Short Bio
Dr. Weng Chi (Florence) Lei 李頴芝博士 has joined the USJ faculty since 2013. She served as the Programme Coordinator for Bachelor of Government Studies from 2017 to 2019 and the Programme Coordinator for Master of Government Studies from 2019 to 2023. Dr. Lei teaches various topics of Economics to undergraduate and graduate students. She also supervises master and doctoral dissertations in multiple disciplines, including Business Administration, Community Development, Government Studies, and Environmental Sciences and Management.
Academic Qualifications: Ph.D. in Economics (2018), M.A. in Economics (2010), B.S. in Economics with honor and distinction, minor in Statistics (2006), University of Washington, Seattle
Professional Affiliations: Hong Kong Economic Association | American Economic Association | Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honor Society of Economics | ICEME Technical Committee | LESD Technical Program Committee
Fellowships/Awards/Honors: Rector's Prize, Rector's Commendation for Teaching and Service, University of Saint Joseph, Macao, 2021 | James K. Hall Fellowship, University of Washington, Seattle, 2007 | Outstanding Paper Award, Department of Economics, University of Washington, Seattle, 2006
Research Grant: Economic Integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: An Assessment Study (2021-2023). Higher Education Fund of the Macao SAR Government 澳門特别行政區政府高等教育基金 (Project number 項目編號: HSS-USJ-2021-02).
Research Interests:
International Economics: F1 Trade (F12 Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies • Fragmentation, F15 Economic Integration, F18 Trade and Environment); F2 International Factor Movements and International Business (F23 Multinational Firms • International Business); F3 International Finance (F36 Financial Aspects of Economic Integration); F4 Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance (F47 Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications); F6 Economic Impacts of Globalization (F66 Labor)
Industrial Organization: L1 Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance (L11 Production, Pricing, and Market Structure • Size Distribution of Firms, L13 Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets); L6 Industry Studies: Manufacturing (L62 Automobiles • Other Transportation Equipment • Related Parts and Equipment); L8 Industry Studies: Services (L83 Sports • Gambling • Restaurants • Recreation • Tourism); L9 Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities (L93 Air Transportation)
See JEL Classification System for scholarly literature in the field of economics: here.
🌐 Find me on [in] LinkedIn and ⓕ Facebook.
Publications
(For the complete list of publications, see: ORCID, Scopus, RePEc, Google Scholar, RG, USJ.)
Selected Journal Articles
Toshevska-Trpchevska, K., Lei, W. C., Kocev, L., & Tonovska, J. (2024). Regional Trade Agreement: Tool to Promote Climate-Smart and Sustainable Trade. InterEULawEast, 11(2), 217-244. https://doi.org/10.22598/iele.2024.11.2.10 (SJR: Q2)
Lei, W. C. & An, B. (2024). Impact of Education on Green Fintech Adoption: Evidence From the New Sub-Center of Beijing. Journal of Global Business Research and Practice, 1(1), 40–59. https://doi.org/10.70273/CPGE4284
王心如 & 李頴芝. (2024). 基于价格检验的粤港澳大湾区经济一体化实验研究 [Empirical Study on the Economic Integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Based on Price Assessment]. 产业创新研究, 2024(19), 16-20.
Toshevska-Trpchevska, K., Lei, W. C. (Florence), & Stojkoski, V. (2024). Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation in Western Balkans Countries. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 20(13), 46-60. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2024.v20n13p46
Lei, W. C. & Wang X. (2024). Impacts of Central Bank Digital Currency on Regional Economic Integration: Evidence from the Greater Bay Area of China. The Chinese Economy, 57(5), 415-428. https://doi.org/10.1080/10971475.2024.2333124 (SJR: Q1)
Lei, W. C. & Lampo, A. (2024). Fintech Adoption: A Study of Users in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin (China). The INTI Journal, 2024(02), 1-6.
Negreiros, J., & Lei, W. (2019). Web 2.0 Tool Recommendations for Teachers. International Journal of Innovation and Research in Educational Sciences, 6(4), 513-525.
Selected Book Chapters and Conference Proceedings
Lei, W. C., Toshevska-Trpchevska, K., & Stojkoski, V. (forthcoming). Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation in ASEAN Countries. In Economics and Finance Readings: Selected Papers Asia-Pacific Conference on Economics & Finance, 2024. Springer Nature. (Scopus)
Lei, W. C. (2024). Post-Covid-19 Gender Inequality in Global Employment: a Difference-In-Difference Analysis. In Proceedings of the 2024 SSEME workshop on Social Sciences and Education (SSEME-SSE 2024). (pp. 117-123). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-289-7_14 (CNKI, CNKI Scholar, Google Scholar)
Lei, W. C., & Wang, X. (2023, June). Digital Renminbi: Impacts on Economic Integration of the Greater Bay Area. In Economics and Finance Readings: Selected Papers from Asia-Pacific Conference on Economics & Finance, 2022 (p. 1-14). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1979-6_1 (Scopus)
Lei, W. C., & Wang, X. R. (2022). Economic Integration in the GBA: a Price-Based Assessment of Real and Financial Integration in the Greater Bay Area. In The 2022 13th International Conference on E-business, Management and Economics (ICEME 2022) Proceedings. (pp. 198-203). https://doi.org/10.1145/3556089.3556112 (EI, Scopus)
Lei, W. C. (2020, May). The Road to Service Export Diversification: Gambling and Convention in Macao. In Economics and Finance Readings: Selected Papers from Asia-Pacific Conference on Economics & Finance, 2019 (p. 51-71). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2906-1_4 (Google Scholar)
Lei, W. C. (2018). Three Essays on Foreign Trade, Offshoring and International Rivalry. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. (Google Scholar)
Dissertation Supervision
Martins, M. (in progress). Factors Influencing Purchase Intentions of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): An Exploratory Marketing and Behavioral Finance Research [DBA dissertation, University of Saint Joseph].
Chau, M. (2025). Short-Term Forecasting of Macau’s Gross Gaming Revenue Using Multivariate Econometric and Machine Learning Approaches [DBA dissertation, University of Saint Joseph].
(For master dissertation supervision, see: https://library-opac.usj.edu.mo/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?q=an:%2282683%22.)
Modules
Year 1 Doctorate
This module aims to introduce participants to key elements of doctoral research in the broad sense of an Academic framework. It focuses on providing an understanding of the research support Mechanisms at USJ and in overviews of the main research specialisation fields within the University of Saint Joseph, namely Business Administration; Education; Global Studies; Government Studies; History; Information Systems; Psychology; Religious Studies; Science. The course also provides an opportunity for the students to present and discuss their own work in a seminar environment.
This Module provides an initial experience of supervised research work where students will work with their intended supervisor in a collaborative tutorial model that resembles the practice of Thesis Supervision. During the Module the intended supervisor will guide the student trough multiple meetings (up to 15) during a full academic year The students will conduct autonomous research that should result in a preliminary literature review, research contextualisation and a thesis proposal completely finished and prepared to be submitted to the Foundation Year Final thesis proposal review and assessment instances.
Year 1 Master
Students will examine the dynamics of organizations from the perspective of the new sciences of complexity. Special emphasis will be given to modern areas of research in economics, such as increasing returns and path dependence.
Students will become proficient in current methods of conducting research in the field: problem definition, construction of hypotheses, research design, sampling, data collection and evaluation, and interpretation of findings.
In this module students will explore the conditions that promote viable enterprises and increased employment in the community. Topics include: Principles of Economic Development and Growth (community history and community growth potential, the role of business, labor, & jobs, building sustainable systems, social capital); the Role of Community-Based Institutions (community support organizations, sources of funding); Economic Development Planning (local economic development incentives, building public/private collaboratives); The Economic Influence of Neighborhood and Building Design; and Measuring Economic Growth (data sources, methodology).
Students will become proficient in current methods of conducting research in Public Administration: problem definition, construction of hypotheses, research design, sampling, data collection and evaluation, and interpretation of findings.
Year 1 Bachelor
This course surveys a number of comparative themes in the political economies of developing countries. The content is designed to examine patterns of politics, stratification, and state intervention in the economy that are to some extent shared by Late Developing Countries. There will be a particular emphasis on the countries of Southeast Asia.
Comparative Political Economy of Development - LGS201 / LGS224
Students will explore a series of questions and issues crucial to our understanding of the world. Who wins and who loses from the globalization of trade, finance, and production? Who sets the rules under which the game of international capitalism is played? How powerful are international organizations like the IMF, nation-states, or NGOs in the global economy? How valid are popular critiques of the WTO trade regime and globalization? This class explores these and other isues with reference to economic and political theories, drawing on both historical and contemporary data.
LGS209 International Political Economy (2cr) / LGS223 International Political Economy (3cr)
This module is provided as the first module on calculus. It starts with real-world examples of calculus, explains why calculus works, and introduces the two big ideas of calculus: differentiation and integration. The discussion also covers common functions and their graphs, limits and continuity, integration and approximating area.
Having the module “Calculus 1” as the prerequisite, this module continues the discussion on more advanced topics in calculus, such as parametric equations, differential equations, and infinite series sequences and series, polar coordinates and multivariable calculus.
Among the topics this course addresses are economic analysis and optimal decisions, consumer choice and the demand for products, production functions and cost curves, market structures and strategic interactions, and pricing and non-price concepts. Cases and problems are used to understand economic tools and their potential for solving real-world problems.
Year 2 Bachelor
Among the topics this core course addresses are economic analysis and optimal decisions, consumer choice and the demand for products, production functions and cost curves, market structures and strategic interactions, and pricing and non-price concepts. Cases and problems are used to understand economic tools and their potential for solving real-world problems.
Over the past ten years, international trade policy and its institutions have taken on the additional responsibilities of protecting the environment and promoting development among the world's poorest people. Students will first develop an understanding of the linkages between trade, environment, and development policies. Some of the more important efforts to link these policies together will also be studied, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization's "Development Round", and tourism development in Southeast Asia.
Students will explore a series of questions and issues crucial to our understanding of the world. Who wins and who loses from the globalization of trade, finance, and production? Who sets the rules under which the game of international capitalism is played? How powerful are international organizations like the IMF, nation-states, or NGOs in the global economy? How valid are popular critiques of the WTO trade regime and globalization? This class explores these and other issues with reference to economic and political theories, drawing on both historical and contemporary data.
LGS209 International Political Economy (2cr) / LGS223 International Political Economy (3cr)
Year 3 Bachelor
For anyone studying all functional areas of business and planning to go into business, this course is very important. The course explores the economic foundations of formulating and evaluating business strategy. Various influences upon the successful implementation, market and competitive position, strategic position within the market environment, and sustainability of competitive advantage, are all considered.
The course is designed to acquaint students with Weber's understanding of the cultural ethos of societies with market economies and then to enable them to compare his view with a selection of other, more recent treatments of the same subject. Those readings will be drawn from the works of such scholars as Daniel Bell (The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism), Robert Lane (The Market Experience), Ronald Inglehardt (Culture Shift), and Ernest Gellner (Postmodernism, Reason, and Religion).
This course surveys a number of comparative themes in the political economies of developing countries. The content is designed to examine patterns of politics, stratification, and state intervention in the economy that are to some extent shared by Late Developing Countries. There will be a particular emphasis on the countries of Southeast Asia.
Comparative Political Economy of Development - LGS201 / LGS224 - For IR students
Year 4 Bachelor
In this module students will study and discuss the change process that occurs in countries such Russia, some East European countries, China and Vietnam. Topics include: Privatization, restructuring, and institutional change, analysis of property rights, corporate governance, incentives, and resource allocation in socialist and transitional economies. Emphasis is on liberalization and privatization policies (including mass and voucher programs) as the primary instruments to induce changes in behavior.
Over the past ten years, international trade policy and its institutions have taken on the additional responsibilities of protecting the environment and promoting development among the world's poorest people. Students will first develop an understanding of the linkages between trade, environment, and development policies. Some of the more important efforts to link these policies together will also be studied, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Trade Organization's "Development Round", and tourism development in Southeast Asia.
Year 1
This course introduces the basic concepts and tools of probability, statistics and decision making. It covers descriptive statistics, sample spaces, elementary probability, probability distributions probability laws, measures of central tendency & dispersion.
This module consolidates the fundamental concepts of algebraic functions and equations, as well as the properties and features of various geometric shapes. Topics covered include polynomials, quadratics functions and equations, inequalities, logarithmic functions and equations, triangle properties and circles. Graphs of various functions are also illustrated with emphasis on the quadratic function.
