Ernest Liu

Position
Assistant Professor of Economics
Bio/Description

Ernest Liu is an assistant professor in Princeton's Department of Economics. His research interests are in finance, growth, and macro-development. Ernest Liu’s research is centered around the implications of weak financial institutions for economic growth, allocation of resources, and economic development. One strand of his work uses production network theory to understand industrial policies, specifically the strong government support for upstream industries that are widely adopted in developing economies. Another strand of work shows how low, long-term interest rates affect market concentration and productivity growth; how banks with market power respond to interest rate ceilings in small business lending; and, how financial market imperfections not only distort economic allocations via underinvestment but may greatly amplify effects due to interactions across economic sectors or because the relationships between borrowers and lenders create under-development traps. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from MIT and joined Princeton’s faculty in 2019.

Person Category