Q&A with...Professor Stuart McIntyre

As part of our series of Q&As with Strathclyde Business School staff Stuart McIntyre, Professor of Economics and Associate Dean for Impact, is in today's spotlight.

What's your role at SBS?

I’m a Professor in the Economics Department and also Associate Dean for Impact across the Business School. I started as a Lecturer at Strathclyde back in 2013, more or less straight from my PhD, and I’ve been here ever since. Like most academics, my role is a mix of teaching and supervision, research, knowledge exchange – and, yes, admin! In addition, I advise different external organisations, including governments, on some of the challenges they’re facing – whether that’s shaping big policy areas or evaluating specific projects.

What does your typical day look like?

There isn’t much that is consistent week to week with two exceptions: an early Monday morning run, and doing the nursery run three days a week - everything else pivots around those!

What is your current research?

I’m involved in a range of really interesting projects at the moment.

One looks at deferred school starts – essentially asking, do children who start school a bit later go on to do better? Another is in the criminal justice space, exploring whether supervision after release from prison helps reduce reoffending. Both of these are projects where the team worked for a long time to get the data, so it’s exciting to finally be able to dig into these important questions.

We’re also wrapping up a project on regional resilience, which has been running for the past couple of years. A big part of that has been building statistical models to understand how different types of economic shocks affect different people/places.

On top of that, I’m always working on different pieces of labour market research, typically trying to use innovative new data and surveys to explore some of the big policy issues in the world of work.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The freedom to choose the questions I want to spend time on. As academics, we’re fortunate to be able to pursue self-directed research, and dig into topics that we find interesting and important.

What's your favourite element of teaching?

Most of my teaching these days is on our MBA programme, which has a different style, pace and intensity to other programmes. The design and emphasis of the MBA challenges us as teachers to take material that can sometimes be a bit dry and technical when taught in a traditional way (I’ll admit it!) and make it accessible and practical. That process forces me to look at economics in new ways – and in the end, it makes me a better economist.

What's your favourite thing about Strathclyde?

There’s a lot I could say, but for me the authenticity we have when talking about impact beyond academia is unique. Across our Departments and Centres, colleagues are using their research to make a real difference – whether that’s helping businesses, government or the third sector to work better and deliver more for the people they serve. And that same ethos runs through our teaching too, where students get the chance to work on real-world projects with external partners and help external partners and society with some of the biggest challenges they face.

Where's your favourite spot in Glasgow?

I won’t give away my favourite hiding spot when I need some focused time away from the office! But for lunch, two great options are Margo if you’re sitting in, and Sprigg if you’re grabbing something on the go.

Favourite place in Scotland?

I’m a big fan of the East Neuk of Fife, and have been fortunate to spend many weekends up/across there! Ideally on a golf course.

Quick fire: favourite book, song/music, television show/film?

I don’t re-read books, but I am currently reading ‘Fall of Civilisations’ by Paul Cooper which is compelling!

My music taste is fairly eclectic – which has given Spotify’s AI feature a bit of a headache. In the office, it’s usually classical; in the car its timeless tunes by Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac and the like; and in the gym, Avicii. And just to really confuse the algorithm, my 15 month old son has led to the addition of The Vegetable Plot into the mix… #earworms

I only watch movies at one time of the year – so it has to be the best Christmas film: ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’.

Published: 4 September 2025