Dr Andrew Mearman

Profile

I am an Associate Professor of Economics in the Leeds University Business School, which I joined LUBS in September 2015, having previously held permanent or visiting positions at the University of the West of England, Bristol; Wagner College, New York; University of Lincoln, UK; University of Amsterdam, Netherlands; and the New School University, New York. Leeds is also the institution from which I received my PhD and Masters degree in Economics.

My principal interests now are in student education, mainly in pedagogy. Previously (2015-2019) I had responsibility for delivering economics teaching at Leeds in my role as Director of Student Education for the Economics Department. I have been published extensively on the teaching of economics, particularly on curriculum design and the merits (or otherwise) of teaching economics pluralistically. Linked to this role, I am an Associate of the Economics Network and I am currently a member of the Advisory Board revising the Quality Assurance Agency’s Subject Benchmark for Economics. In addition, in 2019/20 I won a Fellowship at the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence (jointly with Ruth Payne, School of LCS) on new student transition into university, called ELIXIR the outputs of which played the primary role in underpinning the university’s approach to welcome and induction in 2020/21. I followed this up with a second fellowship in 2021/22, to evaluate WIT2020 and to establish WIT for 2021 and 2022. I have now begun a new project (again, jointly with Ruth Payne) on postgraduate welcome tutors, funded under the University’s Student Success stream. 

Outside of teaching my main interest is in the Economics discipline, namely the nature, role, purpose and treatment of 'heterodox' economics. My book (co-authored with Sebastian Berger and Danielle Guizzo) interviews sixteen leading economists to explore their views on heterodoxy. Connected to this, I advocate for greater pluralism in economics. One way I do this is through the Association for Heterodox Economics, of which I was Co-ordinator (Chair) from 2004-2007. For the AHE, I organise annual training workshops in advanced research methods for PhD candidates on economics topics.

In all of these endeavours, I apply and draw philosophical and methodological insight, employing materials developed in my work on economic methodology, most notably the role of realism in economics. Most significant in this area is my work with Paul Downward (Loughborough) on mixed methods research. Connected to this is my role as School Ethics Lead responsible for Economics and International Business and acting as a member of the AREA research ethics committee, advising and reviewing ethical review approval applications.

Finally, I am committed to realigning economics with ecological imperatives, as outlined in the sub-discipline of ecological economics. Partly to this end, I am a member of the Green House Think Tank. I also act as Staff Sustainability Architect and am on the Sustainable Curriculum group for the University.

Responsibilities

• Assistant Head of Final Year
• School Ethics Lead
• Staff Sustainability Architect

Research interests

My current research projects are:-

The nature of heterodox economics

Evaluating recent and ongoing reforms of economics, such as the CORE Project

Welcome, induction and transition of higher education students from a realist perspective; and the transformation of welcome at Leeds

Systems of provision

Qualifications

• PhD University of Leeds
• MA University of Leeds
• BSocSc University of Birmingham
• Senior Fellow of the HEA
• Certificate of Management and Business Education

Professional memberships

• Association for Heterodox Economics
• Union of Radical Political Economists
• Associate, Economics Network
• Member, Advisory Panel QAA Subject benchmark for Economics

Student education

I am an Assistant Head of Year, I provide personal tutoring to final year students.

My teaching draws on my expertise in economic methodology and research methods, which I have taught at levels 1, 2, 3 and D at Leeds.

Previously, I acted as Director of Student Education for the Economic Department.

Research groups and institutes

• Applied Institute for Research in Economics

Current postgraduate researchers

• Elena Hofferberth
• Louis O'Sullivan