Mia Gray MCRP PhD

University Senior Lecturer and Fellow of Girton College

Labour, economic and urban geography

Biography

I have two broad areas of research that I have pursued in my work. My first interest is in labour markets and the social and organisational dynamics of work. This research has been quite varied and I have looked at the workers in high tech industries as well as in low-paid service sector industries in the opposite end of the labour market. As part of this, I have looked at issues of social capital in the workplace; unionisation; social inclusion in high tech industries; knowledge flows; gender, ethnicity and the links to innovation; and globalisation and the organisation of cross-site project teams. In all of these projects I've brought a social perspective -- particularly a lens that is sensitive to variations based on gender, ethnicity, and class -- to the analysis.

My second area of interest is in regional economies. My work has challenged some of the literature on industrial districts formation and tried to characterise different types of regional growth. I have also explored the links between globalisation and vibrant regional economies. More recently, I have been exploring globalisation of R&D firms and their institutional efforts to promote knowledge diffusion within the firm.

Career

1997-present: Department of Geography, University of Cambridge.

Qualifications

Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley
PhD from Rutgers University.

Research

Further information on research is online within the Regional Economy & Society research cluster pages

Society and Space - Regional Political Economy: Theory, Applications and Policy Analysis

My current research explores variations in working patterns, identity and cultural norms in multi-sited transnational firms. I analyse the ways in which this variation disrupts the formation of communities of practice and its effect upon intra-firm flows of knowledge.
Related work explores the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion in the workplace which are often embedded in micro-level work practices. I critique the extension of social capital theory into the workplace and explore how social networks and the resources contained within them function differentially among workers to reinforce existing patterns of preferential access to the most desirable positions in the labour market. I find significant inequalities in access to, and awareness of, the resources contained within some social networks in the workplace.
Another current project analyses elite female workers in high tech industries and how gender affects innovation and flexibility in high tech firms. Workers are active agents in much of the regional innovation literature, but most often this is presented as a generic worker, with no mention of gender. I look at the ways in which gender affects how this "generic" worker functions as an agent in dissemination and use of knowledge
Another on-going study looks at the growth of unions in the low-end of the service sector. This project looks at the HERE, the union representing the hotel and restaurant workers, in different local labour markets in the US.

Publications

Selected publications

2010. Donald B., Gertler M., Gray M., and Lobao L. "Re-regionalising the Food System?" Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 2010 3: 171-175. doi:10.1093/cjres/rsq020
2009. Bigo, V. and Gray, M. "Constructing Care: For Love or Money" Review of Economic Philosophy/La Revue de Philosophie Economique 10(1): 103-124.
2007. Gray, M., Kurihara, T., Hommen, L. and Feldman, J. "Networks of Exclusion: Job Segmentation and Gendered Social Networks in the Knowledge Economy" Equal Opportunities International, 26 (2): 144-161. doi:10.1108/02610150710732212
2007. Gray, M. and James, A., "Connecting Gender and Economic Competitiveness: Lessons from Cambridge's High Tech Regional Economy." Environment and Planning A. 39(2): 417-436. doi:10.1068/a37406
2007. "Theorising the Gendered Institutional Bases of Innovative Regional Economies" in (Polenske, K. ed.) Innovation and Regional Growth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2006. "Rethinking the High Tech Firm: An Activity Specific Approach to the Firm" in Michael Taylor and Paivi Oinas (eds.) Reconceptualising the Firm. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2006. Gray, M., Martin, R. and Tyler, P., "The East of England: A Nebulous Region in Transition," in Hardhill, I. ; Baker, M.; Benneworth, P.; and L.Budd (eds.) The Rise of the English Regions? London: Routledge, Regional Studies Development and Public Policy Series.
2006. Hardill, I., Gray, M. and Benneworth, P. 2006. "Harnessing All a Region's Capacities: Inclusion Issues," in Hardhill, I.; Baker, M.; Benneworth, P.; and L.Budd (eds.) The Rise of the English Regions? London: Routledge, Regional Studies Development and Public Policy Series.
2005. Martin, R.; Gray, M.; Tyler, P.; McCombie, J.; Fingleton, B. ; Kitson, M. ; Asheim, B.; Glasmeier, A. "Editorial: of journals, oil tankers and citation impacts: Signing-off the editorship of Regional Studies" Regional Studies 39(9), pp. 1157-58. doi: 10.1080/01402390500405094.
2004. The Social Construction of the Service Sector: Institutional Structures and Labour Market Outcomes" Geoforum Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 23-34.
2004. (Expanding) The Role of Geography in Public Policy, James, A., Gray, M., Martin, R., and Plummer, P. Environment and Planning A. Vol. 36, No. 11, pp1901-1906.
2002 The Micro-Level Matters: Evidence from the Bio-Pharmaceutical Industry Zeitschrift fur Wirtschaftsgeographie. Vol. 46, No 2, pp. 124-136.
1999 Colorado Springs: a military anchored city in transition. Gray, M. and Markusen, A. in: A. Markusen, Y-S Lee and S. Di Giovanna (eds.) Second tier cities: rapid growth outside the metropole in Brazil, South Korea, Japan and the United States. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press: 311-332.
1999. New Jersey prospects: the pharmaceutical industry in a new age. in: J. Dunning (ed.) New Jersey in a globalizing economy. New Brunswick, NJ: Faculty of Management, Rutgers Univ. 6: 1-26.
1999. Reconsidering Silicon Valley. Gray, M., Golob, E and Markusen, A. in: A. Markusen, Y-S Lee and S. Di Giovanna (eds.) Second tier cities: rapid growth outside the metropole in Brazil, South Korea, Japan and the United States. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. 291-310.
1999. Industrial clusters and regional development in New Jersey. Markusen, A. and Gray, M. in: J. Dunning (ed.) New Jersey in a globalizing economy. New Brunswick, NJ: Faculty of Management, Rutgers University. 4: 1-29.
1998. New industrial cities:? the four faces of Silicon Valley. Gray, M., Golob E., and Markusen, A.,.Review of Radical Political Economics 30(4): 1-28
1998. Industrial change and regional development: the case of the US biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Gray, M. and Parker, E. Environment and Planning A 30: 1757-1774
1997. Economic development strategies for the inner city: the need for governmental intervention. Fainstein, S. and M. Gray Journal of Black Political Economy. 24(2-3): 29-38
1996 Big Firms, Long Arms, Wide Shoulders: The "Hub-and-Spoke" Industrial District in the Seattle Region". M Gray, E Golob and A Markusen. Regional Studies, Vol. 30.6, 651-666.

Teaching

Undergraduate and graduate courses on economic geography, the geography of labour and work.

PhD students

Noah Isserman 2008 - "A New Venture: Venture Philanthropy in a Neo-Liberal World". Bill and Melinda Gates Scholar.
Franz Huber 2006 - 2009 "The Social Network Foundation of Knowledge Spillovers: an Investigation of Mechanisms." Bill and Melinda Gates Scholar.
Karenjit Clare 2005 - 2009 "Cool, Creative and Diverse? Exploring Gender in Project-Based Advertising Work." ESRC funded.
Will Harvey 2004 - 2008 "U.K. and U.S. Skilled Immigration Networks: a Comparison of Biotechnology Clusters". Won the EGRG MPhil thesis prize 2005.
Shiri Breznitz 2003 - 2008 "The Role of the University in Economic Development: A comparison of Yale and Cambridge"
Andrew Currah 2002 - 2006 "Digital Effects in the Spatial Economy of Film: Software Format, the Internet and Hollywood" ESRC Funded. Won EGRG dissertation prize 2007.
Alan James 1999 - 2003 "Regional Culture, Corporate Strategy, and High Tech Innovation: Salt Lake City" ESRC Funded. Won EGRG dissertation prize 2004.

Potential PhD students

I tend to only take on one new student each year, so that I can give enough attention to each student. I am currently interested in labour and globalisation, issues around regional and industrial culture, union change, social networks and labour market mobility, and labour market intermediaries which function to structure local labour markets. However, I do supervise PhD students on other topics, and you're welcome to contact me directly if you think we may be a good match.

External activities

Fellow, Girton College
Co-editor of Cambridge Jounal of Regions, Economy and Society www.cjres.oxfordjournals.org
Co-editor of Regional Studies, 2003-2006, a leading journal focussing on regional issues from a multidisciplinary view.
Editorial Board Member for Geography Compass, www.geography-compass.com, an online-only journal, 2006-07
Acting Director, Centre for Gender Studies , 2007-08
Managment Committee Member, Centre for Gender Studies, 2008-present
Academic Advisory Committee Member, Centre for Gender Studies, 2008-present
Secretary, Economic Geography Research Group, Royal Geographic Society - Institute Bristish Geographers , 2005-08