Alan Collins

Professor Collins is Head of the Department of Economics at Nottingham Business School. He holds a PhD from the University of East Anglia and was formerly a President of the Association of Cultural Economics International, the global professional association for researchers in the economics of the arts, culture and creative industries. He has twice been Hobart Houghton Fellow at Rhodes University, South Africa and served as Distinguished Research Fellow at the South African Cultural Observatory in Port Elizabeth.

Alan was a member of the ‘PERCEIVE’ project team (www.perceiveproject.eu) investigating, in different European regions, to what extent citizens actually feel European and to what extent this actually relates to the implementation of European cohesion policies.

Before moving to Nottingham, he was Head of Economics at the University of Portsmouth and previously held posts at the University of Strathclyde and in the private sector, working with civil engineers and planners on the economic evaluation of infrastructure projects.

Alan has published over 100 peer reviewed journal articles plus various books, book chapters and encyclopaedia entries. The Economic and Social Research Council, Esmée Fairbairn Charitable Trust and various industry bodies and local authorities, have funded much of Alan’s past research work.

Professor Collins began working with Nottingham Business School at Nottingham Trent University in 2017. His research interests focus on the economics of public policy in a variety of policy settings including art and culture, wellbeing, natural resources and urban development.