Raphael Kaplinsky

Raphael Kaplinsky is a Professor of International Development at the Department of Development Policy and Practice (DPP) of The Open University. Born and raised in South Africa, he came to the UK as a political refugee in 1969.

Before joining the OU, he worked at The University of Sussex and in Kenya (1974-1978). Raphael played the lead role in the development of the Global Asian Drivers Programme that looks at the impact of dynamic Asian economies e.g. China and India on the developing world, focusing particularly on sub-Saharan Africa.

Raphael has authored numerous books and academic papers on technology, industrialisation, and globalisation. He has worked with enterprises, government departments and other organisations in Japan, the USA, Western and Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and Central America, Brazil, and South and Central Asia. He has also participated in numerous UN and EU Missions, providing advice to countries on industrial and technology policies.

Between 1991 and 2003 he worked intensively with the South African government on Industrial Policy, and was deeply involved in industrial strategy development in the post-Apartheid era.