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Jason Wong

  • Assistant Professor
Academic Division: Economics
Professor Jason Wong is an applied microeconomist interested in using quantitative methods to study how different forms of connectivity affect and interact with economic life. Connectivity can be physical, such as through physical infrastructure like electricity and aviation. It can also be non-tangible, such as through language, social networks, public health, and the environment. His work seeks to advance how different forms of connectivity impact regional and sustainable development. His research has been published in World Development, Energy Economics, and Energy Policy, among other peer-reviewed journals.

Professor Wong grew up in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and he joins Babson by way of Los Angeles, London, Berlin, New York, and Washington D.C.. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Geography and Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). This Fall, he is a Visiting Professor at the Toulouse School of Economics.

Professor Wong is an award-winning educator, having won the 2020 London School of Economics Student Union Award for Masters Supervision and the 2017 Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching at Columbia University. He is also passionate about sustainable entrepreneurship education. Since 2021, he has co-directed the Global Circular Challenge at the LSE, a unique case competition that blends circular economy with design thinking.

Prior to Babson, Professor Wong was a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Occidental College and LSE Fellow in Environmental Economics. In 2018, he served as an International Parliamentary Fellow at the German Parliament (Bundestag). He holds a PhD from Columbia University. He is fluent in German, Cantonese, and Mandarin and is currently learning French and Japanese.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, Columbia University
  • MPhil, Columbia University
  • MA, Columbia University
  • BA, University of Maryland
  • BS, University of Maryland

Academic Interest / Expertise

Aviation, Climate Change and Infrastructure, Energy and Development, Connectivity, Circular Economy and Sustainable Entrepreneurship

Courses

  • Degree Courses 2024

    • ECN 2002 PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS
    • ECN 3601 POLITICAL ECON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
    • ECN 3600 URBAN AND LAND USE ECONOMICS
  • Degree Courses 2023

    • ECN 2002 PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Wong, J.C., Blankenship, B., Harish, S., Urpelainen, J. (2022). Increasing microsolar technology adoption: Efficacy of vouchers, cash transfers, and microfinance schemes. Energy Economics. Vol: 110, Issue: 105952. link
  • Wong, J.C., Blankenship, B., Urpelainen, J., Balani, K., Ganesan, K., Bharadwaj, . (2021). Understanding electricity billing preferences in rural and urban India: Evidence from a conjoint experiment. Energy Economics. Vol: 106, Issue: 105735. link
  • Wong, J.C., Blankenship, B., Urpelainen, J., Ganesan, K., Bharadwaj , K., Balani, K. (2020). Perceptions and acceptability of electricity theft: Towards better public service provision. World Development. Vol: 140, Issue: 105301. link
  • Blankenship, B., Kennedy, R., Mahajan, A., Wong, J.C., Urpelainen, J. (2020). Increasing rural electrification through connection campaigns. Energy Policy. Vol: 139, Issue: 111291. link
  • Missirian, A., Frank, E.G., Gersony, J.T., Wong, J.C., Naeem, S. (2019). Biodiversity and thermal ecological function: The influence of freshwater algal diversity on local thermal environments. Ecology and Evolution. link
  • Blankenship, B., Wong, J.C., Urpelainen, J. (2019). Explaining willingness to pay for pricing reforms that improve electricity service in India. Energy Policy. Vol: 128, Page: 459-469. link

Presentations

  • Research Methods Workshop in Environment Wong, J. Department of Geography Dissertation Surgeries, London, United Kingdom (2023)
  • Inland Flooding: Estimating Damages using the National Water Model Wong, J. Varela Varela, A. Foreman, T. TSE Environmental Economics Seminar, Toulouse, France (2023)
  • More the merrier? Economics of Linguistic Diversity in South Africa Wong, J. Ho, V. Department of General Linguistics Seminar, Stellenbosch, ZA (2023)
  • More the Merrier? Economics of Linguistic Diversity in South Africa Wong, J. Ho, V. Department of Linguistics Seminar, Cape Town, ZA (2023)
  • More the Merrier? Economics of Linguistic Diversity in South Africa Wong, J. Ho, V. Department of Linguistics Seminar, Durban, ZA (2023)
  • More the Merrier? Economics of Linguistic Diversity in South Africa Wong, J. Ho, V. Department of Linguistics, Language, and Communication Seminar, Cape Town, ZA (2023)
  • Boarding Soon: Climate Change Impacts on Severe Thunderstorm-Related Delays in Aviation Wong, J. Earth and Environmental Sciences Program, Hong Kong (2023)
  • Rethinking our Disposable Society: how to build a circular economy Wong, J. BlĂ©riot, J. Pohl-Martell, L. LSE Festival: How Do We Get to a Post-COVID World?, London (2022)
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Additional Links

Professional Services

  • Reviewer, Journal Article Energy Economics (2022 - Present)