Woan Foong Wong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Oregon. She is also a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in the International Trade and Investment program, and a Research Affiliate with the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in International Trade and Regional Economics, as well as with CESifo in the Global Economy area. Dr. Wong serves as an Associate Editor for both the Journal of International Economics and Economic Inquiry. Dr. Wong completed dual Bachelor's degrees in Economics and Music Composition at Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music, followed by Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a Research Analyst at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. As an international trade economist, Dr. Wong specializes in how trade frictions—particularly transportation technology and trade policies—shape economic activity, firm outcomes, and trade flows. Her research spans several key areas including global transportation networks, supply chain dynamics, trade policy analysis, and the economic impacts of trade liberalization. She has made significant contributions to understanding hub-and-spoke shipping networks, transshipment activity, and the evolution of global transportation usage over time. Dr. Wong's extensive publication record demonstrates consistent focus on transportation economics within international trade. Her work shows increasing attention to multimodal transport networks, supply chain resilience, and the interplay between trade policy and transportation infrastructure. A notable trend in her research is the examination of how smaller countries participate in global trade through hub economies, and how transportation costs affect trade patterns and welfare outcomes. Among her notable achievements, Dr. Wong was awarded the Sundaran Memorial Prize for Young Malaysian Researchers 2018-19 by the World Bank Development Research Group. Dr. Wong's research has been generously supported by multiple prestigious funding sources including the National Science Foundation, National Bureau of Economic Research, United States Department of Transportation, and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. These grants have enabled her to conduct comprehensive studies on transportation economics, trade policy impacts, and global supply chain dynamics.








