People

Zhigang TAO is HSBC Professor in Global Economy and Business Strategy and the director of the Institute for China and Global Development, The University of Hong Kong. Prior to joining The University of Hong Kong in 1998, he taught at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from 1992 to 1998. Professor Tao received his B.Sc. in management science from Fudan University in 1986, and PhD in economics from Princeton University in 1992.

Professor Tao is senior fellow at Tsinghua University’s National Centre of Economic Research, senior fellow at Tsinghua University’s Center for China in the World Economy, and visiting professor at Fudan University School of Management. He is also co-director of the Asia Competitiveness Program of Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy.

Professor Tao’s research interests are China business and economics, and economics of organizations and strategy. He has published in various economics and management journals such as American Economic Review, International Economic Review, Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, Journal of International Economics, Management International Review, and Rand Journal of Economics. He has also written books about the competitiveness of China’s manufacturing industries, and China’s Yangtze River Delta.

• “The good, the bad and the ugly: Chinese imports, EU anti-dumping measures and firm performance,” (with Liza Jabbour, Enrico Vanino, and Yan Zhang), Journal of International Economics, Volume 117, March 2019, Pages 1-20.
• “Exposure to Chinese imports and media slant: Evidence from 147 U.S. local newspapers over 1998–2012,” (with Yi LU, Ryan SHAO), Journal of International Economics, Volume 114, September 2018, Pages 316-330.
• “How do exporters adjust export product scope and product mix to react to antidumping?” (With Yi Lu and Yan Zhang), China Economic Review, Volume 51, October 2018, Pages 20-41.
• “Identifying FDI Spillovers,” (with Yi LU and Lianming ZHU), Journal of International Economics, 2017, 107, 75-90.
• “Intermediaries, Firm Heterogeneity and Exporting Behavior,” (with Jiangyong Lu, Yi Lu, and Yi Sun), the World Economy, July 2017, volume 40 (issue 7), 1381-1404.
• “Institutions and firm survival: evidence from China’s industries,” (with Yi CHE and Yi LU), the Economics of Transition, Volume 25, Issue 3, July 2017, 495–525.
• “Vertical Integration and Firm Productivity,” (with Hongyi Li and Yi Lu), Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, summer 2017, 403-428.
• “Hollowing Out of the Real Economy: Evidence from China’s listed firms,” (with Xu LI and Xiang SHAO), Frontiers of Economics in China, Special Issue in Honor of Gregory Chow, 2016, 11 (3): 390-409.
• “Once an Enemy, Forever an Enemy? The Long-run Impact of the Japanese Invasion of China from 1937 to 1945 on Trade and Investment,” (with Yi Che, Julan Du, and Yi Lu), Journal of International Economics, volume 96, May 2015, 182-198.
• “Government Expropriation and Chinese-Style Firm Diversification,” (with Julan Du and Yi Lu), Journal of Comparative Economics, Volume 43, 2015, 155-169.
• “The Role of the State in Resolving Business Disputes in China,” (with Julan Du and Yi Lu), Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol 42, 2014, pp.940-953.
• “Economic institutions and their impacts on firm strategies and performance,” (with Julan Du and Yi Lu), in Shenggen Fan, Ravi Kanbur, Shang-Jin Wei, and Xiaobo Zhang (ed.), The Oxford Companion to the Economics of China, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 273-278.
• “How do Chinese Exporters Respond to Antidumping Investigations?” (With Yi Lu and Yan Zhang), Journal of International Economics, Vol 91, 2013, pp.290-300.
• “The Impact of income on democracy revisited,” (with Yi Che and Yi Lu), Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol 41 (1), February 2013, pp.159-169.
• “Do Institutions not Matter in China? Evidence from Manufacturing Enterprises,” (with Yi Lu and Ivan Png), Journal of Comparative Economics, Vol 41 (1), February 2013, pp.74-90.
• “Contracting Institutions and Vertical Integration: Evidence from China’s Manufacturing Firms,” (with Julan Du and Yi Lu), Journal of Comparative Economics, 40(1), 2012, pp.89-107.
• “Outsourcing, Product Quality and Contract Enforcement,” (with Yi Lu and Travis Ng), Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 21, 2012, pp.1-30.
• “Exporting Behavior of Foreign Affiliates: Theory and Evidence from China,” (with Jiangyong Lu and Yi Lu), Journal of International Economics, 81, 2010, pp.197-205.
• “Determinants of Entrepreneurial Activities in China,” (with Jiangyong Lu), Journal of Business Venturing, 25 (3), 2010, pp.261-273.
• “Contract enforcement and family control of business,” (with Yi Lu), Journal of Comparative Economics, 37, 2009, pp.597-609.
• “How does privatization work in China?” (With Chong-En Bai and Jiangyong Lu), Journal of Comparative Economics, 37, 2009, pp.453-470.
• “Bi-sourcing in the Global Economy,” (with Julan Du and Yi Lu), Journal of International Economics, 77, 2009, pp.215-222.
• “Trends and determinants of China’s industrial agglomeration,” (with Jiangyong Lu), Journal of Urban Economics, 65, 2009, pp.167-180.
• “Economic Institutions and FDI Location Choice: Evidence from U.S. Multinationals in China,” (with Julan Du and Yi Lu), Journal of Comparative Economics, vol 26 (3), 2008, pp.412-429.
• “The Multitask Theory of State Enterprise Reform: Empirical Evidence from China,” (with Chong-En Bai and Jiangyong Lu), American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, vol 96, No. 2, May 2006, pp.353-357.
• “Revenue Sharing and Control Rights in Team Production: Theories and Evidence from Joint Ventures,” (with Chong-En Bai and Changqi Wu), Rand Journal of Economics, vol 35, No. 2, Summer 2004, pp.277-305.
• “Protectionism and Regional Specialization: Evidence from China’s Industries,” (with Chong-En Bai, Yingjuan Du, and Sarah Tong), Journal of International Economics, vol 63, issue 2, July 2004, pp.397-417.
• “Export, Foreign Direct Investment, and Local Content Requirement,” (with Larry D. Qiu), Journal of Development Economics, 66, 2001, pp.101-125.
• “A Multi-Task Theory of the State Enterprise Reform,” (with Chong-En Bai, David D. Li, and Yijiang Wang), Journal of Comparative Economics, 28, 2000, pp.716-738.
• “Bargaining, Bonding, and Partial Ownership,” (with Sudipto Dasgupta), International Economic Review, 41(3), 2000, pp.609-635.
• “Agency and Self-Enforcing Contracts,” (with Tian Zhu), Journal of Comparative Economics, 28(1), 2000, pp.80-94.
• “Contract Mixing in Franchising as a Mechanism for Public Good Provision,” (with Chong-En Bai), Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 9(1), 2000, pp.85-113.
• “The Impact of Public Policies on Innovation and Imitation: The Role of R&D Technology in Growth Models,” (with Leonard K. Cheng), International Economic Review, 40(1), 1999, pp.187-207.
• “Foreign Direct Investment and Contract Enforcement,” (with Susheng Wang), Journal of Comparative Economics, 26, 1998, pp.761-782.
• “Contractual Incompleteness and the Optimality of Equity Joint Ventures,” (with Sudipto Dasgupta), Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 37, 1998, pp.391-413.