Prof. Bai is a Professor in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Hong Kong. Before joining HKU, he taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he served as a Professor of Economics and Co-Director of the CUHK-UCSD Joint Laboratory on Chinese Economy.

He earned his Ph.D. from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research interests include development economics, economic history, and the political economy of China. He employs cutting-edge statistical techniques and novel datasets to address historically significant issues in China’s development, such as the causes and consequences of conflict, the impact of the West (particularly Protestantism) on modern economic growth, and the political and economic implications of China’s key institutions—the imperial civil examination system and the hierarchical administrative system.

Much of his research has been published in prestigious journals, including The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Econometrica, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Economic Journal, International Economic Review, and the Journal of the European Economic Association. His work has been recognized with the 2018 Distinguished CESifo Research Affiliate Award and the 2021 Masahiko Aoki Award. Additionally, in 2018, he received the CUHK Young Researcher Award.