Adam Dixon

Adam Dixon holds the Chair in Sustainable Capitalism at Edinburgh Business School within Heriot-Watt University's School of Social Sciences. His academic work bridges finance, political economy, and sustainability, examining how state actors engage with global financial systems to address pressing societal challenges.

Dixon's research focuses on sustainable capitalism, state capitalism, sovereign wealth funds, ESG investing, and the decarbonization of state-owned enterprises. His work explores fundamental questions about the role of government in financial markets, particularly how public investment vehicles can drive sustainable development while maintaining economic competitiveness. The research demonstrates consistent scholarly output since 2008 with significant acceleration in publication activity from 2022 onward.

His recent publications reveal evolving research trajectories: from foundational work on sovereign wealth funds to contemporary analyses of ESG metrics legitimacy and state-led decarbonization strategies. These publications appear in high-impact journals including Environment and Planning A, New Political Economy, and Finance and Space, reflecting interdisciplinary engagement across economics, political science, and environmental studies.

Dixon's scholarly impact extends beyond academia, with research referenced in policy documents, picked up by multiple news outlets, and widely disseminated through social media. His book The Spectre of State Capitalism has generated significant discussion in political economy circles, while his analysis of ESG metrics has attracted attention from investment professionals and regulators.

Professor Dixon maintains active scholarly engagement through ORCID (0000-0001-6175-906X) and has established research collaborations across multiple countries, reflecting the global relevance of his work on financial systems and sustainable development.