Hot Topics Lecture December 2025
On Monday 1 December 2024, the School of Economics and Finance will hold its fifth Hot Topics Lecture aimed at School alumni, focusing on the topic of Advances and Challenges in labour Markets. This year, the lecture is also open to current students, staff, and prospective students of the School, and will be delivered online.
Professor George Skiadopoulos will warmly welcome attendees, followed by opening remarks from Professor Alp Atakan, Head of the School of Economics and Finance. Attendees will then have the privilege of hearing from two distinguished speakers: Simon Franklin, Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Finance, and Dr. Effie Achtsioglou, Member of the Greek Parliament, former Minister for Labour, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity. Following the talks, an insightful Q&A session will be held.
Speaker Biographies
Dr Simon Franklin
Dr Simon Franklin is a Reader (Associate Professor) in the School of Economics and Finance at Queen Mary University of London. He serves as the Lead Academic for IGC Ethiopia and is a Research Affiliate at both the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) — within the development and labour groups — and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL).
Simon completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Cape Town, where he also worked at SALDRU (Southern Africa labour and Development Research Unit). He earned his DPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford, where he remains a Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE).
Dr Effie Achtsioglou
Dr Effie Achtsioglou is the Minister of labour, Social Security and Social Solidarity of Greece. She holds a PhD in European labour Law and a Master’s degree in Public Law and Political Science.
Previously, she served as Head of the Minister’s Cabinet and chief negotiator for the Greek Government in discussions with the EC, ECB, IMF, and ESM on labour and social security issues. Effie has also held academic and research positions at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Greek Centre of International and European Economic Law, and she regularly publishes on employment relations and labour law.