My current research interests are within the areas of industrial economics, public economics, behavioural economics and cybersecurity.
A recent project, funded by the UK Home Office, investigated the use of cyber-security health-checks for small businesses and charities. Working with a number of partners, including Kent Police and Leicestershire Police, the project trialled the use of a health-check delivered by a student consultancy (KITC Solutions). The project also, more generally, looked at the barriers small organisations face in adopting cyber best practice.
Another recent project called EMPHASIS, funded by the EPSRC, looked at the economic, psychological and social consequences of ransomware. I am involved in a range of work looking at the economic and welfare costs of ransomware as well as methods law enforcement can adopt to disrupt the business model of the criminals. My work has been published in the Journal of Cyber Security, Royal Society Open Science and Games. A related project, funded by the Defence, Science and Technology Lab, looked at the moral implications of paying hostage ransom demands in conflict situations.
In terms of public economics and behavioural economics, the main focus of my work is on the provision of threshold public goods. In this research I combine theory and lab experiments to understand how cooperation within small groups can be achieved and maintained. Recent work is published in International Journal of Game Theory, Economics Letters and Journal of Public Economic Theory. A current project is applying insights from threshold public good games to study climate change agreements.
Within the field of industrial organisation, I have long-standing research interests on issues related to leadership and research and development (R&D). My work has been published in Games and Economic Behavior, Mathematical Social Sciences and Manchester School. A current strand of work is looking at firm location choice in the presence of R&D spillovers.