Research Interests

• Political economy of developing and transition economies
• Vietnam's transition from central planning to a market economy
• Gender and development
• Poverty and inequality
• Social networks

Research Grants/Projects

Australian Research Council, ‘The Clothing Industry in the Asia Pacific: Managing Constant Change’ with AH Vickers, V Crinis. R Ganguly‑Scrase, K Hannan (University of Wollongong, BC Prasad (University of the South Pacific), AN Tran (California State University Monterey Bay) 2007-10.

Macquarie University, ‘A new model of agricultural development in Vietnam’ 2005-06,

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) ‘Gender analysis of fiscal policy in Vietnam’ 2001-03.

Current projects

The ARC-funded project examines the dynamics of the garment industry in the Asia-Pacific region. We will be tracing regional and international networks, connecting them to patterns of legal and illegal movements of businesses, goods, money and people, in order to show how changes in trans-national business affect daily working life. The project highlights the outcomes of trade liberalisation in the region and the impacts of insecurities created by this rapidly changing industry.

My other major research project is on the role of social networks in Vietnamese agricultural development. The principal aim is to reconceptualise the processes of capital accumulation, social stratification and economic development by viewing agricultural value chains as social networks. Funding from Macquarie University has enabled me to carry out a small-scale study in two Red River delta villages where it was found that the structure of these networks affects farm organisation, competition and the profitability of farming and trade in rice, leading to changes in income distribution and thereby in savings and investment. Further studies are planned for other regions of the country.