Professor Michela Vecchi
Faculties, departments and locations
- Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
- Department of Economics
- School of Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences
- Penrhyn Road
Professor of Economics
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
My role at Kingston University is to develop a collaborative research environment, next to contributing to the high quality teaching the University is famous for. I have over 20 years of experience in academia. Before joining Kingston, I worked at Middlesex University as a module leader for Econometrics, running undergraduate and postgraduate modules. I have also worked at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), Stirling University, and Glasgow University. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA), a Fellow of the Royal Economic Society and a Visiting Fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). I have acted as the Programme Chair for the Royal Economic Society 2024 & 2025 Conference. In summer 2025 I was selected as the new Conference Secretary.
I am passionate about research, and I believe it must be at the core of university education. Research naturally feeds into teaching, and being an active researcher has allowed me to develop modules that are engaging, relevant, and expose students to how economics works in the real world.
Qualifications
- PGcertHE, Middlesex University
- PhD in Economics, University of Ancona, Italy
- MSc in Economics, University of Glasgow
- Laurea Cum Laude in Political Science, University of Macerata (Italy)
Domains
I am module leader for Intermediate Microeconomics (EC5004) and Working as an Economist (EC6001). I also co-lead the Macroeconomic module (EC5003) with Dr. Jalal Siddiki. For the Working as an Economist module, I have developed a new topic, 'Technology, productivity and the labour market', and I am in charge of the supervision of students' dissertations. I also contributed to the development of the Explore activities for Level 5 students, in line with the Future Skills project. I have 15 years of experience in teaching Data Analysis and Econometrics at all levels (Undergraduate, Master and PhD students).
I am currently supervising two PhD students:
- Nadine Schlee (First supervisor)
- Iqra Abdul Khaliq (Second supervisor)
Qualifications
- PGcertHE, Middlesex University
Courses taught
My research focuses on policy-oriented topics, and revolves around the following areas:
- Understanding Green Skills provision and stimulating the growth of Green Jobs. This project is funded by Hounslow Council and is part of Hounslow's Green Economy Programme.
- Skill mismatch in the UK and its impact on wages, focusing on graduates. A large amount of resources is devoted to education and investigating the returns to these investments is important for both policy and individuals' choices. Results show that 30% of graduates in the UK are employed in non-graduate jobs and earn less compared to those who find a job that matches their degree level and degree subject. However, approximately half of this proportion is due to graduates who studied abroad. The overall proportion has declined since 2018, a trend that continued during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Funded by the ONS and the ESRC).
- Dance, well-being and productivity. This new research area links the economic literature on productivity with the psychology and neuroscience literature on dance and cognitive functions. My first work, in cooperation with a team from Middlesex University, shows that there is a positive and significant relationship between dance and productivity, which operates both indirectly, via the effect of dance on well-being, and directly. We believe the direct effect is due to the positive relationship between dance and cognition. (Funded by Middlesex University)
- Productivity, skills and technical change: I have worked on the interaction between skills and innovation (skill biased technical change) and the relationship between innovation and productivity, focusing on the role of R&D and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Throughout the years, this work has expanded into two additional lines of research: the role of technology as a potential driver of the decline in the labour share of national income and how new intangible assets affect the demand for different types of skills. (Funded by the EU and the ESRC).
Specialisms
- Skill mismatch/overeducation
- Skill biased technical change
- Productivity
- Dance and Well-Being
- Cognitive and non-cognitive skills
- Impact of technology on employment
Scholarly affiliations
- Visiting fellow, National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR)
- Consultant, Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Fellow, Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA)
- Member of the Royal Economic Society
- Royal Economic Society Conference Secretary
I regularly organise international workshops in cooperation with the University of Urbino (Italy) and King's College London. The latest workshop on Skills and Demographic Transitions: Labour Markets, Productivity and Welfare, took place in September 2025. Scholars from Japan, Austria, Germany, Italy and the UK presented their most recent research on issues related to wellbeing, ageing and Artificial Intelligence and how these factors relate to productivity and the labour market. The workshop was sponsored by the Productivity Institute (TPI) and the University of Urbino.
I have been in charge of developing the programme of the Royal Economic Society Annual Conference in 2024 and in 2025, in cooperation with Prof. Arcangelo Dimico (Queen University Belfast) and Ian Gregory-Smith (University of Newcastle). Within the programme, I contributed to the organization of two panel sessions on Artificial Intelligence and I secured funding from the Bank of China for the 2025 panel.
In 2023, I contributed to the organization of the Kingston Symposium on Creativity, Wellbeing and Society, together with Prof. Frederic Vallee-Tourangau. The aim of the symposium was to bring together researchers from different fields, working on creativity and the creative industry, as well as industry professionals, to discuss the role of creativity for individuals' wellbeing, society and the economy. Topics of interest of the symposium included The role of creativity for wellbeing/mental health, after the Covid crisis; Creativity, innovation, and productivity; The role of the creative industry in the UK economy; Wellbeing of creatives; The importance of creativity in old age. For more information, please drop me or Fred a message.
Recent press coverage of my work
Skill mismatch
- Administrative Data Research UK: Graduates’ labour market outcomes during the coronavirus pandemic
- Bloomberg: Pandemic leaves one in eight recent UK graduates unemployed
- Daily Mail: Unemployment rate among recent graduates is more than DOUBLE the rate for UK workers as a whole according to new figures showing how the pandemic is hitting the youngest workers hardest
- People Management: One in eight graduates unemployed because of the pandemic, official figures show
- Personnel Today: Overeducation blights careers across UK
- BBC: Almost a third of graduates 'overeducated' for their job
- The Guardian: Third of UK graduates overqualified for their job
- The Week: Third of UK graduates ‘overqualified’ for their job
- The Telegraph: Almost one in three graduates are overqualified for their job, major report finds
- The Boar: Almost a third of UK graduates are ‘overqualified’ for their work
- The Times: One third of recent graduates underpaid and overqualified
Dance and well-being
I have launched and managed a new series of seminars, the Pluralist Economics Seminar Series. This seminar series will reflect the pluralist nature of our department and will bring together experts from both orthodox and heterodox economics. I believe that a dialogue between the two approaches will enrich our understanding of economic issues, promote the development of new ideas and better address societal challenges.
Related to my research on skills and the skill mismatch, I am developing a research project on graduates' skills and labour market outcomes that will contribute to Kingston University's Future Skills agenda.
On the teaching side, I am module leader of Intermediate Microeconomics (EC5004) and lead one of the dissertation topics within the Working as an Economist module (EC6001). The topic entitled 'Technology, productivity and the labour market' draws upon my several years of research on productivity, human capital and technological change.
Publications
Going online: forecasting the impact of websites on productivity and market structure
Vecchi, Michela, Domenech, Josep and Rizov, Marian, 2022, Technological Forecasting and Social Change (184), Published
Shall we dance? Recreational dance, well-being and productivity performance during COVID-19: a three-country study
Vecchi, Michela, Elf, Patrick, Ueno, Akiko, Dilmperi, Athina, Dennis, Charles and Devereux, Luke, 2022, Journal of International Marketing, E-pub ahead of print
Capital heterogeneity and the decline of the labour share
O'Mahony, Mary, Vecchi, Michela and Venturini, Francesco, 2021, Economica (88), 350pp 271-296, Published
Regional disparities and industrial structure: territorial capital and productivity in Italian firms
Castelnovo, Paolo, Morretta, Valentina and Vecchi, Michela, 2020, Regional Studies (54), 12pp 1709-1723, Published
Modelling the joint impact of R&D and ICT on productivity: a frontier analysis approach
Vecchi, Michela, Pieri, Fabio and Venturini, Francesco, 2018, Research Policy (47), 9pp 1842-1852, Published
Growth in emerging economies: is there a role for education?
Lenkei, Balint, Mustafa, Ghulam and Vecchi, Michela, 2018, Economic Modelling (73)pp 240-253, Published
Off-shoring, specialization and R&D
Bournakis, Ioannis, Vecchi, Michela and Venturini, Francesco, 2018, Review of Income and Wealth (64), 1pp 26-51, Published
Globalisation and the decline of the labour share: a microeconomic perspective
Perugini, Cristiano, Vecchi, Michela and Venturini, Francesco, 2017, Economic Systems (41), 4pp 524-536, Published
We see ICT spillovers everywhere but in the econometric evidence: a reassessment
Marsh, Ian William, Rincon-Aznar, Ana, Vecchi, Michela and Venturini, Francesco, 2017, Industrial and Corporate Change (26), 6pp 1067-1088, Published
University and inter-firm R&D collaborations: propensity and intensity of cooperation in Europe
Aristei, David, Vecchi, Michela and Venturini, Francesco, 2016, The Journal of Technology Transfer (41), 4pp 841-871, Published
Closing the US-EU productivity gap: knowledge assets, absorptive capacity, and institutional reforms
Rincon Aznar, Ana, Saraidaris, Anastasios, Vecchi, Michela and Venturini, Francesco, 2014, VoxEU Columns, E-pub ahead of print
Certified and uncertified skills and productivity growth performance: cross-country evidence at industry level
Mason, Geoff, O'Leary, Brigid and Vecchi, Michela, 2012, Labour Economics (19), 3pp 351-360, Published
Does labour productivity flow across industries? Estimation robust to panel heterogeneity and cross sectional correlation
Byrne, Joseph P. and Vecchi, Michela, 2010, Applied Economics Letters (17), 2pp 111-115, Published
Tangible and intangible capital and the pattern of specialisation in the EU
Bournakis, Ioannis and Vecchi, Michela, 2010, Review of Economics and Institutions (1), 2, Published
R&D, knowledge spillovers and company productivity performance
O'Mahony, Mary and Vecchi, Michela, 2009, Research Policy (38), 1pp 35-44, Published
The impact of ICT on the demand for skilled labour: a cross-country comparison
O'Mahony, Mary, Robinson, Catherine and Vecchi, Michela, 2008, Labour Economics (15), 6pp 1435-1450, Published
Quantifying the impact of ICT capital on output growth: a heterogeneous dynamic panel approach
O'Mahony, Mary and Vecchi, Michela, 2005, Economica (72), 288pp 615-633, Published
The electricity supply industry: a study of an industry in transition
O'Mahony, Mary and Vecchi, Michela, 2001, National Institute Economic Review (177), 1pp 85-99, Published
Wages, work intensity and unemployment in Japan, UK and USA
Darby, Julia, Hart, Robert A. and Vecchi, Michela, 2001, Labour Economics (8), 2pp 243-258, Published
Labour force participation and the business cycle: a comparative analysis of France, Japan, Sweden and the United States
Darby, Julia, Hart, Robert A. and Vecchi, Michela, 2001, Japan and the World Economy (13), 2pp 113-133, Published
Increasing returns, labour utilization and externalities: procyclical productivity in the United States and Japan
Vecchi, Michela, 2000, Economica (67), 266pp 229-244, Published
Reducing productivity and efficiency gaps: the role of knowledge assets, absorptive capacity and institutions - Background chapter
Vecchi, Michela, Rincon, Ana, Venturini, Francesco, Stehrer, Robert, Foster-McGregor, Neil and P├Âschl, Johannes (2013). [Published]
Technology and employment: evidence for the UK labour market
Bournakis, Ioannis and Vecchi, Michela (2024). In: Aldieri, Luigi, (eds.), Cham, Switzerland: Springer Cham [Accepted/In press]
Overeducation and hourly wages in the UK labour market ; 2006 to 2017
Savic, Maja, Vecchi, Michela and Lewis, Adama (2019). In: Khaliq, Muhammed, (eds.)[Published]
Technology, market regulations, and labor share dynamics
O‘Mahony, Mary, Vecchi, Michela and Venturini, Francesco (2019). In: Fields, Gary, Paul, Saumik, (eds.), Singapore: Springerpp 81-101 [Published]
Functional income distribution in European transition countries
Rincon-Aznar, Ana, Vecchi, Michela and Venturini, Francesco (2015). In: Perugini, Cristiano, Pompei, Fabrizio, (eds.), Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillanpp 59-92 [Published]
Reducing productivity and efficiency gaps: the role of knowledge assets, absorptive capacity and institutions
Foster-McGregor, Neil, P├Âschl, Johannes, Rincon-Aznar, Ana, Stehrer, Robert, Vecchi, Michela and Venturini, Francesco (2013). Luxembourg:pp 77-111 [Published]
La cualificaci├│n de la mano de obra y su efecto en la productividad relativa: algunas comparaciones internacionales
Mason, Geoff, O'Leary, Brigid and Vecchi, Michela (2008). Madrid, Spain:pp 139-148 [Published]
Productivity performance at the company level
Rincon, Ana and Vecchi, Michela (2003). In: O'Mahony, Mary, van Ark, Bart, (eds.), Luxembourg City, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communitiespp 169-208 [Published]
Tangible and intangible investment and economic performance: evidence from company accounts
O'Mahony, Mary and Vecchi, Michela (2000). In: Buigues, Pierre, Jacquemin, Alexis, Marchipont, Jean-François, (eds.), Cheltenham, U.K.:pp 199-227 [Published]
Working in an immaterial world: intangible assets and the supply and demand for skilled labour
O‘Mahony, Mary, Robinson, Catherine and Vecchi, Michela(2022). [Published]
Working in an immaterial world: intangible assets and the supply and demand for skilled labour
O‘Mahony, Mary, Robinson, Catherine and Vecchi, Michela(2022). [Published]
Technology, institutions and labour share dynamics
Venturini, Francesco, O'Mahony, Mary and Vecchi, Michela(2014). [Published]
Working in the wrong job or in the wrong industry?: Graduate mismatch in turbulent times
Robinson, Catherine and Vecchi, Michela (2025). Manchester, U.K.: The Productivity Institute [Published]
Vertical and horizontal mismatch in the UK: are graduates' skills a good fit for their jobs?
Vecchia, Michela, Robinson, Catherine, Savic, Maja and Romiti, Marina (2023). London, U.K.: [Published]
Skill mismatch among UK graduates
Vecchi, Michela, Savic, Maja and Romiti, Marina (2021). London, U.K.: Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence [Published]
Technology, intangible assets and the decline of the labor share
O'Mahony, Mary, Venturini, Francesco and Vecchi, Michela (2019). London, U.K.: Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence [Published]
Modelling the joint impact of R&D and ICT on productivity: a frontier analysis approach
Pieri, Fabio, Venturini, Francesco and Vecchi, Michela (2017). Trento: Università degli Studi di Trento [Published]
ICT spillovers, absorptive capacity and productivity performance
Ana, Rincon, Venturini, Francesco and Vecchi, Michela (2012). Perugia: Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia [Published]
Offshoring and specialisation: are industries moving abroad?
Vecchi, Michela, Bournakis, Ioannis and Venturini, Francesco (2011). Perugia: Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia [Published]