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About Nigel
Professor Nigel O’Leary is a Professor of Economics at Swansea University. He is the Director of the Welsh Economy Labour Markets Evaluation Research Centre (WELMERC) and Co-Director of the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD). His research interests are situated broadly within applied labour economics, encompassing special interests in regional economics, the economics of wellbeing, the economics of education, economic development, inequalities, labour economics, regional labour markets, and educational attainment. Professor O’Leary has substantial research and consultancy experience, with clients including BP, the Welsh Government, the Welsh Development Agency, the Equal Opportunities Commission, and CEDEFOP (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training).
WELMERC, led by Professor O’Leary, delivers evidence-based policy advice on Welsh, UK, and EU labour markets, examining trends in population profiles, migration, skills, employment, earnings, and GDP growth. The centre analyzes datasets to inform policies on education, training, unemployment, discrimination, and social inclusion, and evaluates EU regional policy impacts in Wales. It has produced over 50 reports on barriers to employment, returns to education, gender pay gaps, public sector pay premiums, minimum wages, disability, regional inequalities, foreign direct investment, the Living Wage, wellbeing, and skill mismatch. Key publications by Professor O’Leary include: “Sexual orientation, political trust, and same-sex relationship recognition policies: evidence from Europe” (Public Choice, 2022, with S. Mann and D. Blackaby); “Wellbeing trajectories around life events in Australia” (Economic Modelling, 2020, with I. Li, P. Gupta, and D. Blackaby); “Understanding What Has Been Happening to the Public-Sector Pay Premium in Great Britain: A Distributional Approach Based on the Labour Force Survey” (British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2020, with P. Murphy, D. Blackaby, and A. Staneva); “Regional pay? The public/private sector pay differential” (Regional Studies, 2017, with D. Blackaby, P. Murphy, and A. Staneva); “The impact of mobility on early career earnings: A quantile regression approach for UK graduates” (Economic Modelling, 2017, with M. Kidd and P. Sloane); and “Too many graduates? An application of the Gottschalk–Hansen model to young British graduates between 2001–2010” (Oxford Economic Papers, 2016, with P. Sloane). His research influences policy debates on employment, wages, and inequalities.