Paul Sissons

Dr. Paul Sissons' research interests include labour markets, welfare reform, skills policy and local and regional economic development. His recent work has examined wage inequality in British cities, the links between economic and employment growth and poverty reduction, changing youth labour markets, the experiences of welfare reform for sickness benefit claimants and lone parents, and the relationship between employer demand for skills and low-wage work. This research has been supported by a range of funders including Central Government departments, local authorities, Third Sector organisations and grant funding organisations.

One of Dr. Sissons' key professional achievements is developing research insights which are policy relevant and communicating these to policy audiences. Examples include providing an invited response at the UK launch of the OECD Skills Strategy in 2012; presenting an expert paper on low-wage work to skills policymakers from Scotland; and, being an expert witness at a Scottish Government Inquiry into underemployment. His research has also been cited in a number of Government publications including the Black Review of Sickness Absence and Social Mobility: the next steps.

My research has focused on contemporary and longer-term changes in labour markets, housing markets and welfare policy, and the implications of these for individual and household well-being as well as for different types of places. A central focus throughout my research is policy relevance and providing evidence which informs and/or challenges policy decision making. This includes an important body of work which critically examines recent changes to the sickness benefits system in the UK.