Wei Xiong

Wei Xiong is the Hugh Leander and Mary Trumbull Adams Professor in Finance and Professor of Economics at Princeton University, affiliated with the Department of Economics and Bendheim Center for Finance. His research centers on behavioral finance and capital market imperfections with a focus on China's financial system and commodity markets.

His educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Finance from Duke University (2001)
• B.S. in Physics from University of Science and Technology of China (1993)

Research Interests:
Professor Xiong's work fundamentally explores behavioral finance and capital market imperfections, pioneering studies on speculative bubbles, heterogeneous beliefs in asset pricing, and financing frictions. His recent scholarship critically examines the financialization of commodity markets, belief distortions during financial crises, and the unique institutional dynamics of China's hybrid economy, where state and market forces interact.

Publication Trends:
Xiong's 48 publications in top-tier journals reveal an evolving trajectory from classical behavioral finance (2001-2013) toward contemporary China-focused systemic analysis (2017-2025). Recent works integrate cryptocurrency economics, real estate risk management, and policy design in emerging markets, demonstrating methodological rigor through structural modeling and empirical analysis of large-scale financial datasets.

Scientific Awards:

• 2012 Smith Breeden Award (first prize) for the best non-corporate finance paper published in Journal of Finance
• 2013 NASDAQ OMX Award for the best asset pricing paper presented in Western Finance Association Meetings

Professional Activities:
As NBER research associate and former Management Science finance editor (2009-2011), Xiong bridges academia and policy. He co-founded VoxChina.org to foster China-world economic dialogue and co-edited The Handbook of China’s Financial System (Princeton University Press). His keynote addresses at major conferences—including the 2024 Chinese Economists Society meeting on “Information Discovery in a Hybrid Economy”—demonstrate sustained policy influence.

Labs and Initiatives:
Xiong leads Princeton's Bendheim Center for Finance research initiatives and directs VoxChina.org, which produces influential policy analyses on China's economy. His recent work includes the NBER-commissioned study on commodity market risks and ongoing projects examining big tech lending models and data privacy impacts on digital finance.