Dr Xing Xia is an applied-micro economist. Her research focuses on human capital, education, health, and the labor market. She studies how individuals make decisions on educational and health-related investments, how the changing demand of modern labour markets influences educational institutions, and how households and firms respond to the challenges of globalisation and climate change. Her current research focuses on Singapore, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Nepal, and the USA. She holds a B.A. in Economics and a B.S. in Mathematics from Wuhan University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University.
As an applied labour economist, Dr Xing Xia is primarily interested in how individuals and institutions together shape the formation of human capital investment.
Her research involves multiple fields within economics: labour economics, the economics of higher education, health economics, public economics, and development economics. Her current research projects study how the changing demand of the labour market influences both the choices of students and higher education institutions. She also studies early childhood human capital investment in developing countries, with a particular focus on the impact of natural disasters and social assistant programmes on the development human capital in Southeast Asia.
Research Specialisations
- Labor Economics
- Economics of Education and Health
- Human Capital
- Development Economics
“Does Information on Age-Related Fertility Decline and Fertility Policies Affect University Students’ Family and Career Expectations? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial” (with Poh Lin Tan and Jessica Pan) PLOS ONE, forthcoming
“The Effect of Language Training on Immigrants’ Integration: Does the Duration of Training Matter?” (with Alex Pont Grau, Yu-Hsiang Lei, and Joel Lim) Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol 212, pp. 160-198, August 2023
“Selective Mortality and the Long-Term Effects of Early Life Exposure to Natural Disasters” (with Margaret Triyana) Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, vol 85(4), pp. 773-804, August 2023
“Barrier to Entry or Signal of Quality? The Effects of Occupational Licensing on Minority Dental Assistants” Labour Economics, vol 71, 102027, August 2021
“Do Nonprofits Manipulate Investment Returns?” (with Douglas Almond) Economics Letters, vol 155, pp. 62-66, June 2017
