About my work

The Economics of Innovation, Trade and Development

The advancements in technological innovation and trade, driven by abundant and inexpensive fossil fuels and entrepreneurship, have given rise to the complexities of modern global civilisation.

Progress has, however, come at a significant cost. The result is a predatory system of extractive global capitalism marked by inequality, conflict, and ecological overshoot, culminating in challenges such as global warming and the transgression of various planetary boundaries, endangering the very habitability of planet Earth.

"The IUCN estimates that some 20% of all species are in danger of extinction over the next few decades […] That we are already on the path of a sixth major extinction is now scientifically undeniable" - Bradshaw et al (2021: 3)

My current research, teaching and policy advice are concerned with understanding the root causes of these costs and risks, how to put global civilisation on a truly sustainable path - to the extent that it is possible - and how to best adapt and build societal resilience to threats and crises. In this work I continue to built on my earlier research at the University of Oxford, the United Nations University and the University of Maastricht on the challenges of African development within a shifting global order; the dark sides of entrepreneurship; and the ossification of Western economies.

My research is published in scientific journals, books, and I regularly contribute to various blogs. I have also contributed to development reports of virtually all the global development organisations - see below.