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Please tell us a little bit about yourself (such as where you are from, hobbies, family, or whatever you would like to share.)
I'm Chinese Canadian and have lived in China, Canada, the U.K., Singapore, and the U.S. I like good food, although I'm not the best cook. In my free time, I enjoy walking and training dogs. In fact, my old dog recently learned a new trick – he learned to press a button whenever he wanted treats. Yes, that means all the time.
Why did you decide to major in or pursue graduate studies in economics?
As idealistic as it sounds, I decided to pursue graduate studies in economics because I wanted to make the world a better place. My academic background includes undergraduate degrees in math and business, where I only took introductory courses in economics. Prior to graduate studies, I explored various career paths in insurance, finance, government, media, and the non-profit sector. However, I did not quite fit in these roles because my skills and background did not directly contribute to what I cared about. By chance, I discovered that my math background could be useful for graduate studies in economics. This led me to pursue a master of philosophy in economics in the U.K., where I could leverage my quantitative background to explore meaningful questions.
What are you primary teaching and research interests?
My research primarily focuses on using randomized experiments to explore the societal impacts of media and information technologies. For example, I study questions like: How addicted are we to social media? What can we do to manage our social media use? How do social media and generative AI affect public discourse and polarization? I teach microeconomics and behavioral economics.
What is your favorite part of being an economist or teaching economics?
My favorite part of being an economist is to be able to study questions that I care the most about, and to share and exchange ideas with my students. I enjoy the process of constantly learning and the freedom to think creatively. While teaching, I like to share the latest research with students and discuss how they intersect with the concepts we discuss in class.
What is your best advice to students studying economics?
When deciding on research questions, begin by thinking about problems that matter to you and those around you. Instead of searching for ideas in academic papers, it is more fun to draw inspirations from your own experiences and work on research questions you care about.