Dong Cheng

Assistant Professor of Economics

Department/Office Information

Economics

229B Persson Hall

Contact

Dong Cheng, who also goes by Carl, is currently an assistant professor of economics at Colgate University. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from Vanderbilt University and an M.A. and B.A. in economics from Renmin University of China. Prior to joining Colgate, Carl was an assistant professor of economics at Union College. His current research focuses on distribution frictions and monetary policies, durable goods diffusion and production specialization during the Great Depression, natural disasters and asset pricing, energy shocks and investment, and firm innovations. Carl's work has been published in journals such as Journal of International Economics, Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, The Energy Journal, and The World Economy.

Link to my current CV.

Link to my personal website.

BA, Renmin University of China, School of Economics
MA, Renmin University of China, School of Economics
MA, Vanderbilt University, Department of Economics
PhD, Vanderbilt University, Department of Economics

Assistant Professor of Economics, Colgate University, 2025-Present

Assistant Professor of Economics, Union College, 2019-2025

John D. MacArthur Assistant Professor of Economics, 2022-2023

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics, Union College, 2018-2019

John D. MacArthur Assistant Professorship, Union College, 2022-2023

Rendigs Fels Award for Teaching Excellence, Vanderbilt University, 2018

Walter M. Noel Dissertation Fellowship, Vanderbilt University, 2016

University Fellowship, Vanderbilt University, 2012-2018

Outstanding Undergraduates Award, Beijing Municipal Education Commission, 2010

Colgate University: Intermediate Macroeconomics; International Finance/Open-Economy Macro

Union College: Chinese Economy; Macroeconomic Theory and Policy; Introduction to Financial Analysis; Seminar in International Finance; Senior Thesis

Primary: Macroeconomics, International Economics

Secondary: Economic History, Energy Economics, Financial Economics, Chinese Economy

"Innovation and Appropriation: Insights from the Chinese Patent Survey." (with Michael A. Klein and Mehmet Fuat Sener), Forthcoming at Journal of Economics & Management Strategy.

"Early 20th Century American Exceptionalism: Production, Trade and Diffusion of the Automobile." (with Mario J. Crucini, Hyunseung Oh, and Hakan Yilmazkuday), Journal of International Economics, January 2025, 153: 104025.

"The Power Crunch and Firms' Anticipatory Investment: Evidence from Manufacturing SMEs in China." (with Xunpeng Shi), The Energy Journal, May 2024, 45(3): 153-176.

"Housing Boom and Non-housing Consumption: Evidence from Urban Households in China." (Sole Author), Empirical Economics, December 2021, 61(6): 3271-3313.

"Heterogeneous Impacts of Finance on Firm Exports: Evidence from Export Deregulation in A Large Developing Country." (with Zhongzhong Hu and Yong Tan), The World Economy, November 2021, 44(11): 3326-3350.

"Early 20th Century American Exceptionalism on Wheels: The Role of Rapid Automobile Adoption in Economic Development." (with Alyssa Trebino*), Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, August 2021, 14(2): 211-221.

"Exporting and Electricity Consumption: New Microeconomic Evidence from Manufacturing Firms in China." (with Jian Yu and Hanyuan Zhang), Applied Economics Letters, July 2021, 28(14): 1226-1233.

"The Impact of the Green Energy Infrastructure on Firm Productivity: Evidence from the Three Gorges Project in China." (with Jian Yu and Xunpeng Shi), International Review of Economics and Finance, January 2021, 71: 385-406.

"Credit Rationing and Firm Exports: Microeconomic Evidence from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in China." (with Yong Tan and Jian Yu), The World Economy, January 2021, 44: 286-311.

"Is Heterogeneous Capital Depreciation Important for Estimating Firm-level Productivity? Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms." (with Jian Yu, Dayong Zhang, and Wenping Zheng), Research in International Business and Finance, April 2020, 52: 101146.

"How Does the Chinese Economy React to Uncertainty in International Crude Oil Prices?" (with Xunpeng Shi, Jian Yu, and Dayong Zhang), International Review of Economics and Finance, November 2019, 64: 147-164.

* Denotes undergraduate coauthors.

"Early 20th Century American Exceptionalism: Production, Trade and Diffusion of the Automobile." (with Mario J. Crucini, Hyunseung Oh, and Hakan Yilmazkuday), November 2019, VoxEU.