Dr Jane Pollard
Senior Lecturer
- Email: j.s.pollard@ncl.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)191 222 8016
- Fax: 0191 232 9259
- Website: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/geps/research/geography/pcseminars/
- Address: 443
Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies(CURDS)
Claremont Bridge
Newcastle University
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
Research Interests
Geographies of money and finance; regional economic development; diverse economies; economic geography as a sub-discipline.
I am an economic geographer with interests in three broad areas of activity. First, I am interested in geographies of money and finance. A second, related, stream of work concerns the construction of diverse economies. Some of this work, undertaken with Nick Henry (Newcastle) and Cheryl McEwan (Durham), explored some of Birmingham’s transnational trading networks responsible for producing commodities such as Bhangra music and a wide range of Asian foods. Finally, I am interested in the changing nature and practices of economic geography as a sub-discipline. The theoretical concerns that pull these strands together include theorising the status of finance in economic development, geographical political economy and what are being called the 'new economic geographies'.
Current Work
Most of my work focuses on the role of financial intermediaries in local and regional economic development. My current projects on the growth of Islamic finance are exploring the diversity of Islamic finance and how its construction varies in different regional, regulatory, political and cultural contexts. I am also interested in the capacity of Islamic finance - whether delivered through banks, charities or other agencies- to support job creation and empowerment in low income areas.
I have also been working with colleagues (Alex Hughes, Uma Kothari, Nina Laurie, Cheryl McEwan and Alison Stenning) to explore different ways of thinking about the economic. Through our ESRC seminar series on Postcolonial economies, we are bringing together a dispersed international and interdisciplinary group of scholars from Geography, Economics, Development Studies, Anthropology, History, Cultural Studies and elsewhere to explore some of the challenges and possibilities of using postcolonial approaches to think about contemporary economies. More details can be found at: www.ncl.ac.uk/geps/research/geography/pcseminars/
Selected Publications
- Lee R; Clark GL; Pollard JS; Leyshon A. The remit of financial geography - before and after the crisis. Journal of Economic Geography 2009, 9(5), 723-747.
- Pollard JS; McEwan C; Laurie ND; Stenning AC. Economic geography under postcolonial scrutiny. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 2009, 34(2), 137-142.
- Pollard JS; Lim H; Brown R. Muslim economic initiatives: global finance and local projects. In: Phillips R, ed. Spaces of Hope for Muslims: Geographies of Possibility in Britain and the West. London: Zed Books, 2009.
- Pollard JS. Feminism and work. In: Kitchin R; Thrift NJ, ed. The International Encyclopaedia of Human Geography. Oxford: Elsevier, 2009, pp. 29-36.
- Pollard JS; Oldfield J; Randalls S; Thornes J. Firm finances, weather derivatives and geography. Geoforum 2008, 39(2), 616-624.
- Pollard JS. The global financial system: worlds of monies An introduction to Human Geography: issues for the 21st century, 3rd edition, Pearson. In: Daniels PW; Bradshaw MJ; Shaw DJB; Sidaway JD, ed. An introduction to Human Geography: issues for the 21st century. Harlow: Pearson, 2008.
Projects
- Developing Northumberland's Natural Heritage Cluster: Potentials, Problems and Pitfalls
- International Studies Association 50th annual meeting 2009
Project Leaders: Dr Jane Pollard - Situating small business regulation: A longitudinal study of how small firms receive, understand and respond to regulation
Project Leaders: Simon Downs (KITE, NUBS) - Situating small business regulation: A longitudinal study of how small firms receive, understand and respond to regulation
Project Leaders: Dr Jane Pollard - The Production of Trust: Making Islamic Finance in the UK and US
Project Leaders: Dr Jane Pollard
Future Research
financial inclusion and exclusion; transnational economic networks; financialisation.
Research Roles
I sit on the Editorial Boards of:
Journal of Economic Geography
Growth and Change
Geography Compass: Economic Geography
Postgraduate Supervision
Geographies of money and finance; regional economic development; diverse economies; entrepreneurship.
Sam Randalls “Firms, finance and risk: hedging against the weather" (ESRC-NERC)
Brian Ross "Entrepreneurship and Enterprise in later life"
Jon Swords "Developing Northumberland’s Natural Heritage Cluster: Potentials, Problems and Pitfalls"(ESRC-CASE)
Paul Vallance "Knowledge in the UK videogames development sector: a practice based approach"(ESRC)
Lalith Welamedage "Developing technological capabilities in small and medium-sized enterprises: a study of the role of technology policies and support agencies in Sri Lanka”
Felicity Wray "Venture capitalism in the North East of England" (ESRC).
Gisela Zapata "Gender and social dimensions of migration and remittances"
Samantha Coe "Rules are not enough when goods conflict"
Funding
2009-2012 ESRC, Situating small business regulation: A longitudinal study of how small firms receive, understand and respond to regulation (with Simon Down & Paul Richter (Newcastle University Business School) and Monder Ram (De Montfort University))
2007-2008 British Academy, The production of trust: making Islamic finance in the UK and US (with Michael Samers, University of Kentucky)
2005-2007 ESRC Seminar Series, Postcolonial Economies, with Alex Hughes (GPS), Nina Laurie (GPS), Alison Stenning (CURDS), Uma Kothari (Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester), Cheryl McEwan (School of Geography, University of Durham).
2003-2004 ONE North East, Strategic Futures: The North East’s Financial Markets
2003 Faculty of Arts and Humanities Research Fund, University of Newcastle - Postcolonial economic geographies: mapping minority ethnic banks in the UK
2000-2001 Nuffield Foundation -Financial networks in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter 1750-2000 (with Francesca Carnevali, School of History, University of Birmingham)
1998 HSBC Holdings Small Research Grant - The circulation of conventions of restructuring in the banking industry
Background
1994-1996: Lecturer in Geography, University of Exeter
1996-2003: Lecturer in Economic Geography, University of Birmingham
Roles and Responsibilities
Director of Research, Human Geography www.ncl.ac.uk/geps/research/geography/index.htm
Convenor of Human Geography Research Group
Member of School Research Committee
Qualifications
BA Geography, Sheffield University,UK
MA Geography, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
PhD Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles
Memberships
Royal Geographical Society-Institute of British Geographers
Association of American Geographers
Higher Education Academy
Honours and Awards
Chair, Economic Geography Research Group, RGS-IBG (2003-6)
Undergraduate Teaching
GEO3013 Geographies of Money
GEO2099 Economic Geography
GEO2044 Advanced Study Skills
GEO3099 Dissertation module
Postgraduate Teaching
GEO8016 Philosophies in Human Geography
GEO8017 Concepts in Action
GEO8007 Regional Development: Methodology, Analysis and Statistics
GEO8019 Money, Space and Power