Guangwei Li 郦光伟

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

ShanghaiTech University, School of Entrepreneurship and Management, Shanghai, China

Associate Professor (with tenure), PI, 2025-present

Assistant Professor, PI, 2017-2025

Founding Director, Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Center, 2021-present

Team Leader, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) China team, 2023-2024

Program Director, Minor in Entrepreneurship and Management, 2018-2024

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Public Policy and Management (Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Technological Change),

Carnegie Mellon University , 2017

M.P.M., Carnegie Mellon University , 2007

B.A., Economics, University of International Business and Economics , China, 2002

research area

Economics and Management of Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policy

Research Interests

Guangwei is mainly engaged in interdisciplinary research on the basic principles of technological innovation and entrepreneurship and applying these principles to help nations, companies, and entrepreneurs better manage innovation and entrepreneurship.

Academic Publications

Li, Guangwei*, and Lee Branstetter. 2024. “ Does ‘Made in China 2025’ Work for China? Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms.” Research Policy 53 (6): 105009 .
Branstetter, Lee, and Guangwei Li. 2024. “The Challenges of Chinese Industrial Policy.” Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy and the Economy 3: 77–113.
Cao, Linyi, Helu Jiang, Guangwei Li, and Lijun Zhu. 2024. “Haste Makes Waste? Quantity-Based Subsidies under Heterogeneous Innovations.” Journal of Monetary Economics 142: 103517.
Branstetter, Lee G, Guangwei Li*, and Mengjia Ren. 2023. “Picking Winners? Government Subsidies and Firm Productivity in China.” Journal of Comparative Economics 51(4).
Hong, Suting, Guangwei Li*, Wangshuai Wang, and Zhiqi Zhao*. 2022. “Does Winning a Venture Competition Encourage Entrepreneurial Exploration? Evidence from China.” China Economic Review 76: 101876.
Branstetter, Lee, Guangwei Li, and Francisco Veloso. 2015. “The Rise of International Coinvention.” In The Changing Frontier: Rethinking Science and Innovation Policy, edited by Adam Jaffe and Benjamin Jones. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

Working Papers

“Impact of Patent Agent Switching Frequency on Innovation Quality,” with Wen Zheng, Yang Ye, and Zhaoxing Hao.
“How Has China Built Its Electric Vehicle Industry? Parallel Catch-up via State-led Sectoral hedging and integration,” with Yunhao Zhang.
“VC Backing and the Market Valuation of Firm Innovation,” with Jianjun Jia, Yu’en Lin, and Zhiwei Wang.
“Decision Rights versus Ownership Stake: Effects of Pre-Founding Experience on Founders’ Preference,” with Zhao Zhou and Linqing Huang.
“The Role of R&D Offshoring in Knowledge Diffusion: New Evidence from China”

POLICY PAPERS

Guangwei Li. 2023. “China’s industrial policy.” East Asia Forum Quarterly, 15 (4), 13–15.
Ding, Yifan, and Guangwei Li. “The Strategic Significance, Hardware Bottlenecks, and Policy Recommendations for the Development of Humanoid Robots [大力发展人形机器人的战略意义、硬件瓶颈及政策建议].” Economic Reference [经济内参] 46 (2023): 23-29.
Zhao, Zhiqi, Yong Le, and Guangwei Li. “Relying on the Advantages of Shanghai’s ‘Dual-Center Construction’ to Explore New Financing Models for Specialized and Sophisticated Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises [依托上海“双中心建设”优势探索专精特新企业融资新模式].”Economic Reference [经济内参] 7 (2023): 27-31.
Li, Guangwei, and Yifan Ding. “Accelerating the Layout of the Power Semiconductor Industry to Grasp the Initiative of Dual-Carbon Economic Development [加快功率半导体产业布局掌握双碳经济发展主动权].” Economic Reference [经济内参] 24 (2022): 16-19.
Ding, Yifan, and Guangwei Li. “Nurturing ‘Specialized and Sophisticated Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises’ to Take the Initiative in ‘Carbon Neutrality’[培育‘专精特新’企业掌握‘碳中和’主动权].” Jiefang ribao [解放日报(理论版)]，January 25,2022.
Li, Guangwei. “Clarifying the Strategic Position of Intellectual Property in Innovation-Driven Development [明确知识产权在创新驱动中的战略地位].” Shehui kexuebao [社会科学报]，November 4,2021.
Li, Guangwei, and Ding Lu. “The Development of Chinese Patents: Achievements, Problems, and Suggestions [中国专利发展：成就、问题及建议].” New Economy Leader [新经济导刊], 2021 (01): 53-60.

Press Coverage

Stanford SCCEI China Briefs. "Has 'Made in China 2025' Caused China’s Manufacturing Firms to Be More Productive? Probably Not. " May 2025.
Stanford SCCEI China Briefs. "Do Government Subsidies Promote Productivity Growth in China?" April 2024.
The Economist. Special report. “‘Homeland economics’ will make the world poorer.” October 2, 2023.
The Wall Street Journal. The Editorial Board. “Does China Really Pick Winners?” December 15, 2022.
East Asia Forum. “Government subsidies don’t boost Chinese firms’ productivity.” September 14, 2023.
VoxDev. “China does not pick – or create – winners when giving subsidies to firms.” August 29, 2023.
VoxChina. “Picking Winners? Government Subsidies and Firm Productivity in China.” June 21, 2023.
CEPR & VoxEU. “China does not pick – or create – winners when giving subsidies to firms.” March 9, 2023.
CEPR & VoxEU. “The actual effect of China's ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative may have been overestimated.” December 15, 2022.