Professor Liu’s recent research focuses on human capital externalities and the role of human capital in economic growth. He has published numerous articles in academic journals, such as Economic Development and Cultural Change, Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Economic Geography, Journal of Human Capital, Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Urban Economics, and Review of Industrial Organization. He is a Special-term Professor of the China Center for Human Capital and Labor Market Research, Central University of Finance and Economics. He is a member of editorial board of China Economic Review and a former board member of the Chinese Economists Society 2006-2007. He is the director of University at Buffalo Confucius Institute.

• PhD, University at Buffalo
• MBA, University at Buffalo
• BS, Tianjin University

• “Productivity Growth and Firm Ownership: An Analytical and Empirical Investigation” (with I. Ehrlich, G. Gallais-Hamonno, R. Lutter) Journal of Political Economy (1994)
• “Earnings, Education, and Economic Reforms in Urban China” Economic Development and Cultural Change (1998)
• “Sensitivity Analyses of the Deterrence Hypothesis: Let’s Keep the Econ in Econometrics” (with I. Ehrlich) the Journal of Law and Economics (1999)
• “Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Spillover: Evidence from China” Journal of Comparative Economics (2002)
• “Institution and Inequality: the Hukou System in China” Journal of Comparative Economics(2005)
• “The External Returns to Education: Evidence from Chinese Cities” Journal of Urban Economics(2007)
• “Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Spillovers: Theory and Evidence” Journal of Development Economics (2008)
• “Human Capital Externalities in Cities: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms” Journal of Economic Geography (2014)
• “The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment and Human Capital on Economic Growth: Evidence from Chinese Cities” (with Y. Su) China Economic Review (2016)
• “The Role of Entrepreneurial Human Capital as a Driver of Endogenous Economic Growth” (with I. Ehrlich and D. Li) Journal of Human Capital (2017)
• “Children’s Education and Parental Health” American Journal of Health Economics (2021)