Heiwai holds a Ph.D. in economics from MIT and a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from UCLA. His research interests span a wide range of theoretical and empirical topics in international trade, with a specific focus on production networks, global value chains, and China. His research has been published in leading journals in economics, including American Economic Review and Journal of International Economics. His research and opinions have been covered by BBC, Financial Times, New York Times, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, South China Morning Post, and various think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Teaching
Columbia-LBS-HKU EMBA: The New World Order
HKU-PKU DBA: Frontiers in Economics Research
Fudan-HKU IMBA: The New World Order
HKU: Undergraduate Common Core – China in the Global Economy; MBA – Global Economy; Master of Economics – Economic Policy
Research Interest
International Trade, Global Value Chains, Development Economics
Selected Publications
“Trade Networks and Firm Value: Evidence from the US-China Trade War,” Journal of International Economics, forthcoming. (with Yi Huang, Chen Lin, and Sibo Liu)
“Currency Carry Trade by Trucks: The Curious Case of China’s Massive Imports from Itself”, Review of Finance, 27(2), March 2023, pp. 469–493. (with Xuepeng Liu, Zhi Wang, and Shang-Jin Wei)
“Do Multinationals Transfer Culture? Evidence on Female Employment in China”, Journal of International Economics, 133, Nov 2021, 103518. (with Yifan Zhang)
“Domestic Segment of Global Value Chains in China under State Capitalism”, Journal of Comparative Economics, 48(4), Dec 2020, pp. 797-821. (with Fei Wang and Zhi Wang)
“Why is China Investing in Africa? Evidence from the Firm Level”, World Bank Economic Review, 32(3), Oct 2018, pp. 610-632. (with Wenjie Chen and David Dollar)
“Are Foreign Firms Favored in China? Firm-level Evidence on the Collection of Value-Added Tax”, Journal of International Business Policy, 1(2), Inaugural Issue, Jun 2018, pp. 71-91. (with Yasheng Huang)
“Domestic Value Added in Exports: Theory and Firm Evidence from China”, American Economic Review, 106(6), Jun 2016, pp. 1402-1436. (with Hiau Looi Kee)
“Learning to Export from Neighbors”, Journal of International Economics, 94(1), Sep 2014, pp. 67-84. (with Ana Fernandes)
“Factor Intensity, Product Switching, and Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Exporters”, Journal of International Economics, 92(2), Mar 2014, pp. 349-362. (with Yue Ma and Yifan Zhang)
“International Politics and Import Diversification”, Journal of Law and Economics, 56(4), Nov 2013, pp. 1091-1121. (with Sergey Mityakov and Kevin Tsui)
“Determinants of Vertical Integration in Export Processing: Theory and Evidence from China”, Journal of Development Economics, 99(2), Nov 2012, pp. 396-414. (with Ana Fernandes)
“Labor Market Institutions, Firm-specific Skills, and Trade Patterns”, Journal of International Economics, 87(2), Jul 2012, pp. 337-351.
Awards and Honours
APEC Study Center Financial Support from the HKSAR Government, PI, HKD 2,500,000, 2022-2027
HKU Business School recently announced its forecast for Hong Kong's economy in Q3 2024. In an interview with Now News, Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School and Director of Asia Global Institute, believes that investment and consumer confidence are key factors for economic recovery. "Affected by the wealth effect, due to the negative conditions in the stock and property markets, the public's investment and consumption confidence is naturally not high. In the long run, it will depend on the government's economic transformation policies over the next three years, which will provide new drivers of economic growth."
China has achieved an annual GDP growth rate of over 8% for the past 45 years. It boasts an enormous domestic market, yet consumption accounts for only 39% of its GDP, one of the lowest ratios in the world nowadays. Can China maintain a growth rate of 6% or 7%? Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School and Director of Asia Global Institute, believes China has the potential for economic growth, but it has now become very difficult due to concerns about aging populations and the desire to live to an advanced age, leading to high saving rates.
The HKSAR government is committed to developing the city into a multinational supply chain management centre to become a “super-connector”, bridging the Mainland enterprises and international market. Compared to other port cities in Asia, Hong Kong has significant competitive edges in the following three aspects:
In a recent media interview, Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School and Director of Asia Global Institute suggested three long-term directions to revitalize Hong Kong's economy: firstly, develop high value-added industries; secondly, enhance Hong Kong’s role as a bridge between mainland China and global markets; thirdly, optimize policies for nurturing and attracting talent.
Will the US's new tariff-hike severely affect China's economy? Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of the HKU Business School and Director of the Asia Global Institute commented in a recent interview with South China Morning Post SCMP that the US administration's tough stance towards China is obviously a strategic move during the election year. “The significant increase in US tariffs on Chinese EVs is more symbolic than having any substantial impact on China’s EV industry,” Prof. Tang shared.
Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of the HKU Business School and Director of the Asia Global Institute, recently shared insights on this issue with China Daily. Drawing from behavioural economics, Prof. Tang highlighted how short-term factors like childcare access, living environments, and educational costs influence couples' decisions to raise children. He remarked, "With a better living environment, the fertility rate can also be boosted...When young couples feel those short-term issues can be resolved, they may decide to raise children."
