Dr Ben CHENG

Director of Centre for Teaching and Learning
Associate Professor
Department of Economics and Finance

Academic & Professional Qualifications

PhD (Auburn University)
MSc (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
MEd (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
PGDE (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
BSc (The University of Alabama)

Biography

Dr Cheng joined the Department of Economics and Finance in 2010.  Currently, he also serves as the Director of Centre for Teaching and Learning. Dr Cheng teaches a range of courses, including Business Economics, Financial Management, International Finance, Money and Banking, Introduction to Econometrics, and International Financial Management.

Dr Cheng’s research expertise lies in developing and applying theoretical and empirical models across several interconnected areas: international trade in services (particularly tourism and financial/insurance services), medical tourism, the relationship between tourism and economic growth, and unemployment dynamics.

His significant publications include investigations into the impact of currency devaluation on the US services trade balance, analyses of demand factors (income, prices, visa policies) for Hong Kong tourism, studies on Chinese maternity tourism to Hong Kong, and critical examinations of unemployment models, including challenging the concept of the Natural Rate of Unemployment and exploring hysteresis. His research has been published in leading journals such as Economic Inquiry, Economic Modelling, Journal of Policy Modeling, The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Tourism Economics, Current Issues in Tourism, and International Review of Economics & Finance.

Research and Teaching Interests

  • Applied Econometrics, Tourism Economics, International Trade, Economic Growth and Development, Unemployment Dynamics

Intellectual Contributions (Publications, Conferences, Books, Book Chapters, etc.)

  • Cheng, K. M. (2022). Doubts on Natural Rate of Unemployment: Evidence and Policy Implications. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 86, 230-239.10.1016/j.qref.2022.07.006 (ABDC: B)
  • Cheng, K. M. (2021). Financial and Insurance Services Trade: Does Exchange Rate or Income Matter? Economic Inquiry, 59(1), 494-509. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12943 (ABDC: A)
  • Cheng, K. M. (2020). Currency Devaluation and Trade Balance: Evidence from the US Services Trade, Journal of Policy Modeling, 42(1), 20-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2019.09.005 (ABDC: A)
  • Cheng, K. M. (2016). Medical tourism: Chinese maternity tourism to Hong Kong. Current Issues in Tourism, 19(14), 1479-1486. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2015.1042359 (ABDC: A)
  • Cheng, K. M., Kim, H., & Thompson, H. (2013). The exchange rate and US tourism trade, 1973–2007. Tourism Economics, 19(4), 883-896. http://dx.doi.org/10.5367/te.2013.0227 (ABDC: A)
  • Cheng, K. M., Kim, H., & Thompson, H. (2013). The real exchange rate and the balance of trade in US tourism. International Review of Economics & Finance, 25, 122-128. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2012.06.007 (ABDC: A)
  • Cheng, K. M. (2012). Tourism demand in Hong Kong: income, prices, and visa restrictions. Current Issues in Tourism, 15(3), 167-181. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2011.569011 (ABDC: A)
  • Cheng, K. M., Durmaz, N., Kim, H., & Stern, M. L. (2012). Hysteresis vs. natural rate of US unemployment. Economic Modelling, 29(2), 428-434. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2011.11.012 (ABDC: A)

Research Grants and Awards

  • Principal Investigator, “Doubts on Natural Rate of Unemployment: Evidence from Asian and OECD Countries”, Faculty Development Scheme (HK$404,325), Research Grant Council (RGC), 2019 – 2020 (UGC/FDS14/B06/18)