Dr Dara Leyden

Dara Leyden is a Postdoctoral Research Associate on an ERC-funded research project led by Dr. Carlo Inverardi-Ferri, examining the global photovoltaic industry. His current research investigates transformations in the supply chains of solar panel manufacturing. Applying a political economy approach, he analyses how photovoltaic production networks are being reconfigured through the strategies and interactions of states, firms, labour, and other interest groups. Employing mixed methods and case studies, his research assesses the implications of these dynamics for green transition trajectories.

Dara completed his PhD at Queen Mary University of London where his research examined global value chains in the electronics industry through a case study of Thailand. His thesis critically engages with the concepts of industrial upgrading and social upgrading, applying a political economy approach to examine how industrial concentration and labour regimes shape economic development. He has published peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Economic Geography and Competition & Change, and has contributed chapters to volumes published by the Edward Elgar and Oxford University Press. He holds master’s degrees in Global Political Economy from the University of Sussex and Engineering from the University of Sheffield, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Economics from the University of Cambridge. Prior to academia, he accumulated a decade of professional experience as a consultant at PwC and in a humanitarian NGO.

Dara possesses extensive teaching experience across economic geography, political economy, and business studies in various formats including workshops, seminars, and lectures. In the Department of Geography, he has designed and delivered seminars on the postgraduate module of Global Working Lives (GEG7131) and undergraduate module of Economic Geographies (GEG5129). Previously, he has developed teaching materials and taught in the School of Business and Management on Global Supply Chains (BUS326), Eco-business Strategy and Global Supply Chains (BUSM258), Business and Society (BUS107), Work and Employment (BUS124), and New Product Development (digital platforms) (BUS350). He has created and delivered guest lectures on International Political Economy at Thammasat University in Thailand. Dara enjoys creating interactive classes for different learning styles. Examples include organising museum trips and developing an interactive supply chain simulation game for four workshops of 60 students in module BUS326.

Dara provides supervision and mentoring to postgraduate and undergraduate students in the Department of Geography, including dissertation supervision and oversight of three research assistants working on global production networks, green industries, and labour.

Selwyn, B., Bernhold, C., and Leyden, D. 2025. The geopolitical underpinning of global value chains and production networks: US–China technological rivalry in a longer-range perspective, Journal of Economic Geography. DOI: 10.1093/jeg/lbaf033

Selwyn, B., and Leyden, D. 2022. Oligopoly-driven development: The World Bank’s Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains in perspective. Competition & Change, 26(2), 174-196. DOI: 10.1177/1024529421995351.