Rachel Ngai

Rachel Ngai is a Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), affiliated with the Department of Economics. Her expertise spans Economic Growth, Labour Markets, and Housing Markets. She holds additional roles as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), and serves as Theme Leader for Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG) and a member of the Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).

Ngai earned her PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a BSc from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Her research focuses on structural transformation, wage dynamics, housing market volatility, and gender economics. Notable themes include the interplay between land reforms and mobility, tax/subsidy impacts on gender gaps, and historical shifts in labour participation patterns.

Her academic contributions bridge theoretical macroeconomic frameworks with empirical policy analysis, addressing topics such as housing market cycles, inequality trends, and cross-country development dynamics. Teaching includes macroeconomics courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.