Researcher biography

Scott grew up on a mixed farming property in western Queensland, has an Honours degree in International Business/Asian studies and a PhD in agricultural economics.

At UQ he has conducted 25 agricultural development projects mainly in China, but also Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The projects aim to build development, capacity and relationships in partner countries. A related research theme is agricultural trade and trade barriers. Funded by ACIAR, DAFF, DFAT, MLA and AWI, the research is highly collaborative, cross-disciplinary and fieldwork-intensive.

Scott has led several large multi-stakeholder research programs including: on the cattle trade in Southeast Asia and China with partners from nine countries (funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research) and; the Commodities component in a consortium of 11 Australian and Indonesian universities (funded through the Partnership for Australia-Indonesian Research).

In China, Scott worked for the Economist Intelligence Unit, graduated from the Nanjing-Hopkins Centre for Advanced Chinese and American Studies and is fluent in Chinese. He has collaborated with 20 Chinese research and government organisations, conducted fieldwork at county level and below for at least 30 months, and provided technical assistance in trade negotiations on beef and wool. He has written eight books on China, two of which have been translated into Chinese and has published in The China Journal, China Quarterly and China: an International Journal.

He leads the UQ China Agricultural Economics Group that has conducted collaborative agricultural research and development projects in China since 1990. CAEG is currently conducting the project "Informed engagement between the Australian and Chinese agricultural sectors" funded by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.

In his teaching, Scott aims to bring theory to life through his first-hand, frontier research. He applies an economics approach to teaching the courses:

  • AGCR7520 International Agricultural Development (Masters level, Coordinator)
  • AGRC7127 Agricultural and Natural Resource Policy (Masters level, Coordinator)
  • ECON 3820 Understanding China (Third year, Coordinator)
  • AGRC6631 Agricultural Research Methodologies (Masters, Lectures)

Scott provides expert advice through Australian policy and industry forums and media comment.