Research on Energy and Environment

Dr. Cunningham is an expert on energy markets, energy governance, and sustainability, particularly in China and the Asia-Pacific region. With over 20 years of experience working on these issues, he has developed a deep understanding of the complex challenges and opportunities facing multinational companies, governments, and non-profit organizations in the region. His doctoral dissertation titled "A Portfolio Approach to Energy Governance: State Management of China's Coal and Electric Power Supply Industries" (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) utilized a combination of industry and government data, interviews, case studies, and surveys. This work revealed that the central state actively manages the range of firms in these strategic industries as a dynamic portfolio of assets, resulting in fluctuations in devolution and liberalization. This finding runs counter to the predictions of dominant extant theories on state ownership and investment in the enegry sector. Dr. Cunningham's research in this area has been widely published in academic and policy journals. 

Selected Publications:

Cunningham, E. (2013) “The Jinyuan Group: China’s Energy Boom and the Rise of Local Government Entrepreneurs”, Harvard Kennedy School Case Study.

Cunningham, E., and Matus, K. (2013) “Multinational Corporations and “Indigenous Innovation” in China’s Chemical Industry: The Case of Dow Chemical”, Harvard Kennedy School Case Study.

Cunningham, E. (2013) “Green Innovation in China”, Review of Green Innovation in China by Joanna Lewis, Columbia University Press, Review of Policy Research 30(6).

Cunningham, E., and Subroto (2011) “Beyond Reformasi: Rethinking Indonesia’s Energy Governance”, Strategic Review, 1(2).

Cunningham, E., “Fueling the Miracle: China’s Energy Governance and Reform,” in Joseph Fewsmith (ed.), China Today, China Tomorrow: Domestic Politics, Economy, and Society, (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2010).

Steinfeld, E., Lester, R., and Cunningham, E. (2009) “Greener Plants, Grayer Skies,” Energy Policy, 37(5).

Steinfeld, E., Lester, R., and Cunningham, E. (2008) “Power Plant Emissions: What the Sulfur Tells Us,” China Economic Quarterly.

Cunningham, E. (2007) “Zhongguo dianli hangye gaige yu fazhan,” [China’s Electric Power Industry Reform and Development] Gonggong Guanli Pinglun [Public Management Review] (Tsinghua University Press), 6.

Cunningham, E. (2007) “China’s Energy Governance: Perception and Reality,” Audits of the Conventional Wisdom, M.I.T. Center for International Studies.