Professor Paul Lewis

Professor Paul Lewis

Department of Management
Co-Director of the Centre for Responsible Business
Professor of Political Economy

Contact details

Address
Birmingham Business School
University House
Birmingham
B15 2TT

Paul is a Professor of Political Economy, interested in examining and understanding key features of contemporary capitalism. He has an undergraduate background in the natural sciences and the philosophy of science, a post-graduate training in political science and international relations, and professional experience as a management consultant.

Qualifications

PhD Political Economy (Birmingham)
MA Social Science Research Methods (Birmingham)
MA International Political Economy (Birmingham)
BSc Physics and Philosophy (Durhum)

Teaching

Paul teaches on the following modules:

  •  ‘Contemporary Capitalism’ with Dr. Paolo Di Martino, Final year UG Business Management, 10 credits, term 2
  • ‘Models of Capitalism and Financial Crises’ with Dr. Michel Goyer, MBA elective, term 2.
  • 'Consulting Skills' with Deloitte Consulting, MBA competitive elective, term 3
  • ‘Dissertation research methods’, MBA compulsory module, term 2

Postgraduate supervision

Dr Lewis would be interested to receive expressions of interest from prospective PhD students in the broad areas of:

Comparative studies examining national distributions of earnings and earnings inequality
The social and economic consequences of national institutional systems, including, but not limited to, the 'varieties of capitalism' framework
The causes and effects of the ongoing financial crisis

He is interested in research that employs quantitative or qualitative research methods, or ideally, both of these.

Other activities

Paul was made co-director of the Centre for Responsible Business in 2023

Invited Expert Contributor to the United Nations International Development Organisation (UNIDO) International Development Report 2018

External Examiner for the MSc. International Management at King’s College, London, 2014-18.

Referee for the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Comparative European Politics, Journal of Common Market Studies, Industrial Relations Journal and Review of International Political Economy

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Hearne, D & Lewis, P 2024, 'Challenging (mis)understandings of labour productivity for levelling-up: A broader research agenda for regional development', Contemporary Social Science: Journal of the Academy of Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2024.2439466

Bailey, D, Lewis, P & Shibata, S 2022, 'Contesting neoliberalism: mapping the terrain of social conflict', Capital and Class, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 449-478. https://doi.org/10.1177/03098168211054802

Bailey, D, Huke, N, Lewis, P & Shibata, S 2021, 'Variegated anti-austerity: Exploring the demise and rise of class struggle during the crisis of neoliberalism', Social Policy and Society, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 158-171. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746420000366

Lewis, P & Heyes, J 2020, 'The changing face of youth employment in Europe', Economic and Industrial Democracy, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 457-480. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X17720017

Lewis, P, Peng, F & Ryner, M 2017, 'Welfare capitalism in post-industrial times: trilemma or power over rents', New Political Economy, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 748–767 . https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2017.1393405

Heyes, J & Lewis, P 2015, 'Relied upon for the heavy lifting: can employment protection legislation reforms lead the EU out of the jobs crisis? Employment protection legislation and the Great Recession', Industrial Relations Journal, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 81-99. https://doi.org/10.1111/irj.2015.46.issue-2

Lewis, P & Heyes, J 2014, 'Employment protection under fire: Labour market deregulation and employment in the European Union', Economic and Industrial Democracy, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 587-607. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X13491842

Chapter (peer-reviewed)

Lewis, P 2021, The false promise of productivity. in C Berry, J Froud & T Barker (eds), The Political Economy of Industrial Strategy in the UK: From Productivity Problems to Development Dilemmas. Building Progressive Alternatives, Agenda Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne. <https://www.agendapub.com/books/130/the-political-economy-of-industrial-strategy-in-the-uk>

Lewis, P & Perry, J 2012, Price Wars: The crisis and the future of financialized capitalism. in H Overbeek & B van Apeldoorn (eds), After Neoliberalism. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 93-116.

Chapter

Heyes, J & Lewis, P 2015, Employment protection and the prospects for a jobs-led economic recovery. in The British Growth Crisis. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, pp. 221-241.

Heyes, J, Lewis, P & Clarke, I 2014, Varieties of Capitalism, varieties of crises. in The Comparative Political Economy of Work and Employment Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Other contribution

de Amstalden, M, Jabbour, L, Lewis, P, Miri, T, Onyeaka, H, Ögtem-Young, Ö, Pang, G, Shiu, E, Stephens, N & Winnall, L 2023, Written evidence submitted by the University of Birmingham (FSC0011): ‘Fairness in the food supply chain’: University of Birmingham. UK Parliament. <https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/122860/pdf/>

Other report

Fox, T, Sayin, L, Peters, T, Lewis, P & Jabbour, L 2024, The Hot Reality: Living in a +50°C World. University of Birmingham. <https://network.cleancooling.org/news/2084591>

Review article

Lewis, P & Bell, K 2019, 'Understanding the UK’s productivity problems: new technological solutions or a case for the renewal of old institutions?', Employee Relations, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 296-312. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-10-2018-0273

Working paper

Lewis, P & Peng, F 2018 'Manufacturing Productivity and Real Consumption Wages' Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development Working Paper Series, no. WP12 2018, pp. 1-59. <https://www.unido.org/api/opentext/documents/download/10357340/unido-file-10357340>

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