Expertise

Comparative / international political economy.
Chinese politics.
The development of the Chinese automotive industry.
The globalization strategies of Chinese firms.
China’s integration into global production network.

Overview

Eric Thun is Peter Moores Lecturer in Chinese Business Studies.

Thun’s book Changing Lanes in China: Foreign Direct Investment, Local Governments and Auto Sector Development was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006. His work has also appeared in World Development, World Business, Politics & Society and the Journal of East Asian Studies.

Thun received his BA from Princeton University in 1990 and his doctorate from Harvard University in 1999. After a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the M.I.T. Industrial Performance Center, he returned to Princeton as Assistant Professor in the Woodrow Wilson School and Department of Politics.  He moved to Oxford in 2005.

Research interests

Eric Thun’s research focuses on issues of industrial development in China.  His current research project analyzes the dynamics of competition between domestic and multinational firms in China.  His previous research has investigated the development of the Chinese automotive industry, multinational strategies in China, the globalization strategies of Chinese firms, and China’s integration into global production networks.

Books:

Thun, Eric, Changing Lanes in China: Foreign Direct Investment, Local Governments, and Auto Sector Development, Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Book chapters:

Thun, Eric, Cunningham, Edward and Lynch, Teresa, 'A Tale of Three Sectors: Diverging Paths in Taiwan's Automotive Industry,' in: Berger, Suzanne and Lester, Richard (eds.), Global Taiwan, M.E. Sharpe, 2005.

Thun, Eric, 'Going Local: Foreign Investment, Local Development, and the Chinese Auto Sector,' in: Carrillo, Jorge, Lung, Yannick and van Tulder, Rob (eds.), Cars, Carriers of Regionalism? (New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2004).

Journal articles:

Thun, Eric, 'Industrial Policy, Chinese-Style: FDI, Regulation, and Dreams of National Champions,' Journal of East Asian Studies, Vol. 4, no. 3, 2004.

Thun, Eric, 'Keeping Up with the Jones': Decentralization, Policy Imitation, and Industrial Development in China,' World Development, Vol. 38, no. 2, 2004.

Thun, Eric and Segal, Adam, 'Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: Local Governments, Industrial Sectors, and Development in China,' Politics and Society, Vol. 29, no. 4, 2001.

Other articles and papers:

Thun, Eric and Fuller, Douglas B., "China's global path," World Business, Issue 4, July-August 2006.

Thun, Eric, “National Champions—or Chumps?” China Economic Quarterly, Volume 5, Issue 4, 2005.

Thun, Eric, 'Growing Up and Moving Out: Globalization in the Taiwanese Textile/Apparel and Automotive Sectors,' Working Paper, Industrial Performance Center, MIT, July 2000.