Associate Professor of Sociology and Vice-Dean (Research), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore. Research interests in the political economy of cities, urban communities and higher education. Editorial Board Member, Pacific Affairs and International Journal of Comparative Sociology. Co-Author, City-States in the Global Economy (1997). Co-Editor: Service Industries, Cities and Development Trajectories in the Asia-Pacific (2005); The City and Civil Society in Pacific Asia Cities (2008); New Economic Spaces in Asian Cities (2012).