Welcome to the Pluralist Economics Research Group (PERG)

Political economy is broader in scope than conventional economics and transgresses the disciplinary boundaries of economics. Consequently, the study of economics' intellectual heritage and history of thought, as well as the question of what constitutes appropriate methods and units of analysis (individuals, institutions, classes, race, gender, social norms), are in integral part of research in political economy. Research in this area has focused on the foundations of Marxist and Post-Keynesian theory, French and British contributions to economic theory in the 18th century and the degree to which political and economic theories are dominated by white, male thinkers and omit issues of colonialism, race and gender.

Financialisation is a hallmark of the last three decades. The finance-dominated accumulation regime is characterised by mediocre growth performance and a high degree of (financial) fragility. Growth in wage-led demand regimes becomes increasingly driven by debt and property prices. Our research has contributed to uncovering what the rise in size of the financial sector means for firms' investment behaviour and corporate governance, consumption behaviour, government expenditures and also where financial profits come from. Our research has also focused on how asset-driven wealth accumulation affects the provision of welfare services, with a specific focus on pensions, whose demand for assets continuously sparks growth and innovation in financial markets thereby generating potential for systemic risk and instability.

Political economy approaches provide a useful perspective for placing capitalism in a historical and institutional context and for tracing its consequences for workers. Capitalism takes different forms at different times. Neoliberalism, its new form since the 1980s, has come with a marketisation of social relations, privatisation of public services, financialisation, a rollback of labour rights and rising inequality as its hallmarks. Research in this area explores how to understand neoliberalism from a theoretical point of view and the consequences of neoliberalism for urban inequality, housing and homelessness.

To uncover the causes of development and the factors perpetuating underdevelopment, it is important to critically examine the causal relationships between systemic factors, acting on a global scale, and factors specific to individual economies and societies. Extrapolation should be consistent both ways, i.e. research should be able to explain how country-specific dynamics are influenced by systemic factors and unequal exchange while leaving room to explain why and how systemic pressures are mediated in a particular way domestically. Our research in this area has focused on the role of natural resource extraction and the role of Britain-based multinationals in development, relations of dependency and the super-exploitation of labour, structural change and industrial policy in sub-Saharan Africa.

An investigation of graduates' outcome in London using LinkedIn profiles

Existing evidence shows that the level of overqualification in London is above the one estimated in other areas in the UK (ONS). As the skill mismatch is usually associated with low productivity performance, this evidence is puzzling as productivity growth in London is typically above the average level for the UK. This project uses a previously unexplored dataset to investigate the extent of the educational mismatch in London, following graduates' labour market experience as recorded in their LinkedIn profiles. The richness of the data allows us to look at graduates' mobility across different types of jobs, the short or long-term nature of the mismatch and the role of different types of higher education institutions. Project lead: Professor Michela Vecchi. Project co-investigators: Dr Andrea Ingianni and Peter Wolf.

Skill (un)biased technical change

Research in the 1990s and early 2000s widely documented the skill biased nature of digital technologies. In more recent years, this trend appears to have changed and in several EU countries the skill wage premium is declining. This works aims at understanding the reasons behind this decline, focusing on technological factors and the increasing role of intangible assets in modern economies. The project uses the most recent release of the EUKEMS database for the period 1995-2018. Preliminary findings show that there is a declining wage premium for high skilled workers in most countries and industries, particularly after the 2008 financial crisis. Project contact: Professor Michela Vecchi. Co-investigators: Professor Catherine Robison (University of Kent) and Professor Mary O'Mahony (King's College London)

Dance, wellbeing and performance in the workplace

The effects of physical exercise on economic outcomes such as productivity, wages or employment probabilities is a growing area of research. In this project we study a specific exercise practice and a specific outcome: recreational dance and its effects on productivity performance in the workplace. We focus on dance for two main reasons: first, the existing sports-based evidence suggests that men are more likely to engage in physical exercise compared to women, hence women fare worse than men on the related economic outcomes. Dancing is particularly popular among women, hence it may provide an alternative way of exercising that reduces the gender imbalance. Second, dance is special. Neuroscience and psychology researchers have not only recognised the positive health effects of dance but have also discovered that dancing has additional benefits compared to other forms of physical exercise, on cognitive functions. The labour economic literature has traditionally related cognitive skills to higher wages and productivity. So, we argue that dancing, by improving cognitive abilities, can improve productivity in the workplace. Project lead: Professor Michela Vecchi. Project co-investigators: Professor Ian Marsh (Bayes Business School), Professor Dr Patrick Elf, Dr Akiko Ueno, Dr Athina Dilmperi and Dr Luke Devereux. Project outcomes: Shall we dance? Recreational dance, wellbeing and productivity during Covid-19.

The research, led by Dr Shaikh Eskander, covers areas including climate change, energy efficiency and soil conservation.

Group members research several themes in international economics, including trade, foreign investment, foreign exchange and migration.

This research areas focuses on the development of econometrics techniques for the analysis of a variety of economic issues, including unemployment, uncertainly, income inequalities. Project lead: Dr Chris Steward. Project outcomes: Is there really hysteresis in the OECD unemployment rates? New evidence using a Fourier panel unit root test; Is the reports-based measure of uncertainty stationary? Evidence from a new panel residual augmented least squares unit root tests; Absolute income inequality and rising house prices.