Ms Alison Hearne

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); Historical perspectives of FDI; Longitudinal effects of MNEs on regional development; Impact of FDI on host regions; Impact of FDI on coastal regions and 'left behind spaces'; Ontological perspectives on longitudinal research; Northern Ireland economic policy; Northern Ireland and MNEs post-1945; Policy transfer in comtemporary and historical perspectives; Inter-regional competition; Investment Promotional Agencies (IPAs).

Alison earned a PhD in International Business from Trinity College Dublin. She holds a BA in International Marketing with German and French and a Master of Economic Science from University College Dublin.

Her work, which lies at the intersection of international business, regional studies and historical research, has been recognised internationally: her PhD proposal was awarded first prize at the UK/IRL chapter of the Academy of International Business. In 2023 her thesis, which focused on US and European multinationals in Northern Ireland after World War Two,  reached the final of the International Coleman Prize for Best Dissertation in Business History, awarded by the Association of Business Historians (ABH)

Coming from a background international business and economic policy she is interested in how to history can inform and support current economic policymaking with regional spaces.

Recent research has focused on Foreign Direct Investment in the latter part of the 20^th Century, with a particular focus on Northern Ireland. Her research also focuses on comparative economic analyses,  theories of policy transfer between states and regions, and on Investment Promotional Agencies (IPAs) in the latter part of the 20^th Century and their role in supporting regional economic development.

She has presented at international conferences of the Academy of International Business (AIB), the Regional Studies Association (RSA), the European Business History Association (EBHA) and Association of Business Historians (ABH), and at national conferences including the Irish Academy of Management (IAM).

At present she is working on papers for publication in international journals on policy transfer in relation to historical FDI policies, and comparative analysis of regional  IPAs in the post war period.

Alison has over 20 years of lecturing experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. At present she lectures in the areas of economics, statistics, economic policy and International Business at the Southeast Technological University (SETU) in Ireland. She teaches Research on the Masters Programme for Digital Technology and Analytics. At present she is completing an additional qualification in Teaching and Learning.