Melanie Powell

About

As a member of the Derby Business School, I am the DMS Course Director with responsibility for taught Postgraduate programmes and Collaboratives. I am also a programme leader for several MSc programmes in international business, actively involved in new programme development, programme leadership and scholarship. I teach economics at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and am active in research and scholarship. I have also taught at other Universities including York, Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan Universities. I have extensive experience as a British and International External Examiner in my subject area.

As an applied economist, I aim to make my students as enthusiastic about economics and applied analysis as I am. I believe that economics should form part of the thinking toolkit that everyone uses in business and management and the best way to learn is to take some risks and have a go. I put this into practice in my teaching and programmes, but also as the joint author of a major European Economics textbook. Our undergraduate and post-graduate programmes in International Business have a strong core in economics and we encourage all our students to enter external competitions, meet professional economists and business leaders, and challenge themselves to expand their employment potential.

As an applied economist, I do a lot of radio and TV work to raise the profile of the Derby Business School and write economics commentary for local and national media. I use my contacts in the City of London to bring professional economists and finance specialists into our classrooms, one example of which is our current Visiting Professor of Banking and Financial Economics, Prof. Trevor Williams, who was Chief Economist of Lloyds Bank Corporate and now runs his own consultancy.

Teaching responsibilities

Undergraduate

Data Analysis, Quantitative Analysis for Business, Investing and Financial Market Behaviour

Postgraduate

Strategic Finance and Investment Behaviour, Market Analysis
Post Graduate Independent Study supervision
PhD supervisor
PhD viva examiner

Professional interests

I have wide experience in validations as a proposer of new programmes and as a member of internal and external validation panels. I also have wide experience as an external examiner both nationally and internationally. For example, Chief External Examiner Arab Open University, Economics/statistics External Examiner Arab Open University, External Examiner Economics/International Business at Stafford, Leeds Beckett, Manchester Metropolitan, Worcester and Leeds Trinity.

Reviewer for new statistics books for Macmillan Publishers (2009 - ongoing).

Journal referee for journals including Journal of Neuroscience, Economics and Psychology, the International Journal of Applied Economics; Risk, Decision and Policy; Journal of Behavioural Decision Making; Economic Psychology.

Research interests

My main research focus is understanding how people behave when dealing with risk in personal, business and financial decisions. I have published widely in the areas of risk behaviour in health and finance, and more recently in the area of behavioural finance and behavioural economics, issues around knowledge transfer and cultural differences in behaviours. I also have research interests in the links between digital learning (VLEs) and student performance. More recently, I have developed research on continuous economic impact assessment methodology within heritage organisations through an Innovate UK and ESRC-funded KTP with Chatsworth House.

Membership of professional bodies

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (accredited at level 3) from 2010
Member of the Institute for Fiscal Studies
Member of the Chartered Management Institute (from 2010-2015)

Qualifications

Undergraduate qualifications

BA (Hons) Economics (First), Kingston

Postgraduate qualifications

MSc Economics, London (Birkbeck)

Recent conferences

My recent areas of applied research presented at conferences include the role of product bundling in angel investment markets (BAAFA (NAG) Annual Conference 2019), linking VLE use to student performance, perceptions and engagement (CABS Online Festival of Learning, 2020), using value chains for in company economic impact assessments (BAM, 2021), and using Economic Impact Assessment to align UN SDG goals for heritage organisations (UoD International GCRF Education On-line Conference, 2021).

Experience in industry

I have experience in knowledge transfer with regional organisations through an ERDF-funded Knowledge Exchange for Innovation project with TBAT Innovation Ltd, where I worked with the company and one of our graduates to develop a new innovative revenue stream through private investors. I recently designed and won an ESRC and Innovate UK-funded Knowledge Transfer Project with Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. Within that KTP, I supervised a graduate employee for two years at Chatsworth to design and implement an Economic Impact Evaluation methodology directly linked to Chatsworth's strategic growth plan, and their social and environmental strategy, to enhance productivity.

I am a trained journalist and spent several years as a journalist before becoming an academic and still provide economic commentary for the media.

International experience

External Examiner for Business Economics and Business Statistics OU modules for Arab Open University, AOU HQ Kuwait, 2010-2014
Chief External Examiner for Business/Marketing/Economics & Statistics Modules, Arab Open University, AOU HQ Kuwait, programmes running Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, 2012-2014
International validation panel for University of Stafford, for Business Degree Programmes in Bahrain, Oman and Malaysia, 2004-2006
External Examiner for International Franchise Business Degrees in Oman, Bahrain and Malaysia, University of Stafford, Business School, 2004-2006
I work with our international partner colleges who deliver our modules and programmes

Additional interests and activities

I am also keen to engage all students in the subject, not just my students at Derby. I have been part of an innovative team of passionate economists producing a leading textbook for the European market since 1997 when we produced the 3rd European edition of Economics. The book has led the way in web learning and student support. We revise the book every 2 years and the latest edition is Parkin, M., Powell, M., and Matthews, K., (2021), Economics, 11th Edition, Pearson Education, Addison Wesley Longman, Harlow, ISBN 978-1-292-42475-0.

In the media

I have made many contributions to BBC radio and television broadcasts on economic issues, written many blogs for the University on the Budget and economic issues in the news and engaged with regional business in media debates such as the Derby Telegraph Round Table Debates, published in the Agenda magazine. I have also participated in national think tank webinars (Politeia) on issues including regulation of banking and finance and economic issues in social care. I have a blog where you can visit some of my writing.

Recent publications

Alker, L. and Powell, M. (2009) HRD and the Older Employee in the UK Financial Sector, in Human Resource Development: Complexity and Imperfection in Practice - Abstracts from the 10th International Conference on Human Resource Development: Research and practice across Europe, 10-12 June, 2009, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, ISBN 13 978-1-86135-362
Powell, M. and Alker, L (2010) The Changing Role of Training for Older Workers in a Financial Sector Climate of Declining Trust 11th International Conference on Human Resource Development: Research and Practice across Europe, Pecs University, School of Adult Learning, Hungary, June 2-4th, 2010
Parkin, M., Powell, M., and Matthews, K., (2011), Economics, 8th Edition, Pearson Education, Addison Wesley Longman, Harlow. ISBN 978-0-273-73575-5
Parkin, M., Powell, M., and Matthews, K., (2012), Essential Economics, Pearson Education, Addison Wesley Longman, Harlow. ISBN 978-0-273-71897-0
As above in Greek edition, ISBN 978-960-218-877-4
Parkin, M., Powell, M., and Matthews, K., (2013), Introduccion a la Economia, Pearson Education, Addison Wesley Longman, Harlow. ISBN 978-84-1555-245-1
Parkin, M., Powell, M., and Matthews, K., (2014), Economics, 9th Edition, Pearson Education, Addison Wesley Longman, Harlow. ISBN ISBN 978-1-292-00945-2
Michaels, E. and Powell, M. (2016), Michaels, E. and Powell, M. (2016), ‘Behavioural Finance and Financial Regulation: Something old or something new?’ in Lawlor, S. (ed.), Banking on Recovery, Towards an accountable, stable financial sector. Politeia: London. ISBN 978-0-9564662-8-0. ‘http://politeia.co.uk/sites/default/files/files/Banking%20on%20Recovery-%20FINAL.pdf
Powell, M. and Le, L, (2016), Employee Commitment in Vietnam: A Case Study with a large technology company, Critical Perspectives on Business Management, 5, pp 30-42.
Michaels, E. and Powell, M. (2017) ‘Behavioural economics: Using ‘nudges’ for promoting pro-environmental behaviours in the workplace’, in P. Baronova, E. Conway, N. Lynch and F. Paterson (Eds), The Low Carbon Economy: Understanding and supporting a sustainable transition. Palgrave Macmillan: London. ISBN 978-3-319-56752-5.
Parkin, M., Powell, M., and Matthews, K., (2017), Economics, 10th Edition, Pearson Education: Harlow. ISBN 978-292-14782-6