Johns Hopkins UniversityEst. 1876
America’s First Research University
Jonas Nahm
Andrew W. Mellon Associate Professor
About
Jonas Nahm is the Andrew W. Mellon Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC. He recently completed a tenure as Senior Economist for Industrial Strategy on the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where he covered industrial policy, trade, and supply chain resilience.
His research examines how the resurgence of industrial policy—particularly in clean energy sectors—is reshaping the global economy. He studies how governments and businesses navigate trade-offs between economic competitiveness, supply chain resilience, and decarbonization. He is particularly interested in the political and economic forces driving industrial policy decisions, competitive positioning in emerging and legacy industries, and how firms respond strategically to rapidly evolving markets and policy interventions. This work has been recognized with the International Studies Association's Best Book in IPE Award and the American Political Science Association's Best Book on Science, Technology, and Politics Award.
His book Collaborative Advantage: Forging Green Industries in the New Global Economy (Oxford University Press 2021) examines how China's rise in clean energy sectors is changing innovation and production in the global economy. He advises governments, international organizations, and companies on industrial policy, supply chain strategy, and strategic responses to changes in global trade policy.
He holds a PhD in Political Economy from MIT. At SAIS, he teaches courses on globalization and the resurgence of industrial policy, the political economy of the clean energy transition, and supply chain resilience in MA, online, and executive programs.
- Michael R. Davidson, Valerie J. Karplus, Joanna I. Lewis, Jonas Nahm, Alex Wang, 2022. Risks of decoupling from China on low-carbon technologies. Science 377 (6611): 1266-1269.
- Jonas Nahm, 2022. “Green Growth Models.” In Lucio Baccaro, Mark Blyth, and Jonas Pontusson. Diminishing Returns: The New Politics of Growth and Stagnation. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Jonas Nahm, Scot Miller, and Johannes Urpelainen. 2022. G20’s US$14-trillion economic stimulus reneges on emissions pledges. Nature 603, 28-32.
- Jonas Nahm and Johannes Urpelainen.2021. The Enemy Within? Green Industrial Policy and Stranded Assets in China’s Power Sector. Global Environmental Politics 21 (4), 88-109.
- Jonas Meckling and Jonas Nahm. 2021. "Strategic State Capacity: How States Counter Opposition to Climate Policy." Comparative Political Studies.
- Winner, 2021 American Political Science Association Award for the best paper in public policy.
- John Helveston and Jonas Nahm. 2019. “China’s key role in scaling low-carbon energy technologies.” Science 366 (6467): 794-796.
- Jonas Nahm. 2019. “The Energy Politics of China.” In Kathleen Hancock and Juliann Allison (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Energy Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- Jonas Meckling and Jonas Nahm. 2019. "The Politics of Technology Bans: Industrial Policy Competition and Green Goals for the Global Auto Industry": Energy Policy 126: 470-479
- Jonas Meckling and Jonas Nahm. 2018. "When do States Disrupt Industries? Electric Cars and the Politics of Innovation." Review of International Political Economy 25(4): 505-529.
- Jonas Meckling and Jonas Nahm. 2018. "The Power of Process: State Capacity and Climate Policy." Governance 31(4): 741-757.
- Winner, 2018 American Political Science Association Evan J. Ringquist Award for the best paper published in a relevant journal in the last two years.
- Jonas Nahm. 2017. “Renewable Futures and Industrial Legacies: Wind and Solar Sectors in China, Germany, and the United States.” Business and Politics 19(1): 68-106.
- Jonas Nahm. 2017. “Exploiting the Implementation Gap: Policy Divergence and Industrial Upgrading in China’s Wind and Solar Sectors.” The China Quarterly 231:705-727.
- Winner, 2017 Gordon White Prize for the most original article published in The China Quarterly
- Genia Kostka and Jonas Nahm. 2017.“Central–Local Relations: Recentralization and Environmental Governance in China.” The China Quarterly 231:567-582.
- Jonas Nahm and Edward S. Steinfeld. 2014. “Scale-Up Nation: China’s Specialization in Innovative Manufacturing.” World Development 54: 288-300.
In the News
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The New Republic, August 16, 2024
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Council on Foreign Relations, September 6, 2023