Officers | Past Presidents | Elected Members | Co-opted Members | Past Presidents | Governance | AGM Documents
Officers
President
Prof Sarah Brown
University of Sheffield
Prof. Sarah Brown is a professor of economics at the University of Sheffield and has been with the institution since 2005. Her research interests include labour economics, household finances, and intergenerational attitudes. She is a Research Fellow at the IZA and an Associate Fellow at the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI). Currently, she serves as the President of the Scottish Economic Society.
President-Elect
Dr Tanya Wilson
University of Glasgow
Dr. Tanya Wilson is a senior lecturer in economics at the University of Glasgow and an associate at the School of Health & Wellbeing. Her research focuses on family economics, exploring topics such as the impact of local labour market conditions on domestic violence and the influence of education on early motherhood, juvenile crime, and marital sorting.
Secretary
Dr Harminder Battu
University of Aberdeen
Dr. Harminder Battu is the Dean for International Student Pathways and a reader in economics at the University of Aberdeen Business School. His research interests include educational mismatch, labour market outcomes, and the effects of cultural and educational diversity on wages. He is the honorary secretary of the Society.
Treasurer
Prof Lindsey Macmillan
UCL Institute of Education
Prof. Lindsey Macmillan is the founding director of the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) at University College London and a research fellow in the Education and Skills sector at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Her research focuses on educational inequalities, intergenerational income mobility, and the role of family background in access to and progression within occupations. She is an elected member of the Scottish Economic Society Council and co-editor of Education Economics.
Elected Members
Dr Konrad Copeland
University College London
Dr. Conrad Copeland is a research fellow at University College London and Deputy Director for Investment Performance and Analysis at the Department for Business and Trade. He is an international macroeconomist interested in the geography of trade and financial flows, focusing on trade frictions, market access, and currency areas.
Prof Jeanette Findlay
University of Glasgow
Prof. Jeanette Findlay is a professor of economics at the University of Glasgow. Her research focuses on applied microeconomics, including skills and education, gender and work, poverty and inequality, and aspects of industrial economics. She is also a REF Lead in Impact for the Adam Smith Business School and serves as President of UCU Scotland.
Dr Hector Rufrancos
University of Stirling
Dr. Hector Rufrancos is senior lecturer in economics at the University of Stirling School of Management. His research focuses on using applied econometrics to explore the interactions between policy, institutions, and individuals, and their implications for living standards and well-being. He also serves as the Undergraduate Economics Programme Director, PhD convenor for the Economics Division, and Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics PhD Director.
Prof Alex Trew
University of Glasgow
Prof. Alex Trew is a professor of economics at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow. His research interests include economic growth, economic geography, economic history, and financial development. He is affiliated with CESifo and IZA.
Dr Justine Wood
University of Loughborough
Dr. Justine Wood is a senior lecturer in business economics at Loughborough University. Her research interests include central bank transparency, monetary policy, financial economics, the economics of education, and the history of economic thought.
Prof Gill Wyness
Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, UCL Institute of Education
Prof. Gill Wyness is a professor of economics and deputy director of the Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) at the UCL Institute of Education. She specialises in applied economics, focusing on the economics of higher education, particularly inequalities in university participation and attainment, higher education finance, and the impacts of information and guidance. She is also a Research Associate at the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE.
Prof Alexandros Zangelidis
University of Aberdeen
Prof. Alexandros Zangelidis is a professor of economics at the University of Aberdeen, where he has been a faculty member since 2003. His research interests include labour economics and health economics, focusing on human capital, labour supply, well-being, socio-economic inequality, and healthcare utilisation. He has led several funded projects and played a key role in establishing the Scottish Eyecare for Everyone (SEE) network, a collaboration aimed at improving eye care through research-informed policy.
Prof John Struthers
University of West of Scotland
Prof. John Struthers is a Professor of Economics at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and Director of the Centre for African Research on Enterprise and Economic Development (CAREED). His research interests include development economics, with a focus on commodities such as coffee and cocoa, and he has extensive experience working in various African countries. He also serves as the Honorary Consul for Ethiopia in Scotland and has previously held positions such as Dean of Faculty of Business at UWS and Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Glasgow.
Co-Opted Members
Prof David A. Jaeger
University of St Andrews
Prof. David A. Jaeger is a Professor of Economics at the University of St Andrews. His research interests include applied microeconomics, particularly labor economics, health economics, policy analysis, and applied econometrics. He is currently the Editor of the Scottish Journal of Political Economy and serves as a co-opted member of the Council by virtue of this role.
Ms Ashley Lait
University of Bristol
Ms Ashley Lait serves as a Senior Research Fellow and Economics Network Manager. In her role, she coordinates events, manages publications, conducts research on economics teaching and learning, and supports various thematic projects aimed at disseminating good practices in higher education economics. Additionally, she serves as the Research Editor at the Economics Observatory, leading both regional work and the ECO magazine.
Dr Anthoulla Phella
University of Glasgow
Dr. Anthoulla Phella is a lecturer in econometrics at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, and a member of the macroeconomics research cluster. Her research focuses on time series econometrics and applied macroeconomics, with a particular interest in macro-at-risk projects and climate econometrics. She is also an associate of Climate Econometrics at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. She serves as a co-opted member of the council as the local organiser of the SES Conference.
Prof Alvin Birdi
University of Bristol, Economics Network
Prof. Alvin Birdi is the Director of the Economics Network and a professor of economics education at the University of Bristol. His research focuses on education innovation and enhancement. He sits on the Council of the Scottish Economic Society, chairs the Education Committee of the European Economic Association, and is a member of the editorial board of the International Review of Economics Education.
Dr Gary Gillespie
Chief Economic Adviser to the Scottish Government
Dr. Gary Gillespie is the Director and Chief Economic Adviser to the Scottish Government, a position he has held since 2011. His responsibilities include providing economic advice to the First Minister and ministers, publishing regular economic assessments, and leading engagement on the Wellbeing Economy Government network. He is also an Honorary Professor at Glasgow Caledonian University, Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde and Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences.
Past Presidents
Charles Nolan (2020 - 2023)
Prof. Charles Nolan is the Bonar MacFie Chair in Economics at the University of Glasgow and a member of the Macroeconomics research cluster. His research interests include monetary policy, macroeconomics, banking, fiscal policy, and macroprudential issues.
Matthias Klaes (2017 - 2020)
Prof. Matthias Klaes is a visiting lecturer at the Vinson Centre, University of Buckingham. His research interests include economic governance, transaction costs, online financial intermediation, and economic methodology. He is the current President of the Scottish Economic Society and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and the Institute for Leadership and Management.
Anne Gasteen (2014 - 2017)
Dr. Anne Gasteen is a research fellow at the University of Stirling and a former senior lecturer in economics at GCU Glasgow, where she worked from 2004 to 2018. Her research interests include various aspects of economics with a focus on education and gender. She served as the first woman President of the Scottish Economic Society from 2014 to 2017.
Klaus Beckmann (2011 - 2014)
Prof. Klaus Beckmann is the current President of Helmut-Schmidt-University / University of the Bundeswehr Hamburg (2018 - ). His research interests are in public economics, especially the economics of conflict and its simulation.
Robert Wright (2008 - 2011)
Prof. Robert Wright is the Milne Visiting Professor at the University of Western Australia and co-chair of the Implementation Group for a project on reducing informal employment in rural Uzbekistan. His research interests include population economics, labour economics, education economics, inequality and poverty, finance, and applied econometrics. He is also an Affiliate of the Adam Smith Business School and an Associate Tutor in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow.
Martin Chalkley (2005 - 2008)
Prof. Martin Chalkley is a professor of economics at the University of York. His research interests include economics of public services, health economics, and labour economics. He is an editor of the Scottish Journal of Political Economy and an associate editor of the Bulletin of Economic Research.
Bob Elliot (2002 - 2005)
Prof. Bob Elliott is an emeritus professor with the Health Economics Research Unit at the University of Aberdeen. His research focuses on health economics, labour economics, and public policy. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and has held visiting positions at several universities worldwide. Prof. Elliott has served as a Commissioner on the Low Pay Commission and coordinated the EC Framework 7 research project MUNROS, examining healthcare reform and the roles of health professionals.
Gavin Reid (1999 - 2002)
Prof. Gavin Reid is an emeritus professor at the University of Aberdeen and an honorary professor of economics at the University of St Andrews. His research interests include industrial organization, entrepreneurship, venture capital, small firms, innovation, R&D, intellectual property, information systems, risk appraisal, and financial structure. He is the founder and former director of the Centre for Research into Industry, Enterprise, Finance, and the Firm (CRIEFF) at the University of St Andrews and has published extensively in leading academic journals.
Paul Hare (1996 - 1999)
Prof. Paul Hare is a professor emeritus of economics at Heriot-Watt University, where he has been a faculty member since 1985. His research focuses on the economies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, microeconomic policy, investment, trade policy, and private sector development. He founded the Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation (CERT) and has worked on projects funded by the EU, World Bank, IMF, ESRC, and EBRD.
Laurie Hunter (1993 - 1996)
Sir Laurence Colvin Hunter is an emeritus professor and honorary senior research fellow in the School of Business and Management at the University of Glasgow where he was Professor of Applied Economics, 1970 to 2003. He was Vice-Principal, 1982 to 1986; Director of External Relations from 1987 to 1990 and Director of the Business School from 1996 until 1999.. His research and teaching focus on labour economics, industrial relations, and human resource management. He has held numerous public appointments, including serving on the Court of Inquiry into the Miners' Strike and the Royal Commission on Legal Services in Scotland, and was knighted in 1995 for his services.