Dr Karen Jackson
Reader in Economics | College Director of International Development
Research focus
International trade, finance and development
Education
Awarded a DPhil in Economics from the University of Sussex, an MSc in Economics from the University of Nottingham, and a BA in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Kent. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Employment
Dr Jackson holds the title of Reader in Economics and serves as the College Director of International Development, leading global engagement initiatives at Westminster Business School. During her tenure, she has assumed various leadership roles, including Acting Head of School and Assistant Head of School (Organisations, Economy, and Society). Prior to joining Westminster, she held positions at the UK Department for International Development, University of Sussex, and University of Bradford.
Consultancy and Advisory Assignments
Dr Jackson has consulted for institutions such as the ODI Global, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the UK Department for International Development. She has also contributed her expertise as a panel member and peer reviewer for the UK Economic and Social Research Council, as well as holding numerous external examiner and expert appointments.
Partnership Development and Networks
Dr Jackson currently leads international development activity for Westminster Business School, with a global remit spanning partnership development and institutional engagement across a wide range of markets. She is also a member of the Advisory Group for the Chartered ABS China–UK Business School Dialogue.
Prior to joining Westminster, she served as the University of Bradford’s China and East Asia Development Director, a university-wide role focused on the region. In this capacity, she developed the University’s China strategy, established a foreign enterprise in China, and developed partnerships across East Asia.
Research Leadership
Dr Jackson currently serves as Research and Knowledge Exchange Lead for the School of Accounting, Finance and Economics.
She is also Deputy Director of the Forum for Uzbek and Silk Road Studies, which builds on the University of Westminster’s more than 20-year partnership with Westminster International University in Tashkent.
Dr Jackson co-established and co-organises the Global Economic Policy Group (GEPG), which brings together researchers from the University of Westminster, FernUniversität in Hagen, Shandong University, the University of Duisburg-Essen, Lazarski University and Kraków University of Economics. The Group held its sixth annual international workshop in 2026.
PhD Supervision
Successfully supervised four PhD students to completion (in 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2023), all of whom have secured academic positions at UK Universities. Currently, she is supervising another two students.
Personal website: link
Publications
"Beyond security: The trade implications of joining NATO", (2026), Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT) Discussion Papers, 2026-06-24 (with P. Luck and O. Shepotylo)
"Commodity Prices Redux: A Global Factor Story", (2026), Journal of International Money and Finance, 165, p.103588 (with K. Beck, M. Filippidis and G. Magkonis)
"China’s economic footprint in Latin America and the Caribbean", (2026), ODI Global Research Report, (with E. Kiryakova and R. Nadin)
"Neo-Mercantilism in Action - Mexico, Canada, and China under Trump’s 2025 Tariffs: A Trade Perspective" (2026), Critical Perspectives on International Business, 22(4), pp. 530-572 (with G. Saridakis, R. Hosein, I. McIntosh, R.I. Munoz Torres, A. Deo and R. Ramnath)
"COSCO and the privatisation of Piraeus port: A tale of three piers" (2025), European Journal of Industrial Relations, 31 (2), pp. z233-252 (with J. Li and S. Masino)
"Financial, institutional, and macroeconomic determinants of cross-country portfolio equity flows: the case of developed countries" (2024), Economic Modelling, 141, p.106902 (with A. Afonso, J. Alves and K. Beck)
"Political alliances and trade: Europe in a polarised world" (2024), European Journal of Political Economy, 85, p. 102612 (with O. Shepotylo)
"Exchange Rate Predictability Fact or Fiction?" (2024), Journal of International Money and Finance, 142, p. 103026 (with G. Magkonis)
"International trade fluctuations: global versus regional factors" (2024), Canadian Journal of Economics, 57(1), pp. 331-358 (with K. Beck)
"Transforming East Asia: Regional integration in a trade war era" (2023), Open Economies Review, 34(3), pp. 657 - 672 (with O. Shepotylo)
"An Analysis of the Trade Policy Review of the European Union", (2021), The World Economy, 44(12), pp. 3482-3491
"Belt and Road: The China Dream?", (2021), China Economic Review, 67, p. 101604 (with O. Shepotylo)
"An examination of EU trade disintegration scenarios", (2021), The World Economy, 44(1), pp. 2-20 (with O. Shepotylo)
"Trade (Dis)integration: The sudden death of NAFTA", (2020), Open Economies Review, 31(4), pp. 931-943 (with D. Bakas and G. Magkonis)
“An inquiry into exchange rate misalignments as a cause of the major global trade imbalances”, (2019), Journal of Economic Studies, 46(4), pp. 902-924 (with M.A. Nasir)
“Identifying networks in social media: The case of #Grexit”, (2019), Networks and Spatial Economics, 19(1), pp. 319-330 (with G. Magkonis)
“Regional trade institutions in West Africa: Historical reflections”, (2018), Journal of International Development, 30(8), pp. 1255-1272 (with E. Bah and D. J. Potts)
“Post-Brexit trade survival: Looking beyond the European Union”, (2018), Economic Modelling, 73, pp. 317-328 (with O. Shepotylo)
The segmentation of Europe: Convergence or divergence between core and periphery, (2017) Palgrave Macmillan (with M. Baimbridge, U. R. Lee and I. Litsios)
“Evaluating methodological issues in the tourism literature: UK outgoing tourism and trade links”, (2015), Economic Issues, 28(1), pp. 1-42 (with W. Zang)
“Great achievements and great challenges: The EU Common Fisheries Policy” in Re-examining the EU policies in a global perspective edited by M. R. Szeles, (2013), Palgrave Macmillan
“Reconsidering the Silk Road: Tourism in the context of regionalism and trade patterns“ in Handbook on the Economics of Leisure edited by S. Cameron, (2011) Edward Elgar.
"A Framework for evaluating regional trade agreements involving developing countries", (2005), Report for the UK Department for International Development (with D. Evans, M. Gasiorek, P. Holmes, L. Iacovone, S. Robinson and J. Rollo)
"Investment incentives in Commonwealth developed countries and the WTO investment negotiations.", (2003), Commonwealth Secretariat Economic Paper Series (with J. Lafortune, J.C.R. Rowley, S.R. Vemuri, and R. Scollay)
Research Impact
NATO’S Hidden Dividend and the Avoidable Cost of U.S. Withdrawal, (2026), Centre for Strategic and International Studies, 22 April (with P. Luck and O. Shepotylo)
In Semafor China, "China’s expanding LatAm footprint", (2026), 3 Mar
Written Evidence to the UK Parliament Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls Sub-Committee's Inquiry, UK economic security, (2025), 2 June (with O. Shepotylo)
"How the ‘year of the wood snake’ could play out for China's economy", (2025), The Conversation, 4 Feb
"How political alliances shape trade and welfare in Europe", (2024), LSE European Politics and Policy, 18 Nov (with O. Shepotylo)
"Joe Biden has raised tariffs on Chinese imports – but this ploy to win votes may spark a trade war" (2024), The Conversation, 16 May
"Friend-shoring: what Biden wants to achieve by trading with allies rather than rivals" (2024), The Conversation, 20 March (with O. Shepotylo)
In The Daily Telegraph, "Why China's best days are already behind it", (2023), 19 Jan
"Brexit: what the UK/EU customs changes mean for businesses from January 1", (2021), The Conversation, 21 Dec
Written Evidence to the UK Parliament International Trade Committee's Inquiry, UK Trade Negotiations, (2021), 15 Sep (with O. Shepotylo)
"The Belt and Road Initiative in times of global uncertainty: A trade policy perspective", (2021), China Dialogues (LSE), 24 Jun (with O. Shepotylo)
"Four reasons why G7 climate finance initiative will struggle against China’s Belt and Road", (2021), The Conversation, 14 Jun (with O. Shepotylo)
"US-UK trade deal: what can post-Brexit Britain hope to get?", (2021), The Conversation, 4 Jan (with O. Shepotylo)
"A UK-US trade deal would look less likely under Joe Biden – which means the NHS red line could be crossed", (2020), iPaper, 16 Oct
“China-US trade talks cancelled: why negotiations will still happen eventually”, (2020), The Conversation, 14 Aug (with O. Shepotylo)
"US-UK trade talks have begun – here’s what each side wants and what to expect", (2020), The Conversation, 11 May (with O. Shepotylo)
NAFTA 2.0 is a welcome deal for the US, Canada and Mexico in a time of trade uncertainty, (2019), LSE US Centre, 13 Nov (with D. Bakas and G. Magkonis)
"Winners and losers in the US-China trade war", (2019), The Conversation, 25 Jun (with O. Shepotylo)
"Brexit: breaking up is hard to do", (2019), The Money - ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 21 March
"Why a no-deal Brexit would be less costly for the EU than the UK", (2019), The Conversation, 24 Jan (with A. Delis and O. Shepotylo)
"Brexit: four things you need to know", (2019), The UK in a Changing Europe, 11 Jan (with O. Shepotylo)
JVC - BBC Three Counties Radio interview, (2018), 14 Dec
"No deal? Seven reasons why a WTO-only Brexit would be bad for Britain", (2018), The Conversation, 23 Aug (with O. Shepotylo)
"Post-Brexit trade with the US Donald Trump was right when he said a deal would be tricky", (2018), The Conversation, 20 July (with O. Shepotylo)
"A customs union would free the UK to strike trade deals but it doesnt solve every Brexit problem", (2018), The Conversation, 26 April (with O. Shepotylo)
"The five alternatives to EU single market and customs union would all make UK poorer", (2018), The Conversation, 26 Feb (with O. Shepotylo)
"West Africa: Empirehood and colonialism offer lessons in integration", (2017), The Conversation, 12 December (with E. Bah and D. J. Potts)