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Professor Connell Fanning is a business economist interested in the research and application of economic ideas and methods for strategic thinking in business and also in the macroeconomic theory of the business economy. He is particularly interested in using the ideas of John Maynard Keynes about how we think and especially about the role and use of theories in the way we make sense of our world.
In 2015 he established The Keynes Centre as a practitioner-oriented focal point for facilitating personal professional transformation by individuals and organisations through the innovative approach of Transformative Thinking. He developed this approach and applied it successfully over many cycles in the Executive MBA and DBA (Business Economics) programmes at University College Cork.
Connell joined the Department of Economics in 1978 and has held positions as Lecturer, Statutory Lecturer, Associate Professor and, from 1990-2015, Professor of Economics and Head of School. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Commerce (1985-9) and has been Visiting Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin (1981-3), Cornell University, N.Y. and Toulouse Business School. He was a member of the Governing Council and Forum (as now known) of the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, Ireland.
He has contributed extensively to university management including as acting headships of the Department of Economics, 1988-1990; Department of Management, 1998-'90; and Department of Public Administration (now Government), 1991.
Fanning also has wide teaching experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and in professional, adult and continuing education programmes.
His publications include a theoretical study of Keynes’ macroeconomic theory of the business economy with David O Mahony , The General Theory of Profit Equilibrium: Keynes and the Entrepreneur Economy (Macmillan, London; St. Martin’s Press, New York). He has also published on local entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial renewal (Renewing a Local Economy: The Entrepreneurial Response to Crisis, Cork University Press), worker management and labour-directed firms (including co-authoring with Tom McCarthy, David O Mahony and David Tomkin), Porter’s clusters theory (with Eleanor Doyle), nurturing indigenous entrepreneurship (with Ciaran Murphy) and Penrose’s theory of organic growth of the firm (with Chen Zheng and Eleanor Doyle). In collaboration with John Bradley, he developed the modern macroeconometric capability for the ESRI, Central Bank and Department of Finance, published as Aggregate Supply, Aggregate Demand and Income Distribution in Ireland: A Macrosectoral Analysis (ESRI, Dublin) and Medium-Term Analysis of Fiscal Policy in Ireland: A Macroeconometric Study of the Period 1967-1980 (ESRI, Dublin).
He is currently working on a book with Eleanor Doyle on the theory of economic development in ‘strategic innovation economies’ based on integrating the thinking of the Joseph Schumpeter, Friedrich Hayek, Edith Penrose and Michael Porter.
Professor Connell Fanning also has strong links with the business and external community. He has undertaken consultancy projects for businesses and public agencies, including the European Commission, has contributed to local and national Print, T.V. and Radio media on economic affairs, and has made presentations to a large range of public forums, conferences and seminars.
He holds Primary and Masters degrees in Economics from the National University of Ireland, University College, Cork, Ireland and Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from Cornell, New York, USA.
Current Research
Application of Economic Ideas for Strategic Thinking in Business, especially Economic Theory for Business Strategy.
Macroeconomic Theory of the Business Economy and J.M. Keynes as a Business Economist. The Entrepreneurial Dilemma in Irish Development Policy. Governance Failure in the Irish Public Sector.
Executive and Professional Development
Achieving Competitiveness: Enterprises, Regions and Nations.
Masterclass on Keynes and The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936).
Academic Management
Professor of Economics and Head of Department.
Macroeconomic Theory of the Business Economy and J.M. Keynes as a Business Economist.
The Entrepreneurial Dilemma in Irish Development Policy.
Governance Failure in the Irish Public Sector.
Undergraduate Teaching; The Macroeconomic Theory of Business Economy
Postgraduate Teaching;Executive MBA: Business Economics Sequence -
(1) The Market Economy: Economic Foundations for Strategic Thinking;
(2) Economic Strategy and Performance;
(3) Economics of Organisations and Knowledge;
(4) Strategic Interaction and Globalization.
