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Biography Grew up in South Wales, worked and lived in Durham, London, Cambridge, Boston, LA, Aberdeen and Edinburgh before settling in Glasgow. Research interests My dominant research interest is with the problem of uneven development in capitalist societies from a geographical political economy perspective. I am concerned with the spatial and social inequalities and injustices perpetuated by capitalism and the search for more egalitarian and democratic alternatives. forms of politics and economic development.
Having lived and worked in South Wales, the North East of England and Scotland, I have a longstanding interest in the problems facing the UK’s old industrial cities and regions, particularly the consequences of economic restructuring and the changing nature of work and employment. Empirically - since PhD days - I have also been concerned with the political economy of oil, especially in the relations between multinationals, the state and local economies who 'suffer' or 'experience' oil development.
My research has also become increasingly concerned with various dimension of global economic and political integration. One strand of this involves exploring how actors at the level of the nation state (governments, trade unions and firms) are responding and having their social relations reconfigured. Another is to explore the emergence of resistance to neo-liberal forms of globalisation and alternative strategies that help to revive a socialist politics.
Conceptually, my work is concerned with combining insights from the non-orthodox Marxist traditions of political economy with more agency-oriented accounts derived from institutional and evolutionary economics and economic sociology. This have involved contributing to the development of an 'open Marxism in geography' and an 'evolutionary political economic geography' with Danny MacKinnon, Andy Pike, Robert McMaster, Gesa Helms and others from the 'Scottish and Newcastle School'.
I am one of the four Managing Editors for the journal Urban Studies and have served on the editorial board of Work Employment and Society.
I am also one of the convenors of the Alternative Economic Strategy network.
Current research My most recent work (2010) has included a Joseph Rowntree funded research project (with others in the Political Economy group at Glasgow) into the implications of globalisation for communities in the UK, exploring themes of connection, disconnection and empowerment.
Recent work in the regional development field (2007-9) involves an ESRC funded project with Kean Birch: 'Beyond Clusters: Biotechnology Commodity Chains and Less Favoured Regions'.
I am currently writing a book on public ownership and economic democracy for Zed publishers.
Recent publications | View all publications >> Cumbers, A. and McMaster, R. in press. Socialism, instrumental valuation and human dignity. Economy and Society. Cumbers, A. Helms, G. and Swanson, K. (2010) Class agency and resistance in the old industrial city. Antipode , v. 42 (1), 46-73. Cumbers, A. Helms, G. and Keenan, M. (2009). Beyond Aspiration: Young People and Decent Work in the De-industrialised City, Discussion Paper, June 2009. View full text >> Routledge, P. and Cumbers, A. (2009) The Entangled Geographies of Global Justice Networks. Manchester University Press, Manchester. Cumbers, A, Routledge, P. and Nativel, C. (2008), "The Entangled Geographies of Global Justice Networks", Progress in Human Geography, vol.32, no.2. pp. 183-202. View full text >> Cumbers, A. Nativel, C. and Routledge, P. (2008) "Labour agency and union positionalities in global production networks" Journal of Economic Geography, v. 8, 369-387. View full text >> MacKinnon D Cumbers A and Shaw J (2008) Re-scaling Employment Relations: Key Outcomes of Change in the Privatised Rail Industry. Environment and Planning A. 40 : 1347-1369.
Birch K and Cumbers A (2007) Public sector spending and the Scottish economy: crowding out or adding value? Scottish Affairs 85, 36-56. Cumbers A. Leibovitz, J. and MacKinnon (2007) Institutional features, path dependencies and regional industrial change: comparing mature and embryonic clusters in an old industrial region. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management. 7, 312-332. Cumbers, A. 2007. The Fictitious Commodity. Variant: the Oil Issue 28 Spring, pp. 16-18. View full text >> Cumbers, A. and Whittam, G. 2007 (eds) Reclaiming the Economy: Alternatives to Market Fundamentalism in Scotland and Beyond. Scottish Left Review Press, Edinburgh. MacKinnon D and Cumbers, A 2007 An Introduction to Economic Geography: Globalisation, Uneven Development and Place. Prentice Hall, London and New York. MacKinnon, D. and Cumbers, A. (2007) An Introduction to Economic Geography: Uneven Development, Globalisation and Place. Prentice Hall, London. Routledge, P., Cumbers, A. and Nativel, C. (2007) "Grassrooting Network Imaginaries: Relationality, Power, and Mutual Solidarity in Global Justice Networks", Environment and Planning A, 39(11) pp.2575-2592. Cumbers A. and MacKinnon, D. (eds) (2006) Clusters in Urban and Regional Development. Routledge, London. Recent research grants Cumbers, A. and Paddison, R. 2008-2013 Urban Studies and Urban Political Economy,£1,000,000 (Urban Studies). Cumbers 2005-8 (with Maclennan et al) SHEFC RDG ‘Centre for Public Policy for Regions’ (CPPR) = £1,000,000 Cumbers and Birch 2005 UNISON: ‘Impact of Public Sector Spending in Scotland’ = £1,500. Cumbers, A. and Routledge, P. 2004-2005 The politics of convergence space in Global Justice Networks, £80,635 (ESRC 000230528). Cumbers, A. 2000-2001 Innovation, Local Learning and Competitive Advantage, £39,299 (ESRC R000223025). Co-Investigator: K.Chapman (University of Aberdeen). Teaching responsibilities I teach in the fields of economic and political geography, contributing to the second year course 'Globalisation and Localisation', as well as running an option module at Honours level 'Uneven Development and the Global Economy'. I also teach on the Department's MRes in Human Geography. Current postgraduate students
John Crossan (PhD candidate)
Aaron Franks (PhD candidate)
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