Alex Hughes is Professor of Economic Geography and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS).

Office: HDB.3.123

Current Roles and Responsibilities:

Acting Dean of Research & Innovation, HaSS Faculty, December 2022-July 2023

Director of Research for Geography, Newcastle University, 2022

Elected Member of University Senate, 2021-2024

Senate Representative on University Research and Innovation Committee, 2022

Co-Editor of Progress in Human Geography, 2020-

Editorial Advisory Board Member of Journal of Economic Geography, 2017-

Editorial Advisory Board Member of Economic Geography, 2017-

Member of ESRC Peer Review College, 2015-

External Advisory Board Member, UK Food Safety Network (Quadram Institute funded by BBSRC and the Food Standards Agency)

Recent Roles and Responsibilities:

Editorial Board Member of the RGS-IBG Book Series published by Wiley-Blackwell, 2013-2019

Associate Editor of Competition and Change (Sage), 2016-2019

Chair of the Economic Geography Research Group of the Royal Geographical Society (with the IBG), 2012-2015

Research Director for the School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University, 2014-2017

External Examiner, Southampton University Geography BA Programme, 2016-2019

Impact Coordinator for Geography, Newcastle University, 2019-2021

Posts and Qualifications:

2017 – Professor of Economic Geography, Newcastle University (0.8FTE to 2018; FT from 2019)

2012 – 2017 Reader in Economic Geography, Newcastle University (0.8 FTE)

2006 – 2012 Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Newcastle University (0.6 FTE)

1999 – 2006 Lecturer in Human Geography, Newcastle University (0.6 FTE from 2004)

1998 – 1999 Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Southampton

1995 – 1998 Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Aberdeen

1996    PhD in Geography, University of Southampton

Current and Recent Externally Funded Research Projects:

2023-2024: Arts and Humanities Research Council Follow-on Funding for Impact & Engagement, £79,728 (RCUK contribution), "Reducing Modern Slavery in the Health Sector's Supply Chains for Personal Protective Equipment" in collaboration with University of Sussex, University of Nottingham Rights Lab and Impactt Limited

2022-2024: British Academy Knowledge Frontiers International and Interdisciplinary Research Award, £199,939, "The Role of Traditional Food Systems in Rapid Urbanization" (Principal Investigator) in collaboration with Tim Hart, Precious Tirivanhu and Fubah Alubafi (Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa) and Katherine Denby and Henrice Altink (University of York, UK)

2020-2021: Arts and Humanities Research Council, £126,985 (RCUK contribution), "Addressing Labour Standards in Malaysian Medical Gloves Factories Using a Whole-Systems Approach to the Supply Chain" (Principal Investigator) in collaboration with University of Sussex, University of Nottingham Rights Lab and Impactt Limited

2019-2022: Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Collective Programme and Arts and Humanities Research Council, £186,520 (RCUK contribution), "Changing Food Systems in Kenya and Malawi and the Challenge of Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance" (Principal Investigator with Abdhalah Ziraba (African Population & Health Research Center, Nairobi), Alister Munthali (University of Malawi), Emma Roe (University of Southampton) and Megan Vaughan (University College London)

2018-2021: Economic and Social Research Council (Responsive Mode Research Grant), £584,900 (RCUK contribution), "Sustainable Consumption, the Middle Classes and Agri-food Ethics in the Global South" (Principal Investigator) with Mike Crang and Cheryl McEwan (University of Durham), Bob Doherty, Hector Gonzalez and Fernando Fastaso (University of York Management School), Dorothea Kleine and Stefania Vicari (University of Sheffield), Shari Daya (University of Cape Town), Guojun Zeng (Sun Yat-sen University) and Rita Afonso and Roberto Bartholo (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)

Pump Priming Funding from N8 (Northern 8) Agri-food (£22,384) has supported the 'Pathways to Impact' for this project.

2016-2019: British Academy/Newton Advanced Fellowship held by Dr Shari Daya of the University of Cape Town with Hughes as Co-Investigator and Newcastle University as UK host institution, £75,988, "Consumer ethics in post-apartheid South Africa"

2017-2018: Economic and Social Research Council, £174,934, "Corporate food retailers, meat supply chains and the responsibilities of tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR)" (Principal Investigator) with Dr Emma Roe
and Profs Neil Wrigley, Bill Keevil and Michelle Lowe (University of Southampton) and Steve Wearne (Food Standards Agency)

For details on past research and impact projects, see link to 'Research'.

Research Interests

Economic Geography: cultural political economy; postcolonial economies; global value chains and production networks; knowledge and economy; rethinking economy; transnational retailers and corporate responsibility; retailer-supplier relationships in the UK and USA; ethical trade and labour in South Africa, Kenya, Pakistan, and Malaysia; tackling anti-microbial resistance in food supply chains; regulation and governance; corporate social responsibility and sustainability; sustainable consumption in China, Brazil and South Africa; the audit economy; learning networks; ethical public procurement; ethical consumption in the global South; qualitative research methods.

Research and Impact Funding and Projects

2023-2024: Arts and Humanities Research Council, £79,728 (RCUK contribution), "Reducing Modern Slavery in the Health Sector's Supply Chains for Personal Protective Equipment" in collaboration with the University of Sussex, University of Nottingham Rights Lab and Impactt Limited

2022-2024: British Academy Knowledge Frontiers International and Interdisciplinary Research Award, £199,939, "The Role of Traditional Food Systems in Rapid Urbanization" (Principal Investigator) in collaboration with Tim Hart, Precious Tirivanhu, and Fubah Alubafi (Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa) and Katherine Denby and Henrice Altink (University of York, UK) Food security | HSRC

2020-2021: Arts and Humanities Research Council, £126,985 (RCUK contribution), "Addressing Labour Standards in Malaysian Medical Gloves Factories Using a Whole-Systems Approach to the Supply Chain" (Principal Investigator) in collaboration with the University of Sussex, University of Nottingham Rights Lab and Impactt Limited

2019-2022: Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Collective Programme and Arts & Humanities Research Council, £186,520 (RCUK contribution), "Changing Food Systems in Kenya and Malawi and the Challenge of Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance" (Principal Investigator) with Abdhalah Ziraba (African Population & Health Research Center, Nairobi), Alister Munthali (University of Malawi), Emma Roe (University of Southampton) and Megan Vaughan (University College London)

2018-2021: Economic and Social Research Council (Responsive Mode Research Grant), £584,900 (RCUK contribution), "Sustainable Consumption, the Middle Classes and Agri-food Ethics in the Global South" (Principal Investigator) with Mike Crang and Cheryl McEwan (University of Durham), Bob Doherty, Hector Gonzalez and Fernando Fastaso (University of York), Dorothea Kleine and Stefania Vicari (University of Sheffield), Shari Daya (University of Cape Town), Guojun Zeng (Sun Yat-sen University) and Rita Afonso and Roberto Bartholo (Federal University, Rio de Janeiro)

2019-: Faculty Impact Fund, £3,795, "Engaging the African Regional Committee of the UN's Codex Alimentarius Commission to Influence Guidelines for Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance in Food Chains"

2016-2019: British Academy/Newton Advanced Fellowship held by Dr Shari Daya of the University of Cape Town with Hughes as Co-Investigator and Newcastle University as UK host institution, £75,988, "Consumer ethics in post-apartheid South Africa"

2017-2018: Economic and Social Research Council, £174,934, "Corporate food retailers, meat supply chains and the responsibilities of tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR)" (Principal Investigator) with Dr Emma Roe and Profs Neil Wrigley, Bill Keevil and Michelle Lowe

2017-2018: N8 (Northern 8) Agri-food, £22,384, "Sustainable food consumption and agri-food ethics in the global South: developing pathways to impact" (Principal Investigator) with Profs Mike Crang, Cheryl McEwan, Bob Doherty and Dorothea Kleine and Drs Hector Gonzalez and Fernando Fastaso

2017-18: Economic and Social Research Council North East Impact Acceleration Fund Award, £21,003, "Converting Sustainable Wildflower Harvesting Resources into a Mobile App" (with Prof Cheryl McEwan)

2016: Economic and Social Research Council Global Challenges Research Fund Impact Acceleration Account, £17,497, "Deepening UK Markets for Sustainably Harvested Wildflowers and Sharing Best Practice with Wider Ethical Trade Networks"

2016-2017: Economic and Social Research Council North East Impact Acceleration Fund Award, £9,984, "Launching and Embedding Sustainable Harvesting Tools in the South African Fynbos Industry" (with Prof Cheryl McEwan)

2015-2016: Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account Award, £9,994, "Developing and Embedding the Wild Fynbos Harvesting Guide"

2014: Elsevier, $30,000, Inaugural Geoforum Workshop, "Ethical Consumption and the Globalizing Middle Classes: Philosophies, Policies and Practices" (with Prof Mike Crang)

2013-2014: Economic and Social Research Council (Knowledge Exchange), £74, 210 (RCUK contribution), "Developing Sustainable Wildflower Harvesting for Global Supply Chains" (Principal Investigator) with Prof Cheryl McEwan and Dr David Bek (RA)

2010-2012: Leverhulme Trust, £180,722, "Ethical Production in South Africa: Advancing a Cultural Economy Approach” (Co-Investigator) with Prof Cheryl McEwan (Principal Investigator) and Dr David Bek (RA)

2011-2012: Faculty Research Fund, Newcastle University, £2,924, "Ethical Sourcing by the Public Sector: Institutional Responsibility in 'Austerity Britain'" 

2009-2011: The British Academy (SG-53960), £6778, "Managing Ethical Trade in a Global Economic Crisis: The Case of UK Retailers"

2007-2009: Economic and Social Research Council Impact Grant (RES-172-25-0048), £44,412, "Retailers and Corporate Social Responsibility: Developing and Promoting a Strategic Agenda" (Principal Investigator) with Professor Neil Wrigley

2005-2007: Economic and Social Research Council (RES-000-23-0830), £108,000, “Organising Ethical Trade: a UK-USA Comparison” (Principal Investigator) with Professor Neil Wrigley

2005-2007: Economic and Social Research Council Seminar Series, Postcolonial Economies, with Professor Jane Pollard (GPS), Professor Nina Laurie (GPS), Professor Alison Stenning (GPS), Professor Uma Kothari (Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester) and Professor Cheryl McEwan (Department of Geography, University of Durham).

2002-2003: The British Academy (SG-33442), £4914, "Learning to Account for Ethical Trade: Retailers, Knowledges and Social Audits"

2000: University of Newcastle upon Tyne Small Grants Panel Award, £1,632, "Organisational Geographies of Business Ethics: The Case of the Ethical Trading Initiative"

1999: The Nuffield Foundation Social Science Small Grants Scheme (SGS/LB/0270), £3,995, “Practising Corporate Responsibility: Evaluating ‘Codes of Practice’ in the Kenyan Cut Flower Industry"

1996-1997: University of Aberdeen Research Committee Grant (R818), £3,525, “The Production of Festival Consumption: The Case of the Cut Flower Trade”

REF2021 Impact Case Study

Work on sustainable wildflower harvesting in the Western Cape of South Africa formed an Impact Case Study for REF2021: Results and submissions : REF 2021

Postgraduate Supervision

Research areas: economic geography and political economy; global value chains and production networks; knowledges and economies; postcolonial economies; retailer-supplier relationships; economic development in South Africa; regulation and governance; ethical trade and business responsibility; the audit economy; learning networks; ethical consumption in the global South.

Current students:

Jenni Boddy (ESRC 1 3); Alex Neill (ESRC 3.5); Zara Babakordi (ESRC 1 3)

Recent students:

Andrea Wilkinson (ESRC); Waziri Galadima (self-funded); Rituparna Sarma (self-funded); Jon Swords (ESRC/CASE); Peter Thomas (ESRC); David Phillips (ESRC/CASE with Traidcraft)

Undergraduate Teaching

GEO3158 Geographies of Sustainable Production and Consumption

GEO3099 Dissertation Mentoring

GEO2099 Economic Geography

• Articles

  • Hughes A, Brown JA, Trueba M, Trautrims A, Bostock B, Day E, Hurst R, Bhutta MF. Global value chains for medical gloves during the COVID-19 pandemic: Confronting forced labour through public procurement and crisis. Global Networks 2023, 23(1), 132-149.
  • Zhong S, Hughes A, Crang M, Zeng G, Hocknell S. Fragmentary embeddedness: Challenges for alternative food networks in Guangzhou, China. Journal of Rural Studies 2022, 95, 382-390.
  • Hughes A, Roe E, Hocknell S. Food supply chains and the antimicrobial resistance challenge: On the framing, accomplishments and limitations of corporate responsibility. Environment and Planning A: Economy & Space 2021, 53(6), 1373-1390.
  • Hughes A, Morrison E, Ruwanpura K. Public sector procurement and ethical trade: Governance and social responsibility in some hidden global supply chains. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 2019, 44(2), 242-255.
  • Hughes A, Hocknell S, Roe E. Corporate food retailers, meat supply chains and the responsibilities of tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Impact 2019, 2019(1), 17-19.
  • McEwan C, Hughes A, Bek D. Fairtrade, place and moral economy: Between abstract ethical discourse and the moral experience of Northern Cape farmers. Environment and Planning A 2017, 49(3), 572-591.
  • Ruwanpura K, Hughes A. Empowered spaces? Management articulations of gendered spaces in apparel factories in Karachi, Pakistan. Gender, Place and Culture 2016, 23(9), 1270-1285.
  • Bek D, Binns T, Blokker T, McEwan C, Hughes A. A high road to sustainability? Wildflower harvesting, ethical trade and social upgrading in South Africa’s Western Cape. Journal of Agrarian Change 2016, 17(3), 459–479.
  • McEwan C, Hughes A, Bek D. Theorising middle class consumption from the global South: a study of everyday ethics in South Africa's Western Cape. Geoforum 2015, 67, 233-243.
  • Hughes A, McEwan C, Bek D. Postcolonial perspectives on global production networks: insights from Flower Valley in South Africa. Environment and Planning A 2015, 47(2), 249-266.
  • Hughes A, McEwan C, Bek D. Mobilizing the ethical consumer in South Africa. Geoforum 2015, 67, 148-157.
  • McEwan C, Hughes A, Bek D, Rosenberg Z. Why ‘place’ matters in the development and impacts of Fairtrade production. Food Chains 2014, 4(1), 78-92.
  • McEwan C, Hughes A, Bek D. Futures, ethics and the politics of expectation in biodiversity conservation: a case study of South African sustainable wildflower harvesting. Geoforum 2014, 52, 206-215.
  • Hughes A, McEwan C, Bek D, Rosenberg Z. Embedding Fairtrade in South Africa: global production networks, national initiatives and localized challenges in the Northern Cape. Competition & Change 2014, 18(4), 291-308.
  • Crang M, Hughes A, Gregson N, Norris L, Ahamed F. Rethinking governance and value in commodity chains through global recycling networks. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 2013, 38(1), 12-24.
  • Hughes A, McEwan C, Bek D. Retailers, supply networks and changing articulations of ethicality: lessons from Flower Valley in South Africa. Journal of Economic Geography 2013, 13(2), 211-230.
  • Hughes A. Globalizing responsibility (review forum). Area 2013, 45(2), 259-260.
  • Hughes A. Corporate Ethical Trading in an Economic Downturn: Recessionary Pressures and Refracted Responsibilities. Journal of Economic Geography 2012, 12(1), 33-45.
  • Hughes A, Wrigley N, Buttle M. Global production networks, ethical campaigning, and the embeddedness of responsible governance. Journal of Economic Geography 2008, 8(3), 345-367.
  • Hughes A, Buttle M, Wrigley N. Organisational geographies of corporate responsibility: A UK-US comparison of retailers' ethical trading initiatives. Journal of Economic Geography 2007, 7(4), 491-513.
  • Hughes A. Geographies of exchange and circulation: Flows and networks of knowledgeable capitalism. Progress in Human Geography 2007, 31(4), 527-535.
  • Hughes A. Learning to trade ethically: Knowledgeable capitalism, retailers and contested commodity chains. Geoforum 2006, 37(6), 1008-1020.
  • Hughes A, Reimer S. Guest editorial: publishing commodity chains. Geoforum 2005, 36(3), 273-275.
  • Hughes A. Geographies of exchange and circulation: Alternative trading spaces. Progress in Human Geography 2005, 29(4), 496-504.
  • Hughes A. Corporate strategy and the management of ethical trade: The case of the UK food and clothing retailers. Environment and Planning A 2005, 37(7), 1145-1163.
  • Hughes A. Multi-stakeholder approaches to ethical trade: Towards a reorganisation of UK retailers' global supply chains?. Journal of Economic Geography 2001, 1(4), 421-437.
  • Hughes A. Global commodity networks, ethical trade and governmentality: Organizing business responsibility in the Kenyan cut flower industry. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 2001, 26(4), 390-406.
  • Hughes A. Retailers, knowledges and changing commodity networks: The case of the cut flower trade. Geoforum 2000, 31(2), 175-190.
  • Cormode L, Hughes A. Editorial introduction: the economic geographer as a situated researcher of elites. Geoforum 1999, 30(4), 299-300.
  • Hughes A. Constructing economic geographies from corporate interviews: insights from a cross-country comparison of retailer-supplier relationships. Geoforum 1999, 30(4), 363-374.
  • Hughes A. Constructing competitive spaces:on the corporate practice of British retailer- supplier relationships. Environment and Planning A 1999, 31(5), 819-839.
  • Hughes A. The changing organization of new product development for retailers’ private labels: a UK-USA comparison. Agribusiness 1997, 13, 169-184.
  • Hughes A. Retail restructuring and the strategic significance of food retailers’ own-labels: a UK-USA comparison. Environment and Planning A 1996, 28, 2201-2226.

• Authored Book

  • Hughes A, Reimer S, ed. Geographies of Commodity Chains. London: Routledge, 2004.

• Book Chapters

  • Hughes A. Food supply chains. In: Holloway, L; Goodman, MK; Maye, D; Kneafsey, M; Sexton, A; Moragues Faus, A, ed. The Elgar Encyclopedia of Food and Society. Elgar, 2023. In Press.
  • Sarayed-Din L, Hughes A. Consumption: advancing postcolonial perspectives from the Global South. In: Johns J and Hall SM, ed. Contemporary Economic Geographies: Inspiring, Critical and Plural Perspectives. Bristol University Press, 2022. In Press.
  • Hughes A. Consumer Spaces. In: Andrews G; Crooks V; Pearce J; Messina J, ed. COVID-19 and Similar Futures: Geographical Perspectives, Issues and Agendas. Berlin: Springer, 2021, pp.247-252.
  • Hughes A. Corporate social responsibility and standards. In: Wójcik D; Feldman M; Clark G; Gertler MS, ed. New Oxford Handbook of Economic Geography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
  • Hughes A. Retailers, corporate ethics and fair trade. In: Raynolds, LT; Bennett, E, ed. Handbook of Research on Fair Trade. Cheltenham, Glos: Edward Elgar, 2015, pp.298-315.
  • Hughes A. Flowers. In: Thrift, N., Tickell, A., Woolgar, S., Rupp, W.H, ed. Globalisation in Practice. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp.111-113.
  • Hughes A, Wrigley N, Buttle M. Ethical campaigning and buyer-driven commodity chains: transforming retailers’ purchasing practices?. In: Goodman D, Goodman M and Redclift M, ed. Consuming Space: Placing Consumption in Perspective. Surrey: Ashgate, 2010, pp.123-146.
  • Hughes A, Wray F. Corporate responsibilities. In: Kitchin, R; Thrift, N, ed. Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Ltd, 2009, pp.292-297.
  • Hughes A. Supermarkets and the ethical/fair trade movement: making space for alternatives in mainstream economies?. In: Burch D; Lawrence G, ed. Supermarkets and Agri-food Supply Chains. Elgar, 2007, pp.173-191.
  • Hughes A. Responsible retailers?: ethical trade and the strategic re-regulation of cross-continental food supply chains. In: Fold N and Pitchard B, ed. Cross-continental food chains. London and New York: Routledge, 2005, pp.141-154.
  • Hughes A. Accounting for ethical trade: global commodity networks, virtualism and the audit economy. In: Hughes A and Reimer S, ed. Geographies of Commodity Chains. London: Routledge, 2004, pp.215-232.
  • Hughes A. Forging new cultures of retailer-manufacturer relations. In: Wrigley, N; Lowe, M, ed. Retailing, Consumption and Capital: Towards the New Retail Geography. Harlow: Longman, 1996, pp.90-115.

• Edited Book

  • Pollard J, McEwan C, Hughes A, ed. Postcolonial Economies. London, UK: Zed Books, 2011.

• Editorials

  • Ouma S, Hughes A, Murphy JT, Opondo M. Envisioning African futures: Perspectives from economic geography. Geoforum 2020, 115, 146-147.
  • Crang M, Hughes A. Globalizing ethical consumption (Editorial for Special Issue). Geoforum 2015, 67, 131-134.
  • Hughes A, Reimer S. Publishing commodity chains. Geoforum 2005, 36(3), 273-275.
  • Hughes A, Cormode L. Editorial: researching elites and elite spaces. Environment and Planning A 1998, 30, 2098-2100.

• Reports

  • Hughes A, Hocknell S, Afonso R, Bartholo R, Crang M, Daya S, Doherty B, Fastoso F, Gonzalez-Jimenez H, Kleine D, McEwan C, Vicari S, Zeng G, Anand G, Carvalho C, Coetzee K, Kirby D, Lukas M, Sarayed-Din L, Wang L, Whitehead R, Zhong S. Sustainable Consumption, the Middle Classes, and Agri-food Ethics in Brazil, China, and South Africa: Trends, Practices, and Influences. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2021.
  • Bhutta M, Bostock B, Brown JA, Day E, Hughes A, Hurst R, Trautrims A, Trueba M. Forced Labour in the Malaysian Medical Gloves Supply Chain before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence, Scale and Solutions. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2021.
  • Hocknell S, Hughes A, Roe E, Keevil B, Wrigley N, Lowe M. Corporate Food Retailers, Meat Supply Chains, and the Responsibilities of Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance: Stakeholder Report. Newcastle upon Tyne: Newcastle University, 2018.
  • Bek D, Hughes A, McEwan C. Ethical Production in South Africa: Sustainable Wildflower Harvesting and Fairtrade Raisin Production, Stakeholder Report. Durham & Newcastle upon Tyne: Durham University, Newcastle University, 2012.

• Reviews

  • Hughes A. Geographies of exchange and circulation: Transnational trade and governance. 2006, 30(5), 635-643.
  • Hughes A. Shelf life: Supermarkets and the changing cultures of consumption. Journal of Historical Geography 2001, 27(1), 131-132.