Jin Li
Prof. Jin LI
经济学
管理及商业策略
Area Head of Management and Strategy
Zhang Yonghong Professor in Economics and Strategy
Professor

3917 0056

KK 936

Academic & Professional Qualification
  • PhD: MIT
  • Bachelor: Caltech (B.S) and Wesleyan University (B.A.)
Biography

Jin Li is a professor of management and strategy, with joint appointment in economics at Hong Kong University. Prior to HKU, he has taught at Kellogg School of Management and London School of Economics, where he was a tenured associate professor of managerial economics and strategy. During his tenure at LSE, Professor Li won the Management Department teaching prize.

Professor Li’s main research area lies at the intersection of organizational economics, personnel economics, and labor economics. It focuses on the dynamics of informal relationships and explores how firms can design organizations to align incentives and build trust. This research sheds light on how organizational design can be a source of competitive advantage. Recently, Professor Li has studied topics on the digital economy including causality issues in machine learning algorithms and governance of blockchain.

Professor Li has published in leading academic journals such as the American Economic Review, the Review of Economic Studies, AEJ- Microeconomics, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Labor Economics, and the RAND Journal of Economics. His works have also been featured in media outlets such as the BBC, the Economist, and Quartz, and he has written for Harvard Business Review, Caixin, and FTChinese.

Professor Li earned his BA in economics and math (with high honors) from Wesleyan University, a BSc in applied math (with honors) from Caltech, and PhD in Economics from MIT.

Teaching
  • Personnel Strategy for MBAs (Kellogg)
  • Strategy and Organization for MBAs (Kellogg)
  • Economics of Organization for PhDs (Kellogg)
  • Incentives and Governance in Organizations for Masters (LSE)
  • Capstone Project for MBAs (HKU)
Research Interest
  • Organizational Economics
  • Personnel Economics
  • Labor Economics
Selected Publications
  • Tacit Collusion in Auctions and Conditions for Its Facilitation and Prevention: Equilibrium Selection in Laboratory Experimental Markets,”
    (with Charles Plott), Economic Inquiry, Vol 47, No.3, (July 2009) pp. 425-448.
  • “Job Mobility, Wage Dispersion, and Technological Change: An Asymmetric Information Perspective,”
    European Economic Review Vol 60, (May, 2013) pp. 105-126.
  • “Managing Conflicts in Relational Contracts,”
    (with Niko Matouschek), American Economic Review, Vol 103, No.6 (October, 2013) pp. 2328-51.
  • “Relational Contracts with Subjective Peer Evaluations”
    (with Joyee Deb and Arijit Mukherjee), Rand Journal of Economics, Vol 47, No. 1 (Spring, 2016) pp. 3-28 (Lead Article).
  • “When Does Aftermarket Monopolization Soften Foremarket Competition?”
    (with Yuk-Fai Fong and Ke Liu), Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Vol 25, No.4 (Winter, 2016) pp. 852-879.
  • “Information Revelation in Relational Contracts”
    (with Yuk-Fai Fong), Review of Economic Studies, Vol 84 No. 1 (Jan 2017) pp. 277-299.
  • “A Theory of Turnover and Wage Dynamics,”
    (with Jun Yu), Economic Inquiry, Vol 55, No. 1 (Jan, 2017) pp. 223-236.
  • “Power Dynamics in Organizations,”
    (with Niko Matouschek and Mike Powell), AEJ Micro, Vol 9, No. 1 (Feb, 2017) pp. 217-241.
  • “Relational Contracts, Limited Liability, and Employment Dynamics”
    (with Yuk-Fai Fong), Journal of Economic Theory, Vol 169 (May, 2017), pp. 270-293.
  • “Managing Careers in Organizations”
    (with Rongzhu Ke and Mike Powell), Journal of Labor Economics, Vol 36, No. 1 (Jan, 2018) pp. 197-252.
  • “Multilateral Interactions Improve Cooperation under Random Fluctuations”
    (with Michael Powell), Games and Economic Behavior, Vol 119 (Jan, 2020) pp. 358-382.
  • “Negotiated Block Trade and Rebuilding of Trust”
    (with Pak Hung Au and Yuk‐Fai Fong), International Economic Review, Vol 61, No. 2 (May, 2020) pp. 901-939.
  • “Learning to Game the System”
    (with Arijit Mukherjee and Luis Vasconcelos), Review of Economic Studies, Vol 88, No. 4 (July, 2021) pp. 2014-2041.
  • “Morale and Debt Dynamics”
    (with Daniel Barron and Michał Zator), Management Science, Vol 68, No. 6 (June, 2022) pp. 4496-4516.
  • “Optimal Subjective Contracting with Revision”
    (with Xinhao He and Zhaoneng Yuan), Management Science, Vol 68, No.8 (August, 2022) pp.6346-6354.
  • “Corporate Capture of Blockchain Governance”
    (with Daniel Ferreira and Radoslawa Nikolowa), Review of Financial Studies, Vol 36, No. 4 (April 2023) pp. 1364–1407.
  • “What Makes Agility Fragile? A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Rigidity”
    (with Arijit Mukherjee and Luis Vasconcelos), Management Science, Vol 69, No. 6 (June, 2023) pp. 3578-3601.
  •  “Career Spillovers in Internal Labor Markets”
    (with Nicola Bianchi, Giulia Bovini, Matteo Paradisi and Michael Powell), The Review of Economic Studies, Vol 90, No. 4 (July, 2023) pp. 1800–1831.
  •  “Marketplace Scalability and Strategic Use of Platform Investment”
    (with Gary Pisano, Richard Xu and Feng Zhu), Management Science, forthcoming.
Service to the University/Community

Professor Li has acted as a reviewer for 30 journals, including AER, Econometrica, JPE, QJE, and ReStud. He has also reviewed grant proposals for the National Science Foundation of the U.S. (NSF) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Professor Li served as an external PhD examiner for the Norwegian School of Economics.

Recent Publications
具体经济学:从赫希曼的《退出、发声与忠诚》说起

深具影响力的经济学家兼政治思想家阿尔伯特·赫希曼(Albert Hirschman)以其对经济发展和社会变迁的理论而闻名。他的著作《退出、发声与忠诚》(Exit, Voice, and Loyalty)深入探讨了企业、组织和国家面对衰退时的反应机制。

具体经济学:从赫希曼的《退出、发声与忠诚》说起

深具影响力的经济学家兼政治思想家阿尔伯特·赫希曼(Albert Hirschman)以其对经济发展和社会变迁的理论而闻名。他的著作《退出、发声与忠诚》(Exit, Voice, and Loyalty)深入探讨了企业、组织和国家面对衰退时的反应机制。

人工智能与事业前途顾虑

二十一世纪被誉为人工智能的黄金时代。海量的创新方法、突破性发现、层出不穷的新应用使我们目不暇接。多少传统的商业模式、社交行为、资讯的获取方式乃至社会的方方面面都正面临革命性的改变,其中又以医疗领域尤其值得注意。

人工智能与事业前途顾虑

二十一世纪被誉为人工智能的黄金时代。海量的创新方法、突破性发现、层出不穷的新应用使我们目不暇接。多少传统的商业模式、社交行为、资讯的获取方式乃至社会的方方面面都正面临革命性的改变,其中又以医疗领域尤其值得注意。

经济护城河与企业盛衰

无论是投资者或是经营者,都希望自己参与的企业在市场竞争中立于不败之地。一间公司的内在价值,取决于其维持自由现金流的能力。能做到历久不衰、长期获利的企业,通常都具备可持续竞争优势(sustainable competitive advantage),也就是毕非德(Warren Buffett)口中的「经济护城河」(economic moat)。

经济护城河与企业盛衰

无论是投资者或是经营者,都希望自己参与的企业在市场竞争中立于不败之地。一间公司的内在价值,取决于其维持自由现金流的能力。能做到历久不衰、长期获利的企业,通常都具备可持续竞争优势(sustainable competitive advantage),也就是毕非德(Warren Buffett)口中的「经济护城河」(economic moat)。

椅子经济学:内卷、躺平和机会管理

今年哈佛大学的毕业典礼上,校长巴科(Lawrence Bacow)提到由于受疫情和供应链影响,校内折椅短缺,要不是员工足智多谋,可能一半毕业生得坐在地上。巴科以椅子作为比喻,目的是向毕业生提出希望和挑战。

椅子经济学:内卷、躺平和机会管理

今年哈佛大学的毕业典礼上,校长巴科(Lawrence Bacow)提到由于受疫情和供应链影响,校内折椅短缺,要不是员工足智多谋,可能一半毕业生得坐在地上。巴科以椅子作为比喻,目的是向毕业生提出希望和挑战。

员工士气与公司债务的动态

这项研究指出公司的债务会削弱员工相关奖励及损害士气。我们建立了一个动态模型,研究一名经理运用有限的财政资源,同时向债权人还款及激励员工士气。若该名经理可以转移或不正当地使用公司收入,公司的债务会减低员工达成既定奖励目标的意欲,导致其工作效率降低。在平均利润最大化的情况下,公司按优次偿还债务,使员工的工作效率及工资逐步提升。即使公司已完全还清债务,此动态仍会持续。此外,我们发现一间公司的财务杠杆与激励员工士气的措施、工资及生产力属反比关联,这与动态模型的分析相符。

后疫情时代的挑战与机遇

网上流传这样一条选择题:「疫情过后,谁在主导你公司业务的数码转型?」答案并非行政总裁或技术总监,而是2019冠状病毒。这个答案虽听上去颇具玩笑意味,但却甚具现实意义。