Les Budd

Leslie Budd is a Reader in Social Enterprise at the Open University Business School. He is an economist who has published extensively on urban and regional economies in relation to the European Union, digital social inclusion, and global financial markets.

Leslie was Special Economic Advisor to the Committee for Enterprise Trade and Investment (CETI) at the Northern Ireland Assembly providing briefings, in particular the first one on the impact of Brexit in Northern Ireland; Corporation Tax changes and Foreign Direct Investment; and cross-border co-operation among others.

His two recent edited books (with David Bailey), Devolution and the UK Economy and The Political Economy of Brexit build on his work in these policy areas.  His current work focuses on linking city leadership to economic citizenship and governance in European cities. He was the former Chair of the Regional Studies Association and is currently Chair of the Urban and Regional Economics Seminar Group (URESG).