Economy, Development and Social Justice Research Theme
Colleagues in the School’s Economy, Development and Social Justice research theme work across the intersections of economy, politics, society and space. A hallmark of the theme’s work is research that stretches beyond traditional sub-disciplinary boundaries - to develop an integrated approach to the relations between geographies of economy, development and social justice – and between the global North, South, West and East. The theme is also well known for work that not only develops our understandings of processes of economic and socio-political change, and their effects, but also explores (existing and potential) responses to those changes. Within this general approach, members of the theme are working in three broad areas:
Understanding globalising economy and politics: working within a concern with the geographies of global connections, research in this field examines: the historical geography of popular engagement in financial markets and their intersections with British imperialism (Alastair Owens); contemporary European and global production networks – with particular emphasis upon the regional economies of export production, local labour market regimes, global trade liberalisation and EU market liberalisation, and the enhancement of employment prospects (Al James, Adrian Smith); the implications of increasing subcontracted employment for forms of labour organisation and politics (Jane Wills); low paid labour migration and migrant divisions of labour (Kavita Datta, Jon May, Cathy McIlwaine, and Jane Wills); the characteristics, problems and needs of London’s Latin American population Cathy McIlwaine); and the geographies of remittance investment in the global South and East (Kavita Datta).
‘Domesticating’ neoliberalism: Research in this area focuses upon the ways in which neoliberal policy models are mediated by a variety of actors with spatiality differentiated effects. Research has explored shifts in corporate behaviour, including patterns of capital investment (Konstantinos Melachroinos) and the management of work-life balance (Al James); the articulation of market and non-market economic practices in household reproduction and everyday household economic practices (Adrian Smith); new forms of social reproduction, including transformatons in gender relations, relating to international migration (Kavita Datta, Cathy McIlwaine); and the restructuring of welfare in an era of neoliberal governmentality (Jon May).
Emerging agents of geo-political change: work in this field is exploring the emergence of new forms of worker organising in India (Al James); the growing importance of diaspora organisations in transnational political activity (Cathy McIlwaine); and the emergence of new, post-secular, alliances in the provision of welfare (Jon May) and in urban coalitions for social and political change, including campaigns for the Living Wage (Jane Wills).