Dr Jen-Chung Mei

Profile

I am an Assistant Professor in Digital Economy at Queen Mary Business School, Queen Mary University of London, and an affiliated researcher at the Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge. 

My research lies at the intersection of applied economics, productivity, firms, and the digital economy. I use microeconometric methods and firm-level data to study productivity and firm performance, markups, foreign direct investment, and the economic effects of digital technologies and artificial intelligence. My current research focuses on how intangible assets shape productivity and economic performance across firms and industries. 

Before joining Queen Mary, I was a Lecturer in Economics at the University of Westminster Business School (2023–2025), a Research Associate at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge (2021–2023), and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National University of Ireland, Galway (2019–2021). 

I completed my PhD in Economics at the University of Sheffield in 2019 and my MSc in Economics at the University of Manchester in 2015.

Teaching

BUS4018U Economic Thinking with Data 

Research

Research Interests:

My research interests lie in Applied Economics, with topics including foreign direct investment, economic growth/productivity, and the mobility of international scientists. I focus in particular more on foreign acquisition (productivity spillovers) and firm-level TFP/Markups.

Centre and Group Membership

• Affiliated Researcher – Bennett School for Public Policy, University of Cambridge
• Research Member – Productivity Institute, University of Manchester
• Centre for Globalisation Research

Publications

Research interests 

 Productivity, Microeconometrics, AI at work

Journal articles

1. Coyle, D. and Mei, J.C. and Hampton, L., 2026, The Role of Relative Prices in the UK's Aggregate Labour Productivity [link], Macroeconomic Dynamics, forthcoming
2. Coyle, D. and McHale, J. and Bournakis, I. and Mei, J.C., 2026, Converging to Mediocrity: Trends in Firm-Level Markups in the United Kingdom 2008-2019 [link], Economics Letters
3. Galett. J., McHale J., Harold J., Mei, J.C., Sasidharan, A., and Yadav A., 2026, Estimating Star Arrival Effects When Intensity of Treatment Varies with Relatedness to the Star [link], Journal of Human Capital
4. Coyle, D. and McHale, J. and Bournakis, I. and Mei, J.C., 2024, Recent Trends in Firm-Level Total Factor Productivity in the United Kingdom: New Measures, New Puzzles [link], Economica
5. Coyle, D. and Mei, J.C., 2023 Diagnosing the UK Productivity Slowdown: Which Sectors Matter and Why? [link], Economica
6. McHale, J., Harold, J., Mei, J.C., Sasidharan, A., and Yadav, A., 2022, Stars as Catalysts: An Event-Study Analysis of the Impact of Star-Scientist Recruitment on Research Performance in a Small Open Economy [link], Journal of Economic Geography
7. Mei, J.C., 2021. Refining vertical productivity spillovers from FDI: Evidence from 32 economies [link]. International Review of Economics & Finance
8. Mei, J.C., 2023, Foreign Direct Investment in the Host Country: Theory and Evidence [link], Economics of Transition
9. Mei, J.C., 2023, Core Product Competence and Productivity Gains: The Role of Foreign Ownership [link], International Review of Applied Economics
10. Bournakis I. and Mei, J.C., 2023 Embodied and Disembodied FDI Spillovers and Distance from the Educational [link], Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade
11. Bournakis I. and Mei, J.C., 2023 Gender ownership and FDI supply-purchase spillovers in Emerging Markets [link], International Economics

Supervision

I am interested in supervising PhD students whose research aligns with applied economics and econometrics, particularly in areas such as firm-level productivity (TFP and markups), foreign direct investment (FDI) and its productivity spillovers, economic growth, and the mobility of international scientists. I welcome motivated candidates committed to producing research that advances both scholarly understanding and real-world economic policy—especially in the areas of the digital economy, international investment, and productivity measurement.