Dr Jennifer Ferreira is a Senior Research Assistant in the Centre for Business in Society. Her main research interests surround issues related to economic geography, local and regional economic development, varieties of capitalism, labour markets, employment intermediaries, labour market regulation, comparative institutional systems, and the cafe/coffee shop industry. Her research interests take a dual focus. She is interested in the expansion and development of the coffee and coffee shop industry, in particular the role of cafes and cafe cultures in different locations and economies, and the importance of sustainability in the industry. She is also interested in the growth and development of flexible and precarious forms of employment, labour market change and the role of institutions, as well as broader issues around national institutional systems. 

Dr. Ferreira was awarded a scholarship from the Population Investigation Council to complete an MA in Research Methodology (Population Studies) at the University of Liverpool in 2008, and an ESRC CASE studentship to complete a PhD researching the institutional context of the temporary staffing industry at the University of Manchester, completed in 2013. The doctoral thesis used a comparative case study methodology to explore the variegated nature of the temporary staffing in Europe focusing on the UK, Germany and the Czech Republic. Prior to working at Coventry University Dr. Ferreira held positions in Cambridge Assessment and at the Royal Geographical Society and retains an interest in education, pedagogy and assessment.

Labour Markets; Economic Geography; Economic Development; Coffee and coffee shop industry; Urban change; Flexible employment; Precarious employment

Economic development and employment change are two fundamental factors that affect prosperity in societies today. In the Centre for Business in Society I aim to explore the different ways in which local and regional development take place in different spaces, examining the different geographies of development and change that take place in order to gain a better understanding of the world around us. My current research projects focus on local and regional economic development and labour market change as well as the development of the cafe industry.