Mr James Black

Personal statement

James is a Knowledge Exchange Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute and has worked at the Fraser of Allander Institute since 2016. His research interests are primarily in economic policy, macroeconomics, data communication and economic modelling.

Education and Key Skills

He has a Masters in Applied Economics, a degree in Mathematics, Statistics & Economics and is experienced in working with a range of public and private sector clients.

James is experienced in:

• Input-output modelling and hypothetical extractions
• Macroeconomic modelling
• Evaluating and modelling economic policies
• Analysis of the labour market, poverty and inclusive growth
• Analysis of businesses, markets and international trade
• Analysis of the health of the economy and government finances
• Running and evaluating business surveys

Making Projects Matter

James places a particular focus on creating impactful work that clearly communicates its findings. He is highly experienced in clearly communicating economic data and concepts through graphics and charts and has taught these skills in the Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics and the University of Strathclyde's MSc in Applied Economics. The communication of project findings is further improved by his experience in design software, including Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.

Dissemination to various types of stakeholders is key to the success of many projects. James manages several of the Fraser's public-facing services, such as its article website, podcast and webinar series. He is also skilled in designing and coding websites and enhancing impact through search engine optimisation.