Curious by nature and a keen problem solver, I was always interested in improving people’s lives by understanding the root of a problem and suggesting appropriate solutions. These characteristics explain my career choices as well as my studies and research interests. The latter revolves around regional economic resilience and growth.
I am a Policy and Data Analyst at City-REDI. I’m also writing up my PhD thesis at Plymouth University and hold a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Macedonia (Thessaloniki, Greece) and an MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies from LSE. My work experience spans from research assistant positions (University of Macedonia, LSE, Plymouth University) to posts in the public (Highland Council) and the private sector.
My PhD examines how different areas in the UK have performed during the 2008 crisis and mainly what are the factors behind the differential resilience among places. Human capital and skills, being a very consistent factor explaining these differences is another one of my interests together with social capital and inequality.
Recently I have also been involved in studying the relationship between social security benefits and immigration, integration and civic engagement as well as investigating the political considerations in the distribution of public goods. All of these projects are expected to have a significant impact on people’s lives and contribute towards policies promoting inclusive growth and social justice.
As a result, City-REDI is my natural environment. Aiming to understand how city-regions work and provide solutions to problems of the real world, the Institute is a hybrid, model organisation, translating academic research into real policy in order to improve the well-being in West Midlands and city regions internationally. As a Policy and Data Analyst, I will be involved in developing bids for research and consultancy projects and carry out research to support these projects and their academic output. In addition, I will contribute to the dissemination of these outputs to both the general public and the relevant stakeholders through blog posts, media engagement and policy briefings. So if you want to stay in touch with our research, make sure you follow us in this blog or on twitter @CityREDI. You can also follow me @Tasos_Kitsos.
It is an exciting and challenging time to be in Birmingham and the West Midlands and I am looking forward to be contributing to growth in the area through City-REDI.