The Chair of the West Midlands Branch, Jun Du is Professor of Economics and Director of Lloyds Banking Centre for Business Prosperity at Aston Business School, Aston University.
“Hello!
This is Jun Du, Chair of RSA in West Midlands. It is my great pleasure to send this welcome message to you at the outset of a new decade. I am a Professor of economics based at Aston University. Trained as an economist, I have lots of research experience in the field of firm productivity and growth, with the key interest being to understand the driving forces and impediments of productivity enhancement and economic growth. My everyday tool box contains data, methods and techniques drawing from multi-level dimensions of individuals, firms, industries, regions, governments and their interplays. But I also take nutrients from other fields and approaches in social science and science.
This is an remarkable time for the UK and regions, and indeed the world, living in an age of deep structural instability and uncertainty, in which policy makers have few choices but to look for new policy tools. It is a good time for scholars, as we not only face new challenges and new questions, but also need to rethink about the old issues we once declared resolved. As we enter a new decade, disruptions are underway not only in long-standing arrangements in political and economic systems and norms, but also in specific domains and technologies, business models, established views and even mainstream theories. Efforts are already underway to create a new foundation for development and prosperity. It is time for scholars like us who spend most breathing hours thinking and rethinking about these crucial issues to participate and lead the discussions and debates and play a key role in the discovery of solutions. And there is no other time like it is now.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss regional studies in the West Midlands area. ”
See the West Midlands Branch page for more details of local events.