Our Team

You can find a full list of the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Economics staff on our staff page.

Grant Allan

Reader

Grant Allan is a Reader in the Department of Economics. 

Grant has research interests in applied regional economic analysis and modelling, particularly in the areas of energy and tourism.

He is Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes for the Department of Economics and Director of MSc in Applied Economics, MSc in Applied Economics by distance learning and MSc in Economics and Finance.

James Black

Knowledge Exchange Fellow

James is a Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute. He specialises in applied analysis of trade and climate change.

His work includes the production of economic statistics to improve our understanding of the economy, economic modelling and analysis to enhance the use of these statistics for policymaking, data visualisation to communicate results impactfully, and economic policy to understand how data can be used to drive decisions in Government.

Stephen Boyle

Stephen Boyle

Visiting Researcher

Stephen Boyle has worked as an economist for more than three decades and is the former chief economist of RBS.

Stephen is currently a Strategic Adviser to the Scottish Government’s Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board and an advisor to the David Hume Institute.

Stephen is a visiting researcher at the Fraser of Allander Institute.

Annmarie Campbell

Department Manager

Annmarie works closely with the Head of Department ensuring operational excellence across the delivery of Strathclyde’s portfolio of teaching, research and knowledge exchange activities.

Allison Catalano

Knowledge Exchange Fellow

Allison is a Knowledge Exchange Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute.

Her research focuses on socioeconomic inequality, and in particular on disability, employment, and health. She previously held a position as an academic fellow through Scottish Parliament, researching disability employment trends in Scotland. She has an MSc in Applied Economics from the University of Strathclyde and a BA in Mathematics from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Emma Congreve

Deputy Director
Senior Knowledge Exchange Fellow

Emma Congreve leads the Institute’s work on poverty, inequality and inclusive growth.

Emma was previously a senior economist at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and an economic adviser within the Scottish Government. Emma is an expert in economic policy relating to low income households. She also has a background in local government finance and environmental and agricultural economic policy.

Kevin Connolly

Chancellor’s Fellow

Kevin is a Chancellor’s Fellow in the Department of Economic with a focus on the use of regional economic models for policy analysis.

Areas of interest include; energy and climate change, poverty and tourism.

Ben Cooper

Knowledge Exchange Associate

Ben is a Knowledge Exchange Associate at the Fraser of Allander Institute working across a number of projects areas.

He has a Masters in Economics from the University of Edinburgh, and a degree in Economics from the University of Strathclyde.

His main areas of focus are on social care and the economics related to the criminal justice system. He also has experience in business survey design and dissemination; a host of commissioned research projects for private, public and third sector organisations; and, economic modelling.

Ciara Crummey

Knowledge Exchange Associate

Ciara is a Knowledge Exchange Associate at the Fraser of Allander Institute.

She has a broad research experience across different areas including poverty and inequality, the voluntary sector, health, education, trade, and renewables and climate change. She also regularly contributes to key FAI analysis including the quarterly Economic Commentary and the Scottish Business Monitor.

Ciara has an MSc in Applied Economics (Distinction) and a first-class BA Honour’s degree in Economics and Finance, both from the University of Strathclyde.

Sharada Davidson

Lecturer

Sharada supports the Institute’s projects which develop new economic indicators and statistics or require time series data analysis.

She has expertise in analysing interdependencies between countries/regions and developing different modelling techniques (including Bayesian methods) and frameworks to inform policymaking.  She has undertaken work for the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence.  Previously, Sharada worked as a Consultant and PhD Trainee for the European Central Bank, modelling the impact of macroprudential policies. 

Geoffroy Duparc-Portier

Research Associate

Geoff is a Research Associate in the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI).

His research expertise is in Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling. Geoff’s research interests are in applied trade, energy and labour market topics.

Currently, Geoff is working on distributional policy and trade research using multi-region models and applied microeconometrics labour market research.

Gioele Figus

Senior Lecturer

Gioele is a senior lecturer in economics at the University of Strathclyde.

Gioele is specialised in the development and application of Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models for policy analysis. He is generally interested in regional macroeconomics and on the impact of regional policies on the wider economy. 

Gioele is currently focussed on the impact of energy, tourism, fiscal and trade policies.

Brodie Gillan

Knowledge Exchange Assistant

Brodie is an Assistant Economist at the Fraser of Allander Institute.

She recently completed an MSc in Applied Economics at the University of Strathclyde and has a first-class Honour’s degree in Economics and Politics from the University of Glasgow.

Brodie has previously completed an Economics Futures Work Placement at the Institute and has also worked as a parliamentary researcher within the Scottish Parliament.

David Jack

Senior Knowledge Exchange Fellow

David is a Senior Knowledge Exchange Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute where he has a focus on data improvement.

His current work includes supporting the Institute’s programme of research concerning the lives of people with a learning disability and looking at opportunities to enhance the quality and accessibility of data related to socio-economic and health inequalities in Scotland.

Previously, he worked in a range of analytical positions across the public sector, primarily as a statistician.

Ian Macartney

Project Administrator

Ian Macartney supports project management for the Institute’s Policy Unit on Improving Health and Reducing Inequalities in Scotland.

He previously provided professional services for the Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation research centre, at the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, taking lead on the organisation of their 300-delegate three-day conference at the Technology and Innovation Centre. He was also the Senior Logistics Manager for the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2022, manging 60,000 units and curating an extensive stocklist for the Festival’s global industry-leading shopfront.

Chirsty McFadyen

Knowledge Exchange Associate

Chirsty is a Knowledge Exchange Associate at the Fraser of Allander Institute where she primarily works on projects related to employment and inequality.

Her current work covers topics such as the employment of people with learning disabilities, in-work poverty and the sustainability of the hospitality industry, and financial security for people with learning disabilities.

Peter McGregor

Professor

Peter became Emeritus Professor of Economics in June 2015, and was appointed as (part-time) Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute from September 2015. In the 30 months to end May 2015 he had been the Director of the International Public Policy Institute, and prior to that had served several terms as Head of Department of Economics, Director and Research Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI).  

Peter’s current research interests include the impact of fiscal autonomy on the Scottish and UK economies, and modelling energy-economy-environment interdependence.

Stuart McIntyre

Professor

Fellow of the Office for National Statistics, Research Associate at the ONS-funded Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence, and Faculty Research Affiliate at the Regional Research Institute at West Virginia University.

Stuart is also a Lead Editor of the ESRC-funded Economics Observatory (https://www.economicsobservatory.com/) which bridges the gap between academic research, government policy and the general public. 

Research interests: applied economics, regional economics and public policy.

Kate Milne

Knowledge Exchange Assistant

Kate is a Knowledge Exchange Assistant at the FAI working across a number of project areas.
 
Kate is currently studying for her MSc in Economics at the University of Edinburgh and has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Strathclyde. She is also the Outreach Coordinator at the Women in Economics Initiative which aims to encourage equal opportunity and improve representation in the field.
 
Her research interests include development, health and gender economics.

João Sousa

Deputy Director
Senior Knowledge Exchange Fellow

João is Deputy Director and Senior Knowledge Exchange Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute. Previously, he was a Senior Fiscal Analyst at the Office for Budget Responsibility, where he led on analysis of long-term sustainability of the UK’s public finances and on the effect of economic developments and fiscal policy on the UK’s medium-term outlook.

Hannah Randolph

Economic and Policy Analyst

Hannah is an Associate at the Fraser of Allander Institute.

She specialises in applied social policy analysis with a focus on income, poverty, and inequality. Hannah’s previous work includes analysis of household time use, the future of global care work, land rights, and migration in developing countries.

Find out more about Hannah.

Mairi Spowage

Director
Professor

Mairi leads on the Institute’s work with various partners, including those in business, the public and third sector. She is regularly asked to give evidence on economic and fiscal matters at Parliamentary Committees.

Previously, Mairi was the Deputy Chief Executive of the Scottish Fiscal Commission and the Head of National Accounts at the Scottish Government, and has over a decade of experience working in different areas of statistics and analysis.

Kathleen Tyrrell

Knowledge Exchange & Research Support

Kathleen supports the delivery of the institute’s portfolio of research, knowledge exchange and external engagement activities.

Kathleen in also involved in our Economics Futures initiative. Economics Futures engages with undergraduate economics students, offering work experience opportunities across Scottish Universities and with our public sector partners.

Jack Williamson

Knowledge Exchange Associate

Jack is part of the Knowledge Exchange Team at the Fraser of Allander Institute.

Jack received a First-Class Honours undergraduate degree from the University of Strathclyde winning the dissertation prize and the Sir Charles Carter prize for performance in undergraduate economics. He has recently completed his MSc in Applied Economics with distinction.

His recent work with the institute has focussed on economic accounts, economic modelling, and renewable energy.