Professor Neil Lee is a Professor of Economic Geography in the LSE Department of Geography and Environment. He is also an affiliate of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) and the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at LSE, and runs the ‘Cities’ network at LSE’s International Inequalities Institute.
Professor Lee’s research explores innovation, regional development and the dynamics of economic inequality. He has previously worked on economic development in Africa and China, regional inequality and political polarisation in Europe and the US, and innovation policy in Kuwait with the Kuwaiti government.
He has worked with LSE Consulting for a long time and has contributed to various projects, including a speaking engagement via the Academic Speakers Bureau and a Masterclass with Fundación Ramón Areces, and has an ongoing involvement in LSE Consulting’s Trade Policy Hub. His most recent work was a working paper for the Asian Development Bank commissioned via LSE Consulting on Mobile Internet Connectivity and Household Wealth in the Philippines.
In this edition of Expert Voices, Professor Lee answers some critical questions about innovation and economic development policy, talks us through his experience working on some practical challenges faced by governments and development organisations and shares his thoughts on academic consulting.
How has the rise of AI influenced the field of economic geography, given its close relationship with innovation? Has it affected how you approach questions or methods in your research?
It has long been obvious that AI will have huge implications for economic geography. As with most breakthrough technologies, frontier AI is likely to concentrate in a small number of places before dispersing over time. Most of the action now is in the US and China, although there are strong footholds in places like London, and there are clear spikes of innovation and productivity gains in these places.
But the important question is what comes next: will the gains continue to the concentrated in these few places, or will AI become diffused into the rest of the economy, creating new hubs where, for instance, lawyers become more productive? It is these second order effects which, I think, are worth studying now. As someone who studies the impact of technology on economic geography, AI is a great – if slightly scary – opportunity to test our theoretical approaches and whether our work on policy is helpful in the real world.
Based on your experience working with governments and development organisations, what value do you think academic expertise brings to these organisations seeking to address complex economic issues such as innovation policy?
Our work with the Asian Development Bank has shown us how important – and good value – building up a strong academic evidence base can be for governments who are making major investments. We’ve shown how a non-frontier technology, mobile internet, can have real and positive impacts on people’s lives and the circumstances which are needed to make that happen. These are complex issues, but good academic work can cut through and help guide the policy process.
Much of your work has explored practical problems in innovation, regional development and inequality. How have these projects challenged/influenced your academic thinking?
There is no point writing journal articles for the sake of it – they need to be helpful in the real world. It is common in academia to make easy critiques of the policy process. But policy is hard – it is about trade-offs and political reality – working with policymakers helps ground our work in helpful truths, rather than lazy critique.
Finally, as an academic who successfully balances academic work and consultancy projects, what would you say are the biggest misconceptions about academic consulting within universities? And what is most rewarding about it?
Academic consulting isn’t just about money – it’s is also about shaping your research agenda and achieving impact. Some of my best research has come from ideas which have come from consulting projects and our students really appreciate having academics who have experience outside the ivory tower.
Professor Lee’s work shows how academic research can move beyond critique to support real world policymaking. By engaging directly with governments and development organisations, he demonstrates how evidence based insights can help shape more effective policy and how such engagements can enhance the academic experience.
To discuss ideas on collaboration or projects with Professor Lee, contact LSE Consulting at consulting@lse.ac.uk.
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