Robert Elliott

Professor Robert Elliott is a Professor of Economics and Director of Research in the Department of Economics at the University of Birmingham's Birmingham Business School. His work spans international economics, development economics, environmental and energy economics, and international business, with particular expertise in the Chinese economy, firm behavior, natural disasters, and globalization's environmental impacts.

Professor Elliott holds a BA in Economics from the University of Leicester, an MA in Economics from the University of Essex, and completed his PhD at the University of Nottingham under the supervision of Professor David Greenaway, Dr Peter Wright, and Robert Hine.

His research focuses on empirical environmental, international trade, development, energy, and labor economics. Key areas include the economics of China and East Asia, empirical environmental economics, economic geography, globalization and environment, natural disasters (floods, typhoons, earthquakes), biodiversity and deforestation, trade and environment, FDI and industrial restructuring, and energy economics. His interdisciplinary approach often combines large dataset manipulation with advanced econometric techniques.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong focus on environmental economics, particularly examining the intersection of climate change, natural disasters, and economic outcomes. His work spans historical environmental events in China, contemporary energy and transportation economics, air quality policy evaluation, and the economic impacts of natural disasters across different regions and time periods. A significant portion of his research applies advanced statistical and machine learning methods to environmental policy questions.

Professor Elliott serves as an editor for the Sustainable Future Policy Lab and Director of the Trade, Environment, Development and Energy (TEDE) research group. He is also a Co-Investigator on ReLIB as part of the Faraday Institute, a member of Water Challenges in a Changing World IGI, and an Affiliate of the Lloyds Bank Centre for Responsible Business.

He actively supervises PhD students across international and development economics and environmental and energy economics. His current projects include the "Brexit Uncertainty Index" and Leverhulme Trust research projects in "Globalisation and the Environment" with Matthew Cole. He has received significant funding including an ESRC grant for "China-UK energy issues" worth approximately £1 million.

Professor Elliott is a key member of the Birmingham Plastics Network, an interdisciplinary team of over 40 academics addressing the global plastics problem. This network brings together experts from diverse fields including chemistry, environmental science, engineering, philosophy, linguistics, economics, and law to develop holistic solutions for plastics sustainability.