For more information, go to Professor Jie Bai's full website.
I am an Assistant Professor in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. My research focuses on firms and markets in developing countries and emerging economies, addressing two broad questions: First, what are the key barriers and constraints that hinder firm growth and upgrading in developing countries? Second, understanding these, how can we then structure effective policies to alleviate firm-level constraints and market frictions to facilitate private sector development? Methodologically, I combine large-scale randomized control trials, quasi-experimental applied micro techniques, and structural modeling tools from industrial organization and international trade. I also like to ground my empirical research in microeconomic theory to shed light on how firms make decision, and how markets are organized to generate incentives and allocate resources.
For the past ten years, I have conducted research in China, East Africa and Southeast Asia, where I have collaborated with governments and non-government organizations to design, implement and evaluate industrial, trade and development policies.
I received my Ph.D. in Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 2016, and spent one year at Microsoft Research New England prior to joining HKS in 2017.
Courses
Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles
Sponsored projects include research, training, convening, and other initiatives externally funded through grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Funding sources can include the US federal government, state and local agencies, private foundations, corporations, and foreign entities (public and private).
The below list includes all sponsored projects in progress or completed within the current and past 2 calendar years, administered at the Harvard Kennedy School under the direction of the named faculty member as Principal Investigator. Please note that this list includes only those activities supported by external sponsored funding; other sources of support are not included (e.g., philanthropy, HKS or Harvard internal resources).
Project Title
Sponsor Name
Award Date
Transparent Engagement
Harvard Kennedy School is proud of its energetic involvement in the world. To better understand how to solve public problems by improving policy and leadership, we engage directly with policymakers, public leaders, governments, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses whose activities affect those problems. However, we recognize that such engagement can raise questions about perceived and potential conflicts of interest, so we disclose publicly the key professional activities of our faculty outside the Kennedy School. The activities disclosed below are for the most recent reporting period, as defined by University policy. Some may be paid, some may be unpaid, and others may be in exchange for expense reimbursement only.
Outside Professional Activities For Jie Bai
| Organization | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Peking University | Reimbursed travel |
| Renmin University of China | Reimbursed travel |
| Tsinghua University | Reimbursed travel |
| Zhejiang University | Reimbursed travel |