LI, Yao Amber
(李瑶) 
PhD in Economics

Associate Professor of Economics,  School of Business and Management;
Faculty Associate at HKUST IEMS (Institute for Emerging Market Studies);
Faculty Associate at HKUST Li & Fung Supply Chain Institute;
Hong Kong Univ of Science and Technology
Clear Water Bay, Kowloon
Hong Kong SAR-PRC, China

Tel:  (852) 2358-7605 (O)
Fax: (852) 2358-2084
Email: yaoli [at] ust.hk
OR yaoamber [at] gmail.com

 

 

About Me

As an associate professor of Economics at HKUST, I am specialized in International Trade, International Macroeconomics, and Chinese Economy. I am a technically skilled economist with interdisciplinary professional experience, ranging from working for national think-tanks and collaborating with policy makers. Click here to see my short biography.

 

　

 

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Yao Amber LI /李瑶 

Associate Professor of Department of Economics,
MPhil and PhD Programs Coordinator (Economics),
School of Business and Management;
Associate Director of Center for Economic Growth;
Faculty Member of HKUST IAS Center for AI for Scientific Discoveries;
Faculty Associate of HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies (IEMS);
Faculty Associate of HKUST Li & Fung Supply Chain Institute;
 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR China
　

 

Yao Amber Li @Google Scholar @Google Citations  @Trade Economists Family Tree

                          @NBER  @HKUST Faculty Profile  @HKUST Scholarly Publications

                          @Scopus  @ORCiD  @IDEAS(RePEc)  @SSRN  @VOXEU  @VoxChina  @VoxDev

                          @ResearchGate @HKUST IEMS (Institute for Emerging Market Studies)  

                          @HKUST CEP (Center for Economic Policy)

                          @EconPapers   @ResearcherID  @SelectedWorks  @Academia

Yao Amber Li's CV      

　

　

EDUCATION

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

OTHER AFFILIATIONS

  • Faculty Member, HKUST IAS Center for AI for Scientific Discoveries, February 2026--present.
  • Faculty Associate, HKUST Li & Fung Supply Chain Institute, November 2024--present
  • Faculty Associate: July 2013 -- present, HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies (IEMS)
  • Research Affiliate, Center for Economic Policy, HKUST, 2020--present
    　
    •

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS


EDITORIAL APPOINTMENTS

EXTERNAL APPOINTMENTS

UNIVERSITY APPOINTMENTS

  • Associate Director, HKUST Center for Economic Growth, April 2026--present.
  • MPhil and PhD Programs Coordinator (Economics), Sep 2024--present.
  • Associate Director of Greater Eurasia Research Center, HKUST, 2020--2025.
  • Associate Director of Center for Economic Development, HKUST, July 2018--Oct 2021.
  • Co-director of the MAEC (Mathematics and Economics) program, Department of Economics, HKUST, Sep 2018--Aug 2020.

　

RESEARCH FIELDS

  • International Trade, International Finance and Macroeconomics, Development, Chinese Economy

　

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Global Sourcing and Supply Chains, Firm Competitiveness, Labor Market Power, Innovation and Knowledge Spillovers,
    Quality Upgrading, Multinational Firms and FDI, Factor Allocation      

　

RESEARCH IMPACTS

  • Google Scholar citations: 2,639 (h-index: 18; i10-index: 27).
    Since 2021: 1,595 citations (h-index: 16; i10-index: 22), representing approximately 60.4% of total citations. All figures as of August 2026.
  • Scopus citations: 1,010 citations from 851 citing documents (h-index: 12). Figures as of August 2026.
  • IDEAS/RePEc rankings: ranked 1,713 out of 73,835 registered authors in the "Top Economists, Last 10 Years of Publications'' ranking, approximately top 2.3%.
    Ranked 101 out of 8,293 authors in Asia listed in the IDEAS/RePEc Asia authors ranking in the "Top Authors, Publications Last 10 Years" ranking, approximately top 1.2%.
    Rankings are as of July 2026 and cover authors registered with the RePEc Author Service, based on RePEc-indexed research output.
  • Patent citations: Research on knowledge spillovers and innovation has been cited in three U.S. patents concerning technology obsolescence and the valuation of patents and intangible assets: US7949581B2, US7962511B2, and US9177349B2.
  • Policy impact: 143 Overton-indexed policy documents as of August 2026. Overton tracks citations of scholarly research in policy documents. The indexed documents include publications from the World Bank, IMF, Asian Development Bank, Publications Office of the European Union, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and Inter-American Development Bank. Additional citations appear in publications from the WTO, OECD, ILO, Bank of Japan, and the U.S. Economic Report of the President (full report 2023 in PDF).

　

PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE REFEREED ACADEMIC JOURNALS

Note: Following the standard convention in economics, authors are listed alphabetically by last name in all publications listed below.

[20] Robin Kaiji Gong, Yao Amber Li, Stephen Teng Sun, and Shang-Jin Wei, "Equity Financing and Exports: Evidence from IPO Approvals in China,"  
Journal of International Economics, August 2026.  NBER wp version, February 2026. Previous SSRN wp version.

[19] Ming Li, Yao Amber Li, and Zehao Li, "Who Bears the Cost: Financial Frictions and Labor Markdown," 
 Journal of Development Economics, September 2026. Version: January 2026. Earlier version: Feb 2024.

[18] Robin Kaiji Gong, Yao Amber Li, Kalina Manova and Stephen Teng Sun, "Tickets to the Global Market: First U.S. Patent Award and Chinese Firm Exports", 
Journal of International Economics, September 2025.

[17] Yao Amber Li, Lingfei Lu and Tengyu Zhao, "Exchange Rate Pass-Through and Importers' Credit Constraints: Evidence from China",
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, August 2025.

[16] Yao Amber Li, Sichuang Xu, Stephen Yeaple, and Tengyu Zhao, "Bilateral Economies of Scope,"   
Review of Economics and Statistics, November 2024.  

[15] Illenin Kondo, Yao Amber Li and Wei Qian, "Trade Liberalization and Labor Monopsony: Evidence from Chinese Firms,"     
Journal of International Economics, November 2024.  

[14] Wyatt Brooks, Joseph Kaboski and Yao Amber Li, "Agglomeration, Misallocation, and (the Lack of) Competition,"   
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, October 2021.

[13] Wyatt Brooks, Joseph Kaboski, Yao Amber Li and Wei Qian, "Exploitation of Labor? Classical Monopsony Power and Labor's Share," 
Journal of Development Economics, 2021, volume 150: 102627.

[12] Wyatt Brooks, Joseph Kaboski, Illenin Kondo, Yao Amber Li and Wei Qian, "Infrastructure Investment and Labor Monopsony Power", 
IMF Economic Review, 2021, vol 69, 470–504. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41308-021-00144-6.  

[11] Haichao Fan, Yao Amber Li, Sichuang Xu, and Stephen Yeaple, "Quality, Variable Markups, and Welfare: A Quantitative General Equilibrium Analysis of Export Prices," 
Journal of International Economics, 2020, Vol 125: 103327. 

[10] Keith Head,  Yao Amber Li, and Asier Minondo,  "Geography, Ties, and Knowledge Flows: Evidence from Citations in Mathematics," 
Review of Economics and Statistics, 2019, Volume 101, Issue 4, p.713-727.

[9] Haichao Fan, Yao Amber Li, and Stephen Yeaple, , "On the Relationship Between Quality and Productivity: Evidence from China’s Accession to the WTO,"
Journal of International Economics, 2018, Volume 110, pp. 28-49.

[8] Haichao Fan, Xiang Gao, Yao Amber Li and Tuan Anh Luong, "Trade Liberalization and Markups: Micro Evidence from China,"
Journal of Comparative Economics, 2018, Volume 46, Issue 1, Pages 103-130.

[7] Haichao Fan, Yao Amber Li and Chen Carol Zhao, "Margins of Imports, Forward-Looking Firms, and Exchange Rate Movements,"
Journal of International Money and Finance, 2018, Volume 81, pp. 185-202.

[6] Yao Amber Li, Wei Liao and Chen Carol Zhao, "Credit Constraints and Firm Productivity: Microeconomic Evidence from China,"
Research in International Business and Finance, 2018, Volume 45, pp. 134-149.

[5] Yao Amber Li and Chen Carol Zhao, "Price Adjustment to Exchange Rates and Forward-looking Exporters: Evidence from U.S.-China Trade,"
Review of International Economics, November 2016, Volume 24 (5), pp. 1023–1049.

[4] Haichao Fan, Yao Amber Li and Stephen Yeaple, "Trade Liberalization, Quality, and Export Prices,"
Review of Economics and Statistics, 2015, Volume 97, No. 5, pp. 1033-1051.

[3] Haichao Fan, Edwin L.-C. Lai, and Yao Amber Li, "Credit Constraints, Quality, and Export Prices: Theory and Evidence from China,"
Journal of Comparative Economics, 2015, Volume 43 (2), pp. 390-416.

[2] Yao Amber Li, "Borders and Distance in Knowledge Spillovers: Dying over Time or Dying with Age? -- Evidence from Patent Citations,"
European Economic Review, 2014, Volume 71, pp. 152-172.

[1] Yao Amber Li, John Whalley, Shunming Zhang, and Xiliang Zhao, "The Higher Educational Transformation of China and Its Global Implications,"
The World Economy, April 2011, 34(4), pp. 516-545.

　

WORKING PAPERS

　

  • "The Spill-back and Spillover Effects of US Monetary Policy: Evidence on an International Cost Channel," with Lingfei Lu, Shang-Jin Wei and Jingbo Yao.
    Accepted subject to major revisions at Journal of Monetary Economics.     NBER working paper w33811. This version: January 2026.
    　
  • "Physical Productivity and Exceptional Exporter Performance: Evidence from a Chinese Production Survey," with Frederic Warzynski and Valerie Smeets,
    2nd Round of Revise & Resubmit at Journal of Development Economics. 
    　
  • "The Mechanics of Growing and Maintaining a Supplier Base: Evidence from Chinese Firms", Revise and Resubmit at the Economic Journal, with Stephen Yeaple and Tengyu Zhao, This version: January 2026. Under Review. 
    　
  • "Does Belt-and-Road Initiative Promote Trade Flows? An Empirical Investigation," with Ce Bian, Jiamin He, Weili Liu and Shiying Ou. This version: December 2024.
    　
  • "International trade, technology diffusion, and the role of diffusion barriers"
  • "Credit Distribution and Export: Microeconomic Evidence from China," with Albert Park, Chen Zhao, and Tengyu Zhao, under review.
    　
  • "Coagglomeration of MNEs in Service and Manufacturing Industries: Evidence from China," with Jin Zhang. 
    　
  • "Import response to exchange rate fluctuations: A micro-level investigation," with Bowen Qu, Jenny Xu, and Chen Carol Zhao. 
    　
  • "Trade Liberalization, Demand, and Markups of Multi-Product Firms," with Haichao Fan and Frederic Warzynski. 
    　
  • "On the Relationship Between Foreign Ownership and Productivity of Affiliates: Evidence from China," with Minrui Li. This version: Feb 2025.  
    　
  • "Sources of Relatedness between Industries and Revealed Comparative Advantage: Evidence from China," with Linke Zhu.
    　
  • "Approaches to Fostering Productivity Growth in Brazil, China and India," with Manmohan Agarwal and John Whalley, CIGI Working Paper No. 47, April 2010. (in stasis)
　

BOOKS AND BOOK CHAPTERS

[1] Agarwal, Manmohan, Yao Amber Li, and John Whalley (2015), "Innovation and Technology Transfer Policies in China, India, and Brazil," In Manmohan Agarwal and John Whalley (Eds), World Scientific Reference on Asia and the World Economy, Vol 2, India and China: Comparative Experience and Prospects, World Scientific Publishing, Singapore, May 2015, Volume 2, chapter 22, pp171-201. [BibTex]  

[2] Li, Yao Amber, John Whalley, Shunming Zhang, and Xiliang Zhao, "China's higher education transformation and its global implications," In Christine T. Ennew and David Greenaway (Eds), The Globalization of Higher Education, Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, UK, 2012, pp135-162.

        

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS IN CHINESE

　

SELECTED WORK IN PROGRESS

  • "An Anatomy of Global Sourcing: Evidence from Chinese Firms", with Sichuang Xu, Stephen Yeaple and Tengyu Zhao.
  • "Multinational R&D, Import Intensity, and Price", with Loretta Fung and Jin-Tan Liu
  • "Multinational Technology Linkage: An Empirical Study of Taiwanese Parent Firms and Their Affiliates in China", with Loretta Fung and Jin-Tan Liu

　

ACADEMIC HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, The IEMS (HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies) Research Award, 2013
  • University of Western Ontario, The TM Brown Thesis Prize for best doctoral dissertation in Economics, 2010
  • University of Western Ontario, Dean's Award for Research Excellence, 2009
  • University of Western Ontario, Graduate Thesis Research Award, 2008-2009, 2007-2008
  • Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, First Prize, National Award for Research Excellence, 2004 (Research on China's International Trade at Industry Level, joint with Xiaopeng An, et. al.)
  • Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China and China Association For Science and Technology, First Prize (Beijing Area), National Challenge Cup Competition for Academic and Scientific Achievements among University Students, 2001 (joint with Hua Wu, et. al.)
  • Peking University, The Promising Academic Research Talent Award, 2001
  • Peking University, First Prize, Challenge Cup Competition for Academic Research, 2001 (joint with Hua Wu, et. al.)