Professor Jin Wang, Associate Professor of Social Science and Faculty Associate at the HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies (IEMS), is a leading development economist whose work bridges empirical research and public policy.

Holding a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, Professor Wang’s research focuses on development economics, public economics, and the Chinese economy. Her studies explore how government incentives, place-based policies, and labour mobility constraints - particularly those within China’s hukou household registration system - affect growth and inequality.

Professor Wang has been ranked by Stanford as the world's top 2% most cited scientists in the field of Economics and Business since 2023. Her publications appear in some of the world’s foremost academic journals, including the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Journal of the European Economic Association, and Journal of Development Economics. International organisations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, OECD, and Asian Development Bank have cited her work, underscoring its global influence on evidence-based policymaking.

At HKUST, Professor Wang serves as RPg Programs Coordinator, mentoring postgraduate researchers and teaching courses including Economic Development in China and Research Methods in the Social Science. Her emphases on rigorous analyses and real-world relevance help students see how data and policy intricately shape social and economic outcomes.

By uncovering how institutional arrangements influence governance and development, she continues to shed light on how good policy design can promote equitable and sustainable growth across rapidly changing economies.