Jack Newman is a Research Associate at the Productivity Institute and the Department of Politics, University of Manchester. Jack’s current research sits within the Productivity Institute’s Institutions & Governance theme, asking whether UK productivity is constrained by the structure of its political institutions.
Previously, Jack worked at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, collaborating with the Institute for Government on a review of the UK constitution. This followed a post at the University of Surrey on the LIPSIT research project, which analysed the link between local economies and the design of political institutions. Across these projects, Jack has written academic papers, media pieces, and policy reports about English devolution, the “levelling up agenda”, and the effectiveness of place-based policymaking.
In 2019, Jack completed a PhD at the University of Leeds, focused on the underlying (ontological) assumptions of UK social policy and the Conservative governments of the 2010s. He also holds an MA Politics from Leeds (2014) and a BA Politics from the University of Liverpool (2010).
Jack is active in academic networks relating to British politics, regional studies, and critical realism, contributing to the running of academic journals, professional networks, and research seminars.
Research project: The UK Productivity-Governance Puzzle: Are the UK’s Governing Institutions Fit for Purpose in the 21st Century?
