Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
My major disciplinary focus is economics. My expertise lies in trade policy and export promotion, foreign investment, industrial development and sectoral studies, particularly in Southeast and East Asia. After retiring from DEV in 2006, I moved to Japan where I became Professor of Development Economics at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (‘APU’), returning to the UK in 2008; and I remained a visiting professor at APU until March 2017. Since retirement I also have held visiting professorships at Kobe University in Japan and Soochow University in Taiwan. I serve as a member of the international advisory board of the Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy and as a subject specialist for the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Vocational and Academic Qualifications. I have acted as a consultant for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Association of South East Asian Nations, the UK Department for International Development, and with the Harvard Institute for International Development.
My current research, in collaboration with colleagues in Japan, has focused on industrial policy and the automotive industry in Asia, for which I did fieldwork in Thailand in 2010 and 2011, Malaysia in 2012, Indonesia in 2013, the Philippines in 2014 and Viet Nam in 2015. I recently completed a book on automotive industrialisation in Southeast Asia (see publications below).
I have continued to do PhD supervision at East Anglia since my retirement, including dissertations on the Brazilian motor industry (completed 2020), competition between the Malaysian and Chinese electronics industries (completed 2016), competition between the Mexican and Chinese motor industries (2012), Japanese identity since the Meiji Restoration (2009), and foreign investment in Mozambique (2009).
I have also continued to do external examining including doctoral theses for the Universities of Oxford (2019), Bristol (2018), London-SOAS (2015-6) and Bath (2015), and for the masters programme on Urban Economic Development at the Bartlett Development Planning Unit at University College London from 2017 to 2020.
Key Research Interests and Expertise
My major disciplinary focus is economics, particularly trade and industry, mainly in Asia (South East Asia, Vietnam, Japan and China), industrial development and competitiveness in Africa.
DEV Research Groups: Globalisation & Transition
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Network
Projects
- 11 Finished
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Scoping Study Focusing on China's Development Lessons for Low Income Africa
Department for International Development
13/02/13 → 30/04/13
Project: Other
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Automotive Industry in South East Asia
Thoburn, J. & Natsuda, K.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
1/08/10 → 31/07/20
Project: Research
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The Sustainability of Garment Production among New Asian Exporters in the Post-MFA Era
Thoburn, J., Natsuda, K. & Goto, K.
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
1/01/08 → 31/12/09
Project: Research
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Globalisation, Production and Poverty: Macro, Meso and Micro Level Studies
Thoburn, J., Jenkins, R., Sen, K. & Dolan, C.
Department for International Development
1/01/00 → 31/12/03
Project: Research
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Industrial policy and automotive development: a comparative study of Thailand and Czechia
Natsuda, K., Thoburn, J., Blažek, J. & Otsuka, K., Mar 2022, In: Eurasian Geography and Economics. 63, 2, p. 212-238 27 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Automotive industrialisation: Industrial policy and development in Southeast Asia
Natsuda, K. & Thoburn, J., 1 Jan 2021, Taylor and Francis. 268 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
1 Citation (Scopus) -
How to conduct effective industrial policy: a comparison of automotive development in the Philippines and Indonesia
Thoburn, J. & Natsuda, K., 2 Oct 2018, In: Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy. 23, 4, p. 657-682 26 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus) -
Industrial policy and the development of the automotive industry in the Philippines
Natsuda, K. & Thoburn, J., 3 Jul 2018, In: Canadian Journal of Development Studies. 39, 3, p. 371-391 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
4 Citations (Scopus) -
Comparative policies for automotive development in Southeast Asia
Thoburn, J. & Natsuda, K., 1 Jan 2016, Cars, Automobility and Development in Asia: Wheels of Change. Hansen, A. & Nielsen, K. (eds.). Taylor and Francis, p. 17-36 20 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
4 Citations (Scopus)
Activities
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DFID Workshop, Beijing
John Thoburn (Speaker)
20 Apr 2013Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in workshop or seminar
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Lessons of China for Africa (DFID)
John Thoburn (Consultant)
2013Activity: Consultancy › Consultancy (fee based/paid)
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Garment Export Prospects for the Kyrgyz Republic (OECD)
John Thoburn (Consultant)
2013Activity: Consultancy › Consultancy (fee based/paid)
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Impact of the World Financial Crisis on the Textile and Garment Industry of Asia (UNIDO)
John Thoburn (Consultant)
2009Activity: Consultancy › Consultancy (fee based/paid)
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Country Role Models for Development Success: Vietnam (UN World Institute for Development Economics Research, Helsinki)
John Thoburn (Consultant)
2008Activity: Consultancy › Consultancy (fee based/paid)