The Department of Economics, including the Fraser of Allander Institute, has 25 teaching and research staff, many of whom are internationally recognised for their research. The Economics group at Strathclyde is one of the largest in the UK. According to RePEc (the largest bibliographic database dedicated to Economics), Strathclyde is one of the top 25 research institutions in the UK and ranks in the top 5% worldwide.

The Department's research activity has been supported by numerous awards from a variety of sources, including: ESRC, EPSRC, Leverhulme Trust, Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise and DEFRA.

Many staff members are engaged in networks of research economists, with collaborators based in other Scottish universities, across the UK, and in overseas institutions. Interaction within Scotland is actively supported by SIRE (the Scottish Institute for Research in Economics). The Department is an active participant in the Scottish Graduate Programme in Economics, which has been a source of a significant number of current and past PhD research students.