Andy Pike

My central research interest is the geographical political economy of local and regional development. This core provides the basis for two main strands of work. First, this research is concerned with the concepts and theory of the meaning and governance of development regionally and locally in an international context. In particular, this work seeks to question and broaden our understandings of ‘development’ beyond the economic to encompass the social and ecological in more sustainable and progressive ways and to begin more meaningfully to connect development locally and regionally in the global North and South.

Second, this research focuses upon the intersections between local and regional development and Economic Geography. This theme has been explored in ongoing work on the geographies of brands and branding, and collaborative work on evolutionary approaches and the geographies of financialisation.

My research builds upon close policy engagement and has informed local and regional development policy for international (e.g. European Commission, United Nations International Labour Organization (UN-ILO), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)), national (e.g. Government Departments), regional (e.g. Local Enterprise Partnerships, Regional Development Agencies, trade unions) and local (e.g. Local Authorities, Development Agencies) organisations.