The Institute of Development Studies has appointed Dr Anabel Marin to lead its rapidly expanding research on business, markets and states in development. With the relationships between business, government and civic society evolving at pace, this is an increasingly important area within development studies and part of the IDS 2020-2025 strategy.
Previously, Dr Marin served as Director of the Research Center for Transformation (CENIT) at the National University of San Martin in Argentina. She has also been Director of Bioleft, and a member of the Committee for Structural Change, an advisory body to Argentina’s Ministry of Production. In 2017 she was seconded to the Directorate of the National Commission of External Trade in Argentina. Her wealth of senior research and leadership experience is combined with specialist expertise in innovation, industrial policy and business strategy.
Dr Marin is returning to Sussex to join IDS having completed a PhD in Science and Technology Policy Studies at the University of Sussex. She will take on leadership of the Business, Markets and State Cluster which has expanded over the past five years under the leadership of Jodie Thorpe to a team of seven Research Fellows and three Research Officers.
On her new appointment, Dr Anabel Marin said, “After a decade of research, policy and activism in Latin America I am very excited to join IDS, leading the Business, Markets and State cluster. In the context of a very challenging time for development, IDS is the best place to be thinking about and influencing opportunities for radical, transformative change, which cannot be initiated or even understood without addressing the complex relations between business, markets, states and society.”
Peter Taylor, Director of Research, said: “The interrelationship between businesses and states is rapidly changing with significant implications for development, including how to generate the essential research and evidence to inform policy response. We’re delighted to welcome Anabel who will build on the leadership of Jodie Thorpe to expand our Business, Markets and State cluster.”
The Business, Markets and State (BMAS) Cluster at IDS employs an inter-disciplinary lens to the analysis of business in development, employing political economy, value chain and market systems perspectives to better understand how states and businesses engage and influence one another. Research focuses on six thematic areas that are crucial for economic systems to deliver inclusive development – Work, Enterprise Development, Trade, Finance, Alternative Economies and Food & Nutrition.
