Yu Hsiang Lei
| y.lei@ust.hk | |
| (852) 2358 8400 | |
| Room 3336 | |
| Website |
Yu Hsiang Lei
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Areas of Expertise
Applied Microeconomics, Development Economics, Political Economy
Short Bio
Yu-Hsiang Lei is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Division of Social Science at HKUST. He obtained his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and his bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan University. Before joining HKUST, he served as an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore.
Yu-Hsiang is a development economist with research interests spanning political economy, public economics, and economic history. His work focuses on generating empirically grounded evidence to address critical challenges faced by emerging markets, including China, and providing insights into broader development and governance issues. Recognizing the pivotal role that institutions and critical infrastructure play in the development process, his research revolves around two primary themes: the impact of infrastructure access and the political economy of development. His research has been featured in leading economics journals, such as the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Development Economics, and European Economic Review, and policy forum, such as VoxEU and VoxDev.
Selected Papers and Publications
- Gao, Pei, and Lei, Yu-Hsiang (2021). Communication infrastructure and stabilizing food prices: Evidence from the telegraph network in China. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 13(3), 65–101.
- Lei, Yu-Hsiang (2021). Quid pro quo? Government–firm relationships in China. Journal of Public Economics, 199, 104426.
- Gao, Pei, Kothari, Aditi, and Lei, Yu-Hsiang (2025). Safe spaces for children: School sanitation and sexual violence. European Economic Review, 172, 104952.
- Lei, Yu-Hsiang, and Michaels, Guy (2014). Do giant oilfield discoveries fuel internal armed conflicts? Journal of Development Economics, 110, 139–157.
