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Head of the socio-economic centre
Email: nlee@theworkfoundation.com
Telephone: 020 7976 3611
Follow @ ndrlee
Neil is head of the Socio-Economic Centre at The Work Foundation. His team investigate labour markets, cities and enterprise. He currently runs three major research projects for The Work Foundation; the Missing Million on the challenge of youth unemployment, Cities 2020, which investigates how cities can drive economic growth in the changing economy, and the Bottom Ten Million research programme, which focuses on in-work poverty and the geography of unemployment. Neil’s recent research has included research on long-term youth unemployment, a paper for NESTA on the obstacles faced by potential high-growth firms and research on the geography of economic recovery. His research interests include labour markets, innovation and cities. He has published widely on issues around innovation and inequality, unemployment in the recession and the role of the creative industries in economic growth. His academic publications are listed here. He has a PhD in Economic Geography and Spatial Economics and MSc’s in Local Economic Development and Quantitative Research from the London School of Economics, and a first-class degree in geography from University College London. He is a research affiliate of the Technological Change Lab (TCLab) at Columbia University, New York.
Back to Our People
Inequality and Employment Polarisation in British cities Wage inequality and employment polarisation – where employment is increasingly divided into high- and low-skilled jobs – are seen as important social problems, which a number of cities have attempted to address at a local level. This study investigates the geography of wage inequality and employment polarisation in British cities, their determinants and implications.
Dr Neil Lee, Dr Paul Sissons and Katy Jones 07 May 2013
Initial Findings: Wage inequality and employment polarisation in British cities
Dr Neil Lee, Dr Paul Sissons and Katy Jones 06 May 2013
Short-term crisis - long-term problem? Addressing the youth employment challenge Over one million young people are out of work in the UK. This report illuminates the problem presented by the 264,000 young people in this country who have been unemployed for 12 months or more.
Neil Lee, Paul Sissons, Brhmie Balaram and Katy Jones 18 June 2012
Mapping inequality in the UK labour market Dr Neil Lee presents a summary of the findings from the latest report into wage inequality and employment polarisation in British cities.
Dr Neil Lee 07 May 2013
Budget reaction on local growth: Some significant measures but major stumbling blocks ahead Lord Heseltine’s review promised to leave ‘no stone unturned’ in pursuit of growth - but under every stone there are some nasty bugs.
Dr Neil Lee 20 March 2013
Census 2011: Skills are moving south New evidence from the 2011 Census data on the geography of skills concerning. Better qualified people tend to earn more, so the geography of skilled workers is one of the main drivers of regional disparities.
Dr Neil Lee 01 February 2013
Wage inequality and employment polarisation A video of Dr Neil Lee explaining the findings from the latest report commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Dr Neil Lee 03 May 2013
What to do about youth unemployment? Yesterday’s job numbers were grim. Young people, in particular, are having a tough time of it. Unemployment amongst 16 – 24 year olds is likely to hit a million soon. And an overlooked aspect of the numbers was the rise in young people who are long-term unemployed – an increase of 53,000 on the last quarter.
Neil Lee 13 October 2011
Finance for high growth firms: EIS and beyond Brussels has given the Treasury the go-ahead to expand the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). By reducing the tax investors pay when backing high-risk companies, it’s designed to increase investments in them. The government argues the scheme will create more high growth firms: the seven per cent of firms who create half of all new jobs. It’s a big win for NESTA (sponsors of our Big Innovation Centre) who have been highlighting the importance of these firms for some time.
Neil Lee 26 September 2011