David A. Smith

Picture of David A. Smith
Professor, Sociology
School of Social Sciences
Planning, Policy and Design
School of Social Ecology
PH.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
OTH, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Phone: (949) 824-7292, 2572
Fax: (949) 824-4717
Email: dasmith@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
5291 Social Sciences Plaza B
Mail Code: 5100
Irvine, CA 92697
Research Interests
World Systems Analysis, Urbanization, Development, Comparative-Historical Sociology, Dependent Development in East Asia, Global Cities
Research Abstract
I am a comparative sociologist who is interested in 1) international trade and exchange in the world-economy (and its implications for economic growth and development), 2) global industrialization and "commodity chains" -- especially in the Pacific Rim region, and particularly apparel and garment manufacturing, 3) the dynamics of technological dependence and technology transfer in East Asia, 4) Third World cities and development, and 5) global urbanization & "world cities" (including Los Angeles as a "global city"). Over the past several years I have been involved in various research projects (including one funded by the UC Pacific Rim) that permitted me to do on-site research in South Korea, Vietnam, and Indonesia, and China. In July 2004 I received support from the National Science Foundation for a project on "globalization and networks of world cities," which combines statistical analysis of city-to-city connections with case studies of particular urban areas; in the summer of 2010 we applied for a collaborative NSF grant on China's Global Cities, which would involve extensive fieldwork in that country. In addition to advising students in global network analysis and East Asian development and social change, I also supervise PhD students who study "new immigrants" and ethnic enclave economies in Southern California (with particular emphasis on the politics of nativists versus immigrants and Korean-American communities).
Publications
BOOKS
P. Ciccantell, G. Seidman, and D. Smith (editors). NATURE, RAW MATERIALS, AND POLITIAL ECONOMY. Research in Rural Sociology and Development: Volume 10. Elsevier, (2005).
R. Gonzalez, R, Fernandes, V. Price, D. Smith, and L. Vo (editors). LABOR VERSUS EMPIRE: RACE, GENDER AND MIGRATION. Routledge Press. 2004.
D. Smith, D. Solinger, and S. Topik (eds). STATES AND SOVEREIGNTY IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. Routledge Press. 1999.
D. Smith. THIRD WORLD CITIES IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE. Westview Press, 1996.
D. Smith and J. Borocz (eds.) A NEW WORLD ORDER? GLOBAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY. Greenwood Press. 1995.
REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES
M. Mahutga and D. Smith. “Polarization in the Contemporary World-Economy: How a Structural Perspective Sheds Light on a Contentious Debate.” SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH, forthcoming (2011)
D. Downey and D. Smith. “The Politics of Immigration and Labor in Postsuburban California.” JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, forthcoming (2011).
J. Boyd, W. Fitzgerald, M. Mahutga and D. Smith. “Computing Continuous Core/Periphery Structures for Social Relations Data with MINRES SVD.” SOCIAL NETWORKS 32:125-137 (2010).
X. Ma, M. Mahutga, D. Smith and M. Timberlake. “Economic Globalization and the Structure of the World-City System: The Case of Airline Passenger Data” URBAN STUDIES 47(9)1925-1947 (2010).
D. Smith and M. Timberlake. “World City Networks and Hierarchies, 1977-1997: An Empirical Analysis of Global Air Travel Links.” AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST 44(10)1656-1678 (2001).
D. Smith "Technology, Commodity Chains and Global Inequality: The South Korean Case in the 1990s." REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY 4(4)734-762 (1997).
"Structure and Dynamics of the Global Economy: Network Analysis of International Trade, 1965-1980" (with Douglas White). SOCIAL FORCES 70(4) 857-893 (1992).
Grants
Collaborative Research: Globalization and the Network of World Cities (Funded by the National Science Foundation, July 2004-June 2005)
Other Experience
Editor
SOCIAL PROBLEMS 1999—2002
Co-Editor
CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY 2005—2008
EDITOR
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE SOCIOLOGY 2010—2014
Research Centers
Center for the Study of Democracy
Research in International and Global Studies
Center for Asian Studies
Last updated
10/08/2010