The reconfiguration of foreign direct investment (FDI) networks and global value chains (GVCs) presents opportunities and challenges for economies across Asia. A recent LSE-Hinrich Foundation Report makes the case for GVC-sensitive policies, particularly at the sub-national level, in catalysing local economic development. The Report offers new evidence on the diverse participation of Asian economies in GVCs and on the varied local impacts of global connectivity.
This event sought to address some policy relevant questions. Specifically, how can policymakers leverage global value chains to advance regional economic dynamism? What are the specific strategies that national and local policymakers can adopt to attract FDI and foster participation in GVCs? How to move Asian local economies into higher value-added parts of a value chain, or ‘upgrade’? The panel discussed the future of sustainable development at the local level in Asia, and what can and should be targeted with the available policy tools when harnessing GVCs for regional development. This event was recorded and the video can be watched here.
Speaker and Chair Biographies:
Kenta Goto is Professor at the Faculty of Economics at Kansai University, and Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Pacific Institute of Research. He has also worked for organizations including the United Nations Development Programme (Mongolia) and the International Labour Organization (Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok). His research interests include global value chains, the informal economy, and sustainable development. His degrees are from Keio University, Harvard University, and Kyoto University.
Pavida Pananond is Professor of International Business at Thammasat Business School, Thammasat University, where she has been based upon completing her PhD at the University of Reading. Her research interest is global strategic management, particularly with reference to how companies in emerging markets develop and expand overseas. Pavida has authored a host of academic articles, book chapters, books, and opinion editorials in media outlets such as Bangkok Post and Nikkei Asia. Her views have also been sought from international media including BBC, and Financial Times. Her corporate role includes board membership of Precious Shipping Public Company Limited, Thailand’s leading dry bulk carrier. Pavida is a frequent speaker at national and international public forums and conferences.
Riccardo Crescenzi is a Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics and is the current holder of a European Research Council (ERC) Grant. He is also an Associate at the Centre for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and he is affiliated with the European Institute, Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) and the Spatial Economics Research Centre (SERC) at the LSE. His research is focused on regional economic development, innovation, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and multinationals and the analysis and evaluation of European Union policies.
Prof. Hyun Bang Shin (@urbancommune) is Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science and directs the LSE Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre. His research centres on the critical analysis of the political economy of speculative urbanisation, gentrification and displacement, urban spectacles, and urbanism with particular attention to Asian cities. His books include Planetary Gentrification (Polity, 2016), Neoliberal Urbanism, Contested Cities and Housing in Asia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), Exporting Urban Korea? Reconsidering the Korean Urban Development Experience (Routledge, 2021), and The Political Economy of Mega Projects in Asia: Globalization and Urban Transformation (Routledge, forthcoming). He is Editor of the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, and is also a trustee of the Urban Studies Foundation.
