Dr Robin Gowers

Rob is an economist whose work bridges academic theory with real-world applications, focusing on today's global challenges. His expertise in sustainable business, economics, and management education drives programmes and projects that tackle contemporary environmental and economic issues, combining theoretical rigour with practical solutions through robust industry collaborations and international partnerships.

[email protected]

Background

After gaining his PhD in Economics from the University of Essex, Rob worked for four years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, based in the City of London.

His time there included work with their Strategic Risk Services group, which helped senior executives identify, understand, assess and manage the business risks they faced across their whole enterprise. His roles within this group included direct consulting work on a wide range of client engagements, applying economic theory in solving strategic risk problems, constructing economic models in relation to the services on offer, and developing academic partnerships. He worked on what was then PwC’s biggest ever investment, based on internet security and PKI technology.

In his previous academic role, he was responsible for delivering and managing courses in economics and business management at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and the management of the relationships with partner institutions. This involved running induction programmes for staff and students and managing the assessment and moderation processes.

Research interests

• Impacts of the fourth industrial and agricultural revolutions: Analysing the profound societal and economic changes brought about by emerging technologies such as generative AI, automation, internet of things, and genetic engineering, and their implications for industry, employment, and sustainability.
• Sustainable food systems: Pioneering solutions to ensure food security while minimising environmental impact, promoting practices that enhance resilience, biodiversity, and social equity.
• Role of technology in food systems: Examining how innovations like precision agriculture, blockchain, and artificial intelligence are transforming food production, distribution, and consumption, shaping the future of agriculture and food security.
• Macroeconomics: Exploring the dynamics of national and global economies, uncovering trends, and understanding the implications of economic policies on growth and stability.
• Valuation: Delving into methodologies for determining the worth of assets and investments, crucial for decision-making and business.
• Risk management: Developing strategies to identify, assess, and mitigate risks across various sectors, from finance and insurance to supply chain management and environmental sustainability.

Areas of research supervision

Rob is currently supervising two PhD students, researching social and economic impacts of drug use in Sierra Leone, and analysis of the cocoa market.

Teaching

Rob teaches on the following modules:

• Agribusiness Management for the Circular Economy
• Strategic Management
• International Trade and Markets
• Political and Economic Contexts
• Sustainable Global Business Management and Circular Economics

Qualifications

• PhD in Economics, University of Essex.
• MA Economics, funded by a scholarship from the European Social Fund, University of Essex.
• BA (Hons) Economics, University of Essex.

Memberships, editorial boards

• Member, Scientific Board of the Central European Review of Economics and Finance
• Board member, Essex Education Fund Panel
• Visiting lecturer, Kazimierz Pulaski University of Technology and Humanities, Radom, Poland
• External examiner, University of Hertfordshire, 2023, Malaysian campus MBA programmes
• External examiner, University of Swansea, 2023, Valencia campus MBA and MSc in Finance programmes
• External examiner, Harper Adams University, 2018–23
• External examiner, University of Bolton, RAK (UAE) campus MBA programmes 2019-23
• External examiner, De Montfort University, Leicester 2016-19
• External examiner, Royal Holloway University of London, 2013-18
• External examiner, Staffordshire University Business School, 2011-15
• Visiting lecturer, universities in Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Botswana

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

• 2018-21: Managed Writtle’s part of the £4.7m Enabling Innovation: Research to Application (EIRA) project funded by Research England. EIRA was a pioneering project involving seven HEIs that transformed the business and economic landscape in the East of England by creating a step change in the way Knowledge Exchange (KE) was delivered. The key focus areas were AI, biotechnology, and digital creative.
• 2019-21: EIRA: Off grid LED vertical farm investigation (£90,000).
• 2020: EIRA funding to facilitate staff training (£2,000).
• 2019-21: Ufi VocTech Seed Grant: Working with BodySwaps, a company focussed on VR/AR to test their systems impacts on trust building skills to help people progress better and faster in their career (£50,000).
• 2019-21: SELEP funding (£30,000) to undertake research into rural skills needs.

Selected recent publications

Gowers, R. (2024) 'Can Companies Utilise Sustainable Business Practices to Gain a Competitive Advantage?' In: Baudry, M., Bukowski, S. I. and Lament, M. B. (Eds.) (2024) Financial Stability, Economic Growth and Sustainable Development. (Abingdon: Routledge).

Gowers, R. (2021) 'International Competitiveness and the Impact of Globalisation and Technology on Economic Growth and Welfare'. In: Bukowski, S. I., Hyz, A. and Lament, M. B. (Eds.), Competitiveness and Economic Development in Europe: Prospects and Challenges. (Abingdon: Routledge).

Gowers, R. (2018) 'European Monetary Union and the UK – A Love Hate Relationship'. In: Bukowski, S. I. (Ed.) (2018) Monetary Unions: Backgrounds, Advantages and Disadvantages. (New York: Nova Science Publications).

Gowers, R., Pajak, A. and Klusa, E. (2018) 'Cultural Determinants and Perspectives of International Expansion of Enterprises from Economies in Transition', Central European Review of Economics and Finance, 25(3).

Bukowski, S. and Gowers, R. (2018) 'An Estimate of the Impacts of the Bank of England’s Quantitative Easing Programme on UK Economic Growth', Central European Review of Economics and Finance, 25(3).

Media experience

Rob has had many newspaper articles published and has spoken on television and radio. He also had a column in both Liverpool and Colchester United Football Club’s matchday programmes for many years.

'Football’s summer transfer window showcases changing power dynamics', The Conversation, 1 September 2017.

'The big business revolution: why the future is blockchain', The Conversation, 25 July 2017.

'How Arsene Wenger changed the Premier League … and then dropped the ball', The Conversation, 3 April 2017.