Michael B. Wong

Assistant professor, HKU


About

Research

Teaching

Notes

Policy Writing

中文文章

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About

I am an assistant professor in management and strategy with a joint appointment in economics at HKU Business School. I received my PhD from MIT in 2022 and my BA from Harvard University in 2012.

My research combines theory and evidence to study (1) the role of intermediaries in labor markets, (2) the role of monetary institutions in exchange, and (3) the role of housing in urban inequality.

I am a Fellow of the HKU CCCW, an affiliate researcher of the HKU Jockey Club ESG Research Institute, a member of the HKU Real Estate Lab, and a board member of local policy research think tank Citizen Action Design. My writings have been featured in publications such as SCMP, Ming Pao, HKEJ, and HKET.

Here is my CV and disclosure statement. You can reach me at mbwong@hku.hk or DM me on Twitter.


Working Papers

A Theory of the Visible Hand: Intermediation and Coordination in Markets for Relational Contracts

(with Duoxi Li)

Last Updated: October 2024

Abstract (click to expand)

Money and Barter in the Field: Evidence from the Life and Death of a Digital Currency

Last Updated: October 2024

Abstract (click to expand)

Slides

The Reallocation Effects of Domestic Outsourcing

(with Mayara Felix)

Last Updated: August 2024

Abstract (click to expand)

Domestic Outsourcing and Employment Security

(with Naijia Guo and Duoxi Li)

Last Updated: July 2024

Abstract (click to expand)

Targeting Housing Assistance with Rent Notches: Evidence from a Quasi-experiment

Last Updated: March 2024

Abstract (click to expand)


Publications

Ideological Bias and Trust in Information Sources

(with Matthew Gentzkow and Allen T. Zhang)

Last Updated: March 2024

Forthcoming, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics

Abstract (click to expand)


Work in Progress

The Role of Redemption in Currency Circulation: Theory and Transaction-level Evidence

(with Baiyun Jing, Yang You, and Yulin Zhong)

Commodity Money: Theory and Field Evidence

(with Baiyun Jing)

The Effect(s) of Public Housing Rent Regulation on Private-sector Rents in Hong Kong

(with Zhongji Wei)

Anatomy of a Housing Affordability Crisis: Hong Kong, 2006-2016

(with Jimmy Ho, Yulin Hong, Lichen Zhang)


Teaching

Current: Instructor for HKU’s PMGM7004 (Global Management from Economics Perspectives) and PMGM7019 (Economics of Strategy and Organization).

Previous: TA for MIT’s Intro Micro (undergrad, 2022), Intermediate Micro (undergrad, 2018-20), Applied Econ for Managers (EMBA, 2019), Org Econ (PhD, 2018), and Industrial Organization II (PhD, 2022).


Notes

Things I learned in Grad School (the Hard Way)

Tips for excelling as a PhD student

How to have productive PhD advisor meetings


Policy Writing

Hong Kong’s economic recovery hinges on having enough adequate housing (South China Morning Post, 2024-8-9)

Hong Kong must stop letting the well-off hog public rental housing (South China Morning Post, 2024-5-4, with Jimmy Ho)

Why is Hong Kong Housing So Expensive? (HKU FOSS presentation, 2024-3-6)

The Solution to Hong Kong’s Subdivided Housing Crisis (Translated from Hong Kong Economic Journal, 2024-2-14)

Brain Drain, Brain Gain, and The Future of Hong Kong: Evidence from LinkedIn Profiles (Hong Kong Economic Policy Green Paper, 2024-1-10, with Alan P. Kwan and Heiwai Tang)

Using Data and Algorithms to Reduce Public Housing Wait Times (Hong Kong Economic Policy Green Paper, 2024-1-10, with Shing-Yi Wang and Maisy Wong)

What Caused Hong Kong’s Housing Crisis? (Hong Kong Economic Policy Green Paper, 2022-9-23, Twitter thread)

In Hong Kong’s Olympic glory, a glimpse of a hopeful new future (South China Morning Post, 2021-8-4)

Liberal or conservative, Hongkongers must learn to listen to those they disagree with (South China Morning Post, 2019-9-7, with Spike Lee and Josephine Au)


中文文章

住房短缺礙引才 政府應續增建屋 (明報, 2024-8-14)

加強富戶審查 劏房戶免受苦? (明報, 2024-5-16, 與何漢樑)

香港劏房問題之出路 (香港信報, 2024-2-14)

人才得失與香港前景:領英社交資料佐證 (香港經濟政策綠皮書, 2024-1-10, 與關穎倫和鄧希煒)

利用數據和算法減低公屋輪候時間 (香港經濟政策綠皮書, 2024-1-10, 與王欣儀和黃美施)

香港房屋危機之謎 (香港經濟政策綠皮書, 2022-9-23)

預算案500億推創科 怎用得其所 (香港經濟日報, 2018-3-18)

社會面對新挑戰 須3方面調整 (香港經濟日報, 2017-9-13)