Tom is Deputy Director and Policy Research Associate at SPERI. He works with SPERI’s Co-Directors to develop and implement SPERI’s research strategy through his own research and in collaboration with SPERI’s research team.

Tom leads SPERI’s Labour & Decent Work research theme with Genevieve LeBaron. His research focuses on the changing nature of work and the effects for individuals. His current research is focused on investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon trade unions. He is a Senior Fellow of Unions 21.

Tom lead’s SPERI’s work to communicate political economy research findings to non-academic audiences; develop policy recommendations from political economy research, and build relationships with policymakers, journalists, and other relevant actors, who could be partners in our research or impact activities. Tom has co-ordinated large academic projects including the Industrial Strategy Commission (2017).

He has extensive experience of engaging with national and international policymakers, including cross-party parliamentarians; businesses; thinktanks; trades unions; and national media. Before joining SPERI Tom worked as a Parliamentary Researcher.

Research Interests

Tom’s research interests focus on the changing nature of work, labour rights, trade unions and understanding contemporary working conditions. He is interested in investigating ways in which states, industry, workers, unions, and civil society seek to improve labour standards.

Tom has published a wide range of SPERI reports and policy briefs. His edited collection, The Coming Crisis (with Colin Hay), was published in 2018 in SPERI’s series ‘Building a Sustainable Political Economy’ with Palgrave Macmillan.

He has also worked with Colin Hay and Allister McGregor on research with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to develop a multilateral notion of inclusive growth.

Key Publications

Articles

• Genevieve LeBaron, Remi Edwards, Tom Hunt, Charline Sempéré and Penelope Kyritsis (2021) ‘The Ineffectiveness of CSR: Understanding Garment Company Commitments to Living Wages in Global Supply Chains’. New Political Economy (https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2021.1926954)
• Colin Hay, Tom Hunt and J. Allister McGregor (2020) ‘Inclusive growth: the challenges of multidimensionality and multilateralism’. Cambridge Review of International Affairs (doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2020.1784849) .
• Tom Hunt and Liam Stanley (2019) ‘From ‘There is No Alternative’ to ‘Maybe There are Alternatives’: five Challenges to Economic Orthodoxy after the Crash’. The Political Quarterly (doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.12707).

Books

• Colin Hay and Tom Hunt (eds) (2018) The Coming Crisis London: Palgrave Macmillan

Book chapters

• Tom Hunt (2018), ‘The case for Universal Basic Infrastructure’, in C. Berry (ed.), What We Really Mean When We Talk About Industrial Strategy London: British Academy

Reports and Briefs

• Tom Hunt (2021) Covid-19 and The Work of Unions: New Challenges and New Responses. Unions 21 report.
• Remi Edwards, Tom Hunt and Genevieve LeBaron (2019) Corporate Commitments to Living Wages in the Garment Industry. SPERI & University of Sheffield.
• Colin Hay, Tom Hunt and J. Allister McGregor (2019) Exploring the paradoxes of inclusive growth: towards a developmental, multilateral and multidimensional approach. SPERI & University of Sheffield.
• Colin Hay and Tom Hunt (2018) ‘Inclusive growth: the missing multilateral dimension’, Working Paper for the OECD.
• Tom Hunt and Sean McDaniel (2017) ‘Tackling Insecure Work: political action from around the world’, SPERI report for GMB.
• Craig Berry, Tom Hunt, Neil McInroy, Matthew Todd and Amy Whillans-Weldrake (2016) ‘The real deal: pushing the parameters of devolution deals’, Joint report by SPERI and Centre for Local Economic Strategies.
• Craig Berry, Tom Hunt, Scott Lavery and Will Vittery (2016) ‘UK regions and European structural and investment funds’, SPERI British Political Economy Brief No.24.
• Craig Berry, Tom Hunt, Chris Kirkland Scott Lavery (2016) ‘UK regions, the European Union and manufacturing exports’, SPERI British Political Economy Brief No.23.
• Craig Berry, Andrew Gamble, Colin Hay, Tom Hunt and Anthony Payne (2016) ‘Reforming the Treasury, reorienting British capitalism’, SPERI British Political Economy Brief No. 21.
• Adam Barber and Tom Hunt (2016) ‘The UK banking sector and the corporation tax surcharge’, SPERI British Political Economy Brief No.20.
• Craig Berry and Tom Hunt (2016) ‘The rising tide of gerontocracy’, Report for The Intergenerational Foundation.
• Tom Hunt (2015) ‘Comparing the post-crisis performance of the Sheffield, Brighton and Oxford city-region economies’, SPERI British Political Economy Brief No.17.
• Craig Berry, Tom Hunt and Laura White (2015) ‘Public infrastructure investment and business activity in the English regions’, SPERI British Political Economy Brief No.15.