Research

You can find my articles on my Google Scholar profile.

Publications

1. Exchange Rate Pass-Through and Importers’ Credit Constraints: Evidence from China

   (joint with Yao Amber Li and Tengyu Zhao)

   Published in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2025[Publication] [PDF] [Slides]

   Highlights

   • The average exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) into import prices in China is around 73%.
   • Tighter financial constraints of importers amplifies ERPT into import prices.
   • In opposite, greater sourcing diversity of importers reduces import ERPT.
   • We develop a model of bilateral negotiation to rationalize empirical patterns.

   Summary

   This paper examines the patterns of exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) among Chinese importers and the role played by credit constraints in shaping the ERPT. Using highly dis-aggregated firm-product-country-level transaction data from 2000 to 2007, we find that (1) the average level of ERPT into import prices in China is around 73%; (2) for importers in financially more constrained sectors, ERPT tends to be more complete; (3) a higher degree of import sourcing diversity leads to a less complete pass-through and partially offsets the effects of credit constraints. Our findings demonstrate the significance of credit constraints in governing ERPT into import prices. Furthermore, a more diversified import sourcing network can enhance the ability of importers to cope with exchange rate shocks and help alleviate the impact of financial constraints on international trade.

   DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107044

   Presentation

   • 2025* Young Economist Society (YES) Annual Conference, Hohhot, China
   • 2024* Global Economic Order and Regional Cooperation conference at SUFE, Shanghai, China
   • 2024 Australasian Trade Workshop (ATW), Christchurch, New Zealand

   * presented by co-authors

Working Papers

1. Import-Export Linkages as a Channel for Exchange Rate Hedging

   Job Market Paper, 2025[PDF] [Slides]

   Summary

   This paper shows that firms hedge exchange rate risk through their import–export linkages. Using Chinese customs micro data, I document that exchange rate shocks from import origins and export markets have opposite effects on export growth, and that these elasticities are markedly attenuated for two-way traders. Moreover, greater overlap between a firm’s supplier and destination portfolios further dampens the shock transmission. I develop a tractable trade model with pricing-to-market exports and global sourcing of inputs. Multilateral currency covariance and firm network shares jointly shape exposure of price competitiveness and cost channels. For risk averse firms under mean–variance trade-off, exchange rate uncertainty creates risk-adjusted pricing premia and reallocates firms’ import shares toward currencies that offset revenue exposure. I also provide counterfactual experiments to illustrate how natural hedging works in alternative trade structure and exchange rate environments.

   Presentation

   • 2026 Asia Meeting of the Econometric Society (AMES) East & Southeast Asia, Hanoi, Vietnam
   • 2026 Asia Pacific Trade Seminars (APTS), Hong Kong, China
   • 2026 Asia Meeting of the Econometric Society (AMES) in China, Hong Kong, China
   • 2026 Rocky Mountain Empirical Trade (RMET) Conference, Banff, Canada
   • 2026 Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, College of Business, Shanghai, China
   • 2026 Australasian Trade Workshop (ATW), Melbourne, Australia
   • 2025 China Trade Research Group (CTRG) Annual Meeting, Beijing, China
   • 2025 National Macroeconomics PhD Student Academic Forum, Xiamen, China
   • 2025 HKUST CEP Brownbag Seminar, Hong Kong, China
   • 2025 Columbia Student Research Breakfast, New York, USA

   * presented by co-authors

2. The Spill-back and Spillover Effects of US Monetary Policy: Evidence on an International Cost Channel

   (joint with Yao Amber Li, Shang-Jin Wei and Jingbo Yao)

   Revise and Resubmit for Journal of Monetary Economics, 2025[NBER WP] [PDF] [Slides]

   Summary

   We find that an unanticipated tightening of US monetary policy tends to raise US import prices. This empirical “spill-back” pattern differs from the predictions of typical open-economy macro models. We also document a new empirical “spillover” effect: import prices of other countries also rise following an unexpected US monetary tightening. To understand the mechanism, we examine Chinese exporters and identify a borrowing cost channel - their liquidity conditions generally deteriorate after a US monetary tightening. Indeed, the output price response is greater for those firms facing higher borrowing costs or tighter liquidity conditions.

   DOI: 10.3386/w33811

   Presentation

   • 2025 China Economics Annual (CEA) Conference, Shanghai, China
   • 2025 World Congress of the Econometric Society (ESWC), Seoul, South Korea
   • 2025* SNU-Yonsei Trade Workshop, Seoul, South Korea
   • 2025* International Economics and Finance Society (IEFS) China Annual Conference, Beijing, China
   • 2025 International Conference on Empirical Economics (ICEE) at PSU Altoona, Pittsburgh, USA
   • 2025* Chinese Economists Society (CES) China Annual Conference, Guangzhou, China
   • 2025* HKIMR-ECB-BOFIT Joint Conference, Hong Kong, China
   • 2024 China Trade Research Group (CTRG) Annual Meeting, Hong Kong, China
   • 2024* Melbourne Annual Macro Policy Meeting, Melbourne, Australia
   • 2024* NBER Chinese Economy Working Group Meeting, Shenyang, China
   • 2024 Asia Meeting of the Econometric Society (AMES) East & Southeast Asia, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
   • 2024* China International Conference in Finance, Beijing, China
   • 2024* HKUST-Fudan-SMU Conference on International Economics, Hong Kong, China
   • 2024* Asia Meeting of the Econometric Society (AMES) in China, Hangzhou, China
   • 2024 Asian Finance Association (AsianFA) Conference, Macau, China
   • 2024 International Association for Applied Econometrics (IAAE) Annual Conference, Xiamen, China
   • 2024* NBER East Asian Seminar on Economics, Hong Kong, China
   • 2024* International Economics Joint Conference, Shenzhen, China
   • 2024* Australasian Trade Workshop (ATW), Christchurch, New Zealand
   • 2024* Empirical Investigations in Trade and Investment (EITI) Conference, Jakata, Indonesia

   * presented by co-authors

In Progress

1. Global Sourcing with Two-Sided Bargaining: A Unified Framework

   (joint with Yao Amber Li and Tengyu Zhao)

   In Progress

2. The US Monetary Policy Spillover and Exporter Misallocation

   (joint with Yao Amber Li and Jingbo Yao)

   In Progress

   Presentation

   • 2024 HKUST CEP Brownbag Seminar, Hong Kong, China

   * presented by co-authors