Experts

UU 2016+. 2010-16 Chief Economist PwC in NI. 2007-10 Special Advisor. 1998-2007 MLA NI Assembly. 1989-98 Lecturer Queen’s University. Research Interests: NI economy, devolution policy, inter-regional and international productivity, and religion, ethics and economic thought. Recent article: “A critical review of competitiveness measurement in Northern Ireland”, Regional Studies, 53, 10, pp. 1494-1504.

Matt is a political economist specialising in global economic governance, the nature of globalisation, trade and development, the rising powers, and, increasingly, narcopolitics and drug policy. He previously worked at the University of the West Indies, and has regional expertise on Latin America and the Caribbean. He is based at the University of Sheffield and also co-directs the Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative at the Overseas Development Institute in London.

Esther’s research analyses how economic agents make decisions in social dilemmas, the role of incentives and how these incentives are affected by contextual factors – such as institutional change. Specifically, her research focuses on pro-social behaviour, including corporate social responsibility, provision of public goods and donations. Her research uses different methods, including behavioural game theory and experimental economics, and embraces multi-disciplinary approaches.

Jo Blanden is Professor in Economics at the University of Surrey and a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. Her research covers a range of issues in  Family, Education and Labour Economics.  She has contributed to the literature on social mobility, emphasising  the role of education, and more recently home ownership in intergenerational transmissions. She has evaluated how policy in early years can influence children’s attainment and reduce development gaps associated

Nicholas (Nick) Bloom is a Professor of Economics at Stanford University, and a Co-Director of the Productivity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research focuses on management practices and uncertainty. He previously worked at the UK Treasury and McKinsey & Company.

Alex has an established reputation as a leading voice in national conversations relating to masculinity, education, inequality and access to Higher Education. Since completing his doctoral research which focused inequality and access to university for white working-class boys in the West Midlands in 2020, he has been a regular speaker at national conferences of the British Sociological Association, British Educational Research Association, Forum for Access and Continuation, and Higher Education