About SPERI

Extreme imbalances in wealth and power, financial instability, and environmental degradation mean there is an urgent need for fresh thinking about how contemporary economies work and the public policies which could achieve a more equal and sustainable society.

Find out more about our research

Our community of researchers, policymakers, journalists and practitioners seek to bring together the multidisciplinary expertise and partnerships needed to understand complex and long-term political- economic issues. We believe that rigorous and methodologically pluralist research is necessary to support economic change at local, national, regional, and global levels. SPERI puts a premium on the real-world relevance of academic work and on translating our research into feasible policy proposals and accessible public discourse.

Founded in 2012 by Professors Tony Payne and Colin Hay, SPERI builds on the University of Sheffield’s rich tradition of global and comparative political economy, especially the activities of the Political Economy Research Centre established in 1994 and the journal New Political Economy founded in 1996 at the University.