Wing Thye Woo

Wing Thye Woo is a Distinguished Professor of Economics at Harvard University and Director of the East Asia Program at Harvard's Center for International Development. He holds concurrent research appointments at Sunway University (Malaysia), Fudan University (China), the Penang Institute (Malaysia), and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (China). He leads the Asian Economic Panel, a group of 40 economists addressing regional economic issues, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Economic Papers.

Education:

• Ph.D. and M.A., Economics, Harvard University (1982)
• M.A., Economics, Yale University (1978)
• B.Sc. Engineering and B.A. Economics (High Honors), Swarthmore College (1976)

Research Focus: Sustainable Development, including macroeconomic management, economic growth patterns, fiscal decentralization, and international capital flows, with deep expertise in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the U.S. Key themes include middle-income traps, currency internationalization (e.g., Renminbi), decarbonization pathways, and pandemic economic resilience.

Publications & Awards:

• Authored/edited books like Ranking the Liveability of the World's Major Cities and China Meets the Middle-Income Trap.
• Recipient of Malaysia's Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) and UC Davis' Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award.
• Former Special Advisor to the U.S. Treasury and the UN Millennium Project, and Chair of Penang's International Economic Advisory Panel.

Policy Engagement: Advised Malaysian and Indonesian governments on structural reforms, climate policy, and trade strategies. His work bridges academia and practice, emphasizing institutional coherence and pragmatic policy design.

Labs/Teams: Active in the Penang Institute, Asian Economic Panel, and the Global Liveable Cities Index initiative.