Dr Robert Butler

Biography

Dr Robert Butler is a Senior Lecturer in Economics. He commenced working for the Department of Economics in September 2006. His research interests are focused on the economics of sport and institutional economics and can be found on ORCID and Scopus. He is an associate editor with ABS 3* journal Economic Inquiry and sits on the Board of the European Sport Economic Association.  

Robbie's research has been published in leading international journals and includes ABS 4* papers in the British Journal of Industrial Relations and European Journal of Operational Research. Robbie also has papers in ABS 3* and ABS 2* journals including Kyklos, European Sports Management Quarterly, Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal of Institutional Economics, Journal of Rural Studies, Journal of Sports Economics, Journal of Economic Studies and The Scottish Journal of Political Economy.  

He completed his doctorate in 2013 under the supervision of Veblen-Commons award winner Professor Geoffrey Hodgson. In October 2015, Robbie was awarded the President's Prize for Teaching, becoming one of the youngest staff members to receive the award. In October 2016, he won the Teaching Hero Award from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, becoming the first UCC person to receive both awards.  
Since November 2017 Robbie has been Co-Director of the Centre for Sports Economics and Law. He has been a Teaching Fellow within UCC's CITRL since September 2018. Robbie was named College of Business of Law Researcher of the Year in 2021. 

Since his appointment in 2006, Robbie has contributed to every aspect of student engagement, learning and assessment. His teaching is research-led and often centred around many peer-reviewed outputs. Robbie is one of the youngest recipients of UCC’s President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2014/15) to date and winner of the Teaching Hero Award (2016) from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, becoming the first person at UCC to receive both awards. He has completed all three Teaching and Learning qualifications at UCC’s Centre for The Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning, including the Master in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Since 2017 he has been a CIRTL Teaching Fellow September 2018 and became an id+ Fellow in September 2024. He has acted as the staff liaison officer for the UCC student Economics Society since 2010.  

Robbie has a growing list of peer-reviewed publications, across leading international peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, books and edited books. In 2021, he was named College of Business and Law “Mid-Career Researcher of the Year” and was nominated by the Head of College for the 2021 University College Cork Researcher of the Year Award. He has also received four “Research Excellence Publication Awards” and a “Research Impact Award” from the College of Business and Law and CUBS between 2017 and 2022 and is co-Director of UCC’s Centre for Sports Economcis and Law. He presently acts as associate editor of both Economic Inquiry and Economic and Social Review. Robbie has acted as special editor of both the Journal of Sports Economcis and International Journal of Sport Finance and is an elected member of the European Sport Economics Association Board. His research has resulted in securing of significant research funding, as both a project-lead and as part of a team, of more than €1,350,000. 

EXPERIENCE –  

2020 – 2024: Director of Teaching Assistants, Department of Economics, UCC. 

2017 – 2019: Director of the Centre for Sports Economics and Law, UCC. 

2017 – 2023: College Lecturer (Above the Bar), Department of Economics, UCC. 

2016 – 2020: Director, BComm (International) Degrees, UCC. 

2012 – 2016: Director, Postgraduate Diploma Economics of Business Practice, UCC. 

2008 – 2013: Director, MBS Economics of Business Practice, UCC. 

2006 – 2017: College Lecturer (Below the Bar), Department of Economics, UCC. 

2005 – 2006: Senior Demonstrator, Department of Economics, UCC. 

2004 – 2005: Teaching Assistant, Department of Economics, UCC. 

 

2013 – Doctorate, University of Hertfordshire. 

2016 – Masters in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, University College Cork. 

2005 – Masters in Economic Science, University College Cork. 

2015 – Postgraduate Diploma Teaching & Learning Higher Education, University College Cork. 

2014 – Postgraduate Certificate Teaching & Learning Higher Education, University College Cork. 

2004 – Bachelor of Business Studies, Waterford Institute of Technology. 

 

Board Member of European Sport Economics Association

Associate Editor of Economic Inquiry and Economic and Social Review 

Co-Director Centre for Sports Economics and Law 

External Examiner University of Reading; Ulster University; University of Rhodes, South Africa; Waterford Institute of Technology. 

Google Scholar Profile