Jo Swaffield is a Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics and Related Studies, University of York and Head of Department.

Jo has studied at the University of Bristol, the University of York and the University of Warwick. Her main areas of research interest are labour economics and applied microeconometrics, focusing on issues in the UK labour market such as the gender wage gap, in-work poverty and low wages (including minimum wages and the Living Wage).

Jo's research has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and the Low Pay Commission (LPC). She is Chair of the Royal Economic Society's 'Conference of Heads of University Departments of Economics' (CHUDE) and a member of the Home Office's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).

She joined IZA as a Research Fellow in May 2012.