Jin Li
Prof. Jin LI
經濟學
管理及商業策略
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
具體經濟學:從赫希曼的《退出、發聲與忠誠》說起

深具影響力的經濟學家兼政治思想家阿爾伯特·赫希曼(Albert Hirschman)以其對經濟發展和社會變遷的理論而聞名。他的著作《退出、發聲與忠誠》(Exit, Voice, and Loyalty)深入探討了企業、組織和國家面對衰退時的反應機制。

具體經濟學:從赫希曼的《退出、發聲與忠誠》說起

深具影響力的經濟學家兼政治思想家阿爾伯特·赫希曼(Albert Hirschman)以其對經濟發展和社會變遷的理論而聞名。他的著作《退出、發聲與忠誠》(Exit, Voice, and Loyalty)深入探討了企業、組織和國家面對衰退時的反應機制。

人工智能與事業前途顧慮

二十一世紀被譽為人工智能的黃金時代。海量的創新方法、突破性發現、層出不窮的新應用使我們目不暇接。多少傳統的商業模式、社交行為、資訊的獲取方式乃至社會的方方面面都正面臨革命性的改變,其中又以醫療領域尤其值得注意。

人工智能與事業前途顧慮

二十一世紀被譽為人工智能的黃金時代。海量的創新方法、突破性發現、層出不窮的新應用使我們目不暇接。多少傳統的商業模式、社交行為、資訊的獲取方式乃至社會的方方面面都正面臨革命性的改變,其中又以醫療領域尤其值得注意。

經濟護城河與企業盛衰

無論是投資者或是經營者,都希望自己參與的企業在市場競爭中立於不敗之地。一間公司的內在價值,取決於其維持自由現金流的能力。能做到歷久不衰、長期獲利的企業,通常都具備可持續競爭優勢(sustainable competitive advantage),也就是畢非德(Warren Buffett)口中的「經濟護城河」(economic moat)。

經濟護城河與企業盛衰

無論是投資者或是經營者,都希望自己參與的企業在市場競爭中立於不敗之地。一間公司的內在價值,取決於其維持自由現金流的能力。能做到歷久不衰、長期獲利的企業,通常都具備可持續競爭優勢(sustainable competitive advantage),也就是畢非德(Warren Buffett)口中的「經濟護城河」(economic moat)。

椅子經濟學:內捲、躺平和機會管理

今年哈佛大學的畢業典禮上,校長巴科(Lawrence Bacow)提到由於受疫情和供應鏈影響,校內摺椅短缺,要不是員工足智多謀,可能一半畢業生得坐在地上。巴科以椅子作為比喻,目的是向畢業生提出希望和挑戰。

椅子經濟學:內捲、躺平和機會管理

今年哈佛大學的畢業典禮上,校長巴科(Lawrence Bacow)提到由於受疫情和供應鏈影響,校內摺椅短缺,要不是員工足智多謀,可能一半畢業生得坐在地上。巴科以椅子作為比喻,目的是向畢業生提出希望和挑戰。

員工士氣與公司債務的動態

這項研究指出公司的債務會削弱員工相關獎勵及損害士氣。我們建立了一個動態模型,研究一名經理運用有限的財政資源,同時向債權人還款及激勵員工士氣。若該名經理可以轉移或不正當地使用公司收入,公司的債務會減低員工達成既定獎勵目標的意欲,導致其工作效率降低。在平均利潤最大化的情況下,公司按優次償還債務,使員工的工作效率及工資逐步提升。即使公司已完全還清債務,此動態仍會持續。此外,我們發現一間公司的財務槓桿與激勵員工士氣的措施、工資及生產力屬反比關聯,這與動態模型的分析相符。

後疫情時代的挑戰與機遇

網上流傳這樣一條選擇題:「疫情過後,誰在主導你公司業務的數碼轉型?」答案並非行政總裁或技術總監,而是2019冠狀病毒。這個答案雖聽上去頗具玩笑意味,但卻甚具現實意義。