My research interests cover Empirical IO, International Trade, and Chinese Economy, with a special focus on productivity, firm dynamics, and industrial/trade policy. ​I am especially interested in questions broadly related to how trade or domestic policies affect the decisions and performance of heterogeneous firms and how they impact aggregate economy. ​Most of my research projects involve estimation of static or dynamic structural models, and some utilize both reduced-form and structural methodologies. 
​Published and Forthcoming:
  1. "Lessons on Industrial Policy from Industrial Organization: Introduction to the Special Issue", with Jo Van Biesebroeck
    The International Journal of Industrial Organization, Volume 104, January 2026. 
    ​    (Invited. Introduction to the special issue on "Industrial Policy and Industrial Organization" as Co-Editor)
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  2. "Output Quality, Productivity, and Demand: Evidence from the Chinese Steel Industry", ​with Jing Li and Shengyu Li. 
    ​ The RAND Journal of Economics, Accepted, October 2025  PDF
    ​​​​
  3. "How Do Large Epidemics Redistribute Market Power: Evidence from the 2003 SARS Shock in China",​​  ​​with Yating Jiang. 
    ​The Review of Economics and Statistics, Accepted, July 2025.   PDF 
    (A old version was circulated as "Epidemics, Inventory, and Markup: Evidence from the 2003 SARS Shock in China") 
    ​​
  4. "Technology Training, Buyer-Supplier Relationship, and Quality Upgrading in an Agricultural Supply Chain", with Sangyoon Park and Zhaoneng Yuan.  The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2025, 107 (3), 711-727​.  PDF    Link2PublishedVersion
    Media coverage: the paper is reviewed by the Policy Insight​ of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT. Review available HERE.​
    ​
  5. "Input Prices, Productivity, and Trade Dynamics: Long-Run Effects of Liberalization on Chinese Paint Manufacturers", ​​ with Paul Grieco and Shengyu Li, The RAND Journal of Economics, Vol. 53, No. 3, Autumn 2022, pp. 516-560. Working-Paper-Version   OnlineAppendix   PublicAccess
    ​
  6. "Does External Monitoring from the Government Improve the Performance of State-Owned Enterprises?" with Shengyu Li. 
      The Economic Journal, Volume 132, Issue 642, February 2022, Pages 675-708.   PDF​    Slides
    ​​  Media coverage: VoxChina; SASAC中国国务院国资委《国资报告》(2021年12期，总第84期, in Chinese); Sohu(搜狐财经); Tencent(腾讯网) 

  7. "What You Import Matters for Productivity Growth: Experience from Chinese Manufacturing Firms", ​with Jiawei Mo, Larry D. Qiu, Xiaoyu Dong. ​  The Journal of Development Economics, Volume 152, September 2021​.    PDF
    ​  Media coverage: VoxChina 
    ​
  8. "Non-Neutral Technology, Firm Heterogeneity, and Labor Demand". 
    ​    The ​​​Journal of Development Economics, Vol 140, Pages 145-168, September 2019. Working-Paper-Version     Link2PublishedVersion
    ​(An older version was circulated as "Biased Technology and Contribution of Technological Change to Economic Growth: Firm-Level Evidence")​
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  9. "Productivity or Unexpected Demand Shocks: What Determines Firms' Investment and Exit Decisions?" with Pradeep Kumar.
     The International Economic Review, Vol 60, Issue 1, Pages 303-327, February 2019.    
    ​Working-Paper-Version     PublicAccess    OnlineAppendix
    ​
  10. "Static and Dynamic Gains from Costly Importing of Intermediate Inputs: Evidence from Colombia". 
    ​ The ​​European Economic Review    , Vol 91, page 118-145, January 2017.    Working-Paper-Version         Link2PublishedVersion
    ​
  11. "Production Function Estimation with Unobserved Input Price Dispersion", with Paul Grieco and Shengyu Li.
     The International Economic Review,     Vol 57, Issue 2, page 665-690, May 2016.   Working-Paper-Version    Link2PublishedVersion     OnlineAppendix​​
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​​Working Papers:

  • "Returns to Scale, Productivity, and Markup: Revisit the Export Premium",  
       with Xing Hu and Yating Jiang, 2025.  PDF
  • "Market Access through Production Networks: The Impact of Highway Development on Firm Performance", New
    ​  with Guojun He, Xing Hu, and Shengyu Li, 2025. (Draft available upon request)
  • "Marketing and the Growth of Young Manufacturing Firms: Evidence from a Tax Incentive Policy", NEW
​  with Yating Jiang,  2024. (Paper available upon request)
  • "Exports, Marketing, and Firm Performance",
      with Xuanyi Jin and Yating Jiang. (Paper available soon)
  • "The Risk of International Sourcing: Evidence from the Chinese Export during COVID",
    ​   with Jiawei Mo and Larry Qiu, April 2024. (Paper available upon request)
  • "Industrial Clustering with Production Networks: Micro Evidence and Aggregate Implications in China",
    ​  with Zexi Zhou.  (Paper available upon request)
  • "​Special Economic Zones, Industrial Dynamics, and Regional Economic Growth with Production Networks",
     with Zexi Zhou, 2025.  (Paper available upon request)
Selected Work in Progress:
  • "R&D Offshoring, Investment, and Trade",  with Bee Yan Aw, Yi Lee and Mark Roberts.
  • "Product Quality, Productivity, and Margins of Chinese Exports in the Global Markets", with Shengyu Li.
  • "Road Infrastructure, Inventory and Markup", with Yating Jiang (HKU) and Jiawei Mo (PKU).​​