Dr Robert Read is a Senior Lecturer in International Economics at the University of Lancaster. He is a graduate of the Universities of Essex (BSc Economics) and Reading (PhD Economics, specialising in International Business). Prior to joining Lancaster, he worked for several years as an Economist at the Head Office of Unilever plc, the world’s largest consumer goods company, and was previously an ODA Research Fellow and a Leverhulme Research at the University of Reading. An International Economist with a strong interest in international economic policy issues, including: economic growth in emerging economies, givernance and economic growth, global trade policy, regulation and The WTO, economic integration, international business and developing economies (particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and Latin America & The Caribbean). He is a leading international authority on growth policies and economic performance in small economies, host-country impacts of foreign direct investment (FDI) among other topics. He has published widely in the field of international economics and international business. He has co-edited the following books: The WTO & the Regulation of International Trade (2005), Trade Liberalisation, Competition & the World Trade Organization (2002); and Multinationals & World Trade (1985). He is the author of many refereed academic articles in international refereed journals, book chapters and reports on various topics in international economics. Has acted as a consultant to many international organisations, including; The European Commission, The European Parliament; The UK Foreign Office, The Dutch Foreign Ministry, The Commonwealth, The UN Environment Program, The World Bank and the World Trade Organization. He has also been an invited speaker at many international conferences.