Tao Zou

Tao is a PhD student in the Department of International Development, funded by King’s-China Scholarship Council.

Before coming to King's, Tao completed a master in Local Economic Development at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He also obtained a degree in Development Economics from the University of Manchester.

His research interests are in the field of international economics, business, and development, in particular, related to firm innovation and foreign direct investment (FDI) under the global value chains (GVC) perspective.

Research

Thesis title: 'Pathway of Breaking Development Trap? GVC-led Investment and Firm Innovation in Emerging Economies'

Tao's research will try to combine theoretical frameworks of these fields and implement econometric and qualitative methods to explore inter- and intra-firm GVC governance relationships, as well as inter-regional spillovers, and link local development to global networks.

The research aims to identify potential development traps, to unpack the development secret of certain high-tech firms under the crisis of global supply chains led by the pandemic and unstable macroeconomic environment, and to provide policy for multinational corporations (MNCs) in emerging economies.

PhD supervision

• Principal supervisor: Yundan Gong
• Secondary supervisor: Alfredo Saad-Filho

Further Details

See Tao's research profile