Profile

I am a full Professor of Political Science at Simon Fraser University. For the first part of my career, my research was focused on international trade and investment, and how Latin American and other countries in the South could move towards long-term economic development. The conclusions of that first decade are embodied in my 2007 book, An East Asian Model for Latin American Success.

The second phase of my research agenda is industrial, energy, and technology policies, in terms of how a developing country state can promote new, higher value-added, employment creating sectors. I completed studies on wireless, biofuels, and wine industries using comparative cases and international teams to reveal which policies were most effective in producing successful competitive global industries.

I have moved more recently towards more of a triple bottom line agenda, examining how to promote renewable energy and labour rights in the developing world. I am particularly interested in policies to promote renewable energy. This led me to help found the Clean Energy Research Group. All reform efforts depend, in turn, upon improving governance, including reducing corruption in the public administration, another area of research interest.  You can find the latest example of my research along these lines in the 2023 book, The Smoke and Mirrors Game of Global CSR Reporting (Anthem).

Check out my new report on the cranberry industry by clicking the publications link.