) based in London, England, and led the economics side of its work until his move to Toronto in 2003.