I work on economic development, innovation, and place based policy.

My current research is on the politics of spatial inequality, the development of Asian tech, and the role of Sovereign Wealth Funds in economic development. I am Professor II at the Inland University of Norway, run the ‘Cities’ theme in the International Inequalities Institute, and am a fellow of CIFAR.

I’m also an affiliate of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE), the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), and the Centre for Responsible Banking and Finance at the University of St Andrews. I’m an associate member at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. 

My book - Innovation for the Masses: How to share the benefits of the high-tech economy - was published in January 2024 by University of California Press.

My current projects are: 

How did Singapore develop a thriving high-tech sector? [Funded by SEAC. Seminar here]

How are Sovereign Wealth Funds being used for national economic development? [Funded by the LSE-Kuwait programme]

How is spatial inequality changing across the advanced world? [Funded by the ESRC]

How does mobile internet access influence household incomes in the Philippines? [For the Asian Development Bank]

How can the Zambian copperbelt diversify into new industries? [With the IGC]

I do research consultancy and strategic advice for both UK and international clients.

Come and study at LSE. I teach on the MSc Innovation Policy, MSc Local Economic Development, BSc Geography with Economics and the Summer School Course the Economics of European Integration.

Follow me on twitter @ndrlee