Karapinar Baris

Barış Karapınar is a Senior Research Fellow and a Co-leader of the NCCR Work Package on Trade, Development and Migration. He has recently been selected by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) as a Lead Author of a chapter on climate change adaptation in the Fifth Assessment Report. He is currently working on multiple research projects in the fields of trade in natural resources, virtual water trade and food security, and climate change adaptation in agriculture. He is also coordinating an international research team investigating stakeholders’ priorities in relation to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in seven developing countries.

Barış pursued his undergraduate studies in Political Science and International Relations at Bogazici (Bosphorus) University in Istanbul. He holds a PhD in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The theme of his PhD research was the role of small scale farming in economic development in the age of globalization. At the WTI, he has coordinated an international research project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, on the sustainability impact of Swiss agricultural and trade policies on developing countries. He has also conducted stakeholder perception surveys on sustainable development in China and Turkey.

He is the lead editor of ‘Food Crises and the WTO’ (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), and ‘Rethinking Structural Reform in Turkish Agriculture: Beyond the World Bank’s Strategy’ (New York: Nova Science Publishers, forthcoming 2010). He also teaches courses in the field of sustainable development and international trade. His main research interests include international trade in agriculture, small farms and poverty, food security, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), climate change adaptation, virtual water trade, trade and the environment, technological innovation and intellectual property rights.

He has worked as a consultant for the World Bank. He has also produced and hosted a series of a TV program in a news channel broadcasting in Turkey. His weekly debate show hosted academics, politicians, celebrities and university students, discussing a topic of global relevance such as climate change, renewable energy, labour markets and social security.