James Spencer
Curriculum Vitae Updated 01.26.09
Background: I grew up in New York City during the 1970s and early 80s. Growing up during the backlash against the civil rights movement and the devolution of the Viet Nam war gave me an interest in politics and power that underlies most of my research and teaching. My dual interests in race and wealth inequalities have kept me attached to “the City” over the past decade and I have lived there on and off since 1990. However, after finishing college in 1990 (Amherst College, Social Anthropology) I set off for a year in Viet Nam as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow to study the social consequences of the US’ Agent Orange deforestation program during the early 70s. Following this period I became interested in US policy on the economic and diplomatic embargo on Viet Nam and the former “Indochinese” nations and worked with NGOs educating members of Congress on post-war VietNam, Cambodia and Laos. Being wooed by a need for a deeper understanding of how policy and politics interact I then completed an M.E.M from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies during which I studied the politics of natural resource preservation in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam and the relationship between foreign NGOs and local Vietnamese farmers. From there I followed my interest in urban America, serving as a Program Associate with the Ford Foundation in New York supporting community development institutions’ efforts to improve economic opportunities for the poor. Following Ford, I began my studies at UCLA in Urban Planning and completed my PhD in 2002, writing a dissertation on the comparative policy effectiveness of Enterprise Zones and the Earned Income Tax Credit in Los Angeles. Having the opportunity to teach and conduct research at the University of Hawai’i is, perhaps, the perfect opportunity for my dual interests in development and politics in the US and Southeast Asia.
I am an Assistant Professor of Public Policy with a 50 percent joint appointment with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
On a more personal note, I have missed one of my callings. Had I been a generation younger I might have squandered my pre-40 years trying out for professional soccer teams in the hopes of achieving Ronaldo-like renown. (Un)fortunately, I now satisfy myself with pick-up games in the parks when I can and ESPN on the weekends.
Research interests: My substantive focus is the Political Economy of Regional Development, with particular attention to theories of labor market dynamics, theories of regional economic development and the spatial mismatch hypothesis. I am currently conducting research on people- and place-based policy efforts to provide economic opportunities for disadvantaged groups in metropolitan areas, the effect of urban unrest on economic growth, and the effect of spatial concentration of the poor on socioeconomic development. My overall research interest focuses on assessing the real, intended and unintended impacts of government and other kinds of policy interventions to create opportunities for the poor. My most recent work focuses on Los Angeles and in particular the experience of South Central Los Angeles neighborhoods since the unrest of 1992. Other current work includes evaluation studies of health programs in Viet Nam. Previous research work has focused on community forestry loan programs in Viet Nam and natural resource property rights, and previous practitioner work with foundations and NGOs has focused on US-Southeast Asia policy and local Community Development Corporations in the US.
Selected publications:
Under review. “Neighborhood Poverty and the Los Angeles Riots of 1992: Has the Economic Base Changed?.” Journal of Race, Gender and Class.
Under review. (with Paul M. Ong). “Place-Based Investment Strategies: An Analysis of the Los Angeles Revitalization Zone.” Economic Development Quarterly.
2001. “Technology and Urban Poverty: Understanding the Barriers to Equality.” Projections: The MIT Student Journal of Planning. Spring, Vol.2.
2000. “Why the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis Still Matters.” Critical Planning 7: 63-86. (http://www.spa.ucla.edu/critplan/past/volume007/index.htm).
1999 (with Michael Storper). The Underclass: Long Term Unemployment, Race and Space in the American Context. Chapter in Technical Change, Inequalityand Labor Market Marginalization. Report to the International Labor Organization.1995. "Public Forests and Private Paddies in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam." Tropical Resources Institute Working Paper #90: Yale University: New Haven, CT.
Courses taught:
PLAN 634 - Urban Shelter and Services in Developing Countries
POLS 770 - Political Economy of Development: Neo-Liberalism, Inequality and Development Assistance
PLAN 601 - Planning Methods and Policy Analysis
PLAN 654 - Applied Geographic Information Systems: Public Policy and Spatial Analysis
POLS 390 - Political Inquiry and Analysis
Affiliations: UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, East-West Center, ORBIS International, Environmental Leadership Program, UH Manoa Public Policy Center, Globalization Research Center, Asian and Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center, Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Relevant Links:
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UH Manoa:
http://www.durp.hawaii.edu/Globaization Research Center
http://www.socialsciences.hawaii.edu/GRC/index.htmlEast West Center Summer Seminar on Livable Cities in Pacific Asia
http://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/resources/research/PDFs/ws2_2007.pdfNational Institutes for Health: Health Disparities
http://ncmhd.nih.govAsia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
http://apitmid.hawaii.edu/APCIDE.htmCenter for Southeast Asian Studies
http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas/Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning:
http://www.acsp.orgEnvironmental Leadership Program
http://www.elpnet.org/index.phpLearning as Leadership
http://www.learnaslead.com/Indigenous Politics Call for Papers
http://www.politicalscience.hawaii.edu/forms/indigenouscall.pdf