Michael Jacobs

Professorial Fellow, Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute

Personal website

Michael Jacobs is an economist and political theorist, specialising in post-neoliberal political economy, climate change and environmental policy, and green and social democratic thought. Prior to joining SPERI, Michael was Director of the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice, and was principal author and editor of the Commission’s final report, Prosperity and Justice: A Plan for the New Economy (2018).

Originally a community worker and adult educator, Michael began to do academic and policy work in environmental economics and philosophy from around 1987. In 1997, he became head of the Fabian Society, and from 2004 to 2010 he was Special Advisor to Gordon Brown. After leaving government, he advised governments on international climate change policy in the run-up to the 2015 UN Climate Conference in Paris.

Michael is the author of a number of books on environmental economics and progressive politics, and in 2016 he co-edited Rethinking Capitalism: Economics and Policy for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth with Mariana Mazzucato. He tweets @michaelujacobs.