Professor David Leece - Keele University
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Professor David Leece

'Tales From the Realm of Finance' 

Tuesday 4th December, 2012. 6pm Westminster Theatre, Chancellor's Building

This lecture uses the medium of three stories, one historical and two relating to Professor Leece's own experiences, accompanying research and anecdotes, to communicate some of the issues underpinning financial crises. The focus is on complexity, not in the new scientific sense of complex systems, but in relation to the difficult things in finance such as exotic financial products that even the bankers did not understand; but in particular the difficulties of understanding human behaviour and financial decision making. Was this a level of difficulty that was ignored? What do we need to know, and indeed do we need to know about human behaviour at all?

 "My research career began in the late 1970s when I was a junior research officer in the then Department of Economics, University College of North Wales Bangor. After a brief period working for local government I worked for the Open University where I was involved in producing and presenting radio and television programmes for Economics courses in addition to course development. My first spell of employment at Keele was from 1980 to 2004 just missing the 25 year landmark. During that time I was lecturer and subsequently senior lecturer and Head of the Department of Management. The focus of my research was mortgage markets and household behaviour for which I gained an international reputation publishing in leading journals and writing a book on Mortgage Market Economics published in 2004 which was drawn on for Her Majesty's Treasury report by Professor David Miles for his investigation of the UK mortgage market.

Since 2004 I have been a Professor of Finance at Manchester Metropolitan University where I was head of department of Business Studies at MMU Cheshire and latterly Director of the Centre for Professional Accountancy and Financial Services in Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. During this time my research and publications have widened to also include issues in social
care, venture capital and private equity markets. During my varied career I have acted as a United Nations consultant, written ‘think pieces’ for professional bodies and received a variety of research funds and grants."

This lecture is free and open to all to attend. If you'd like to attend please confirm your attendance by contacting the events team on 01782  734906 or email events@keele.ac.uk