Lai Jiang
Lai Jiang decided to pursue her doctorate immediately after receiving her B.A. in Economics from Peking University in China. Several of her undergraduate classmates had selected NYU Stern for their PhD studies, so she was familiar with the School and was attracted to the diverse and international student body.
Once at Stern, according to Lai, she immediately felt like part of the group and easily fit in with the rest of the students in the Economics/Strategy program. Lai says what she likes best about Stern’s PhD program is “the constant attention, support and encouragement I receive from faculty members; the opportunity to be exposed to top notch research every week at seminars; and the friendships I’ve made with both faculty and students.”
Now an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, Lai recalls that writing the first paper for the academic job market was a long learning process. “From as early as the end of my second year, I started talking about potential research ideas with my advisors. They were open to my ideas and played a crucial role in keeping me on track with my research,” says Lai. She adds, “I am truly grateful for the supportive environment in which I continue to grow as a researcher.”
While a student, Lai worked on two papers that focus on the welfare effect of the regulation in the mobile telecommunications industry. The first paper looked at the potential effects a new regulation, “Bill Shock,” which requires the disclosure of marginal prices at the point of each transaction, would have on consumers and mobile network operators. Her second paper studied the threshold level of the fixed-to-mobile interconnection fee that will give network operators the incentive to switch from the Receiving Party Pays Pricing Regime to the Calling Party Pays Pricing Regime.
Once at Stern, according to Lai, she immediately felt like part of the group and easily fit in with the rest of the students in the Economics/Strategy program. Lai says what she likes best about Stern’s PhD program is “the constant attention, support and encouragement I receive from faculty members; the opportunity to be exposed to top notch research every week at seminars; and the friendships I’ve made with both faculty and students.”
Now an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, Lai recalls that writing the first paper for the academic job market was a long learning process. “From as early as the end of my second year, I started talking about potential research ideas with my advisors. They were open to my ideas and played a crucial role in keeping me on track with my research,” says Lai. She adds, “I am truly grateful for the supportive environment in which I continue to grow as a researcher.”
While a student, Lai worked on two papers that focus on the welfare effect of the regulation in the mobile telecommunications industry. The first paper looked at the potential effects a new regulation, “Bill Shock,” which requires the disclosure of marginal prices at the point of each transaction, would have on consumers and mobile network operators. Her second paper studied the threshold level of the fixed-to-mobile interconnection fee that will give network operators the incentive to switch from the Receiving Party Pays Pricing Regime to the Calling Party Pays Pricing Regime.