Professor Hilary Ingham Head of Department of Economics lancaster.ac.uk/lums/economics I am delighted to be able to welcome you to this special edition of Fifty Four Degrees, which showcases the work of my colleagues here in the Department of Economics at Lancaster University Management School. When you look into the volume, you will see topics that dominate the news. These are issues that you might all have come across in your daily lives, and ones that our expert team of researchers in the Department of Economics get to the heart of. The issue of the depletion of the planet and of a greener future for ourselves and our children is never far from the headlines, and you will see that the individual contributions by Marwan Izzeldin and Anita Shiller both tackle this important area. Likewise, inequality remains an important policy concern and Cath Porter shows how Economics remains a maledominated domain – an issue that is very close to home for us. Her work shows how female role models can help to address the imbalance – and I know we have many such examples within our department. Looking across the globe, Saurabh Singhal addresses the caste system in India and its effects on people’s lives and economic prospects event today. Looking at the USA and the National Football League (NFL), Rob Simmons and Alex Furnell, along with Dave Berri from Southern Utah University, also uncover inequality, this time determined by race in the sports arena. Whilst Covid-19 now seems to be perceived as less of a threat, Spyros Lazarakis takes us back to the flu pandemics of the early 20th Century to remind us of the long-lasting effects that pandemics might have, and how that might be replicated in the years ahead. Finally, read what Eyal Winter has to say about the role of rational emotions and why, if the human race had developed in the same manner as the emotion-free Vulcans – anyone remember Mr Spock – we may not have survived at all. To lighten the mood to finish, why not dive into Renaud Foucart's contribution, which looks at the demise of the CD and the resurgence of vinyl. Still have any of those classic albums? Look after them! I hope this gives you a taster of the kind of expertise you can come across here in Lancaster. These experts contribute to a School where we deliver teaching that is academically rigorous and practically relevant – bringing benefits to lectures and seminars. Welcome FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 3
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