Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Singapore
Visiting Professor 2025-2026: From February 24 to March 19, 2026.
Host Professor: Jean-Pascal Bassino
Biography
Tuan Hwee Sng holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics (1998) and a Master’s and PhD in Economics from Northwestern University (2011). He has been an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the National University of Singapore (NUS) since 2019 and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences since 2022. He previously held positions as assistant professor (2012-2019) at NUS and postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University (2011-2012). His research focuses on economic history and political economy, with a specialization in East Asia.
His recent work focuses on the historical dynamics of China and Japan, particularly administrative systems, territorial boundaries, and pre-modern governance mechanisms. He has received several awards, including the NUS FASS Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (2012-2013, 2015-2016) and a fellowship at Stanford (2020-2021) . He is currently leading project on of northern China into Asian systems and the consequences of administrative boundaries in China.
Collaboration with CERGIC
Tuan Hwee Sng’s visit is of scientific and strategic interest to the CERGIC laboratory. As a specialist in economic history and political economy, his work focuses mainly on China and Japan, using a quantitative and multidisciplinary approach. His international profile, marked by research stays at Princeton, Stanford, Hitotsubashi, and Kobe, as well as collaborations with researchers in Asia, Europe, and the United States, makes him an ideal partner for strengthening CERGIC’s academic exchanges.
His visit will enrich the work of the laboratory’s doctoral and postdoctoral students (Tom Buchot, Maxime Chabriel, Marion Dury, Lucile Laugerette, Jade Ponsard, Thomas Taylor, Alexandre Verlet), whose research focuses on related topics. Permanent members (Cédric Chambru, Mathieu Couttenier, Sylvie Démurger, Florence Goffette-Nagot, Jean-Pascal Bassino) will also benefit from his expertise, particularly in quantitative historical methodology and comparative political economy. His multidisciplinary approach will also foster fruitful exchanges with other CERGIC researchers, even outside his immediate field.
During his stay, Tuan Hwee Sng will participate in the laboratory’s academic activities (seminars, workshops, doctoral presentations) and will offer:
- A presentation of his recent work, "A Theory of Aristocracy," during an internal seminar.
- A lecture for Master’s students in Economics, focusing on his research in Chinese economics, such as that developed in "The fractured-land hypothesis" (2023). This lecture, co-organized with the IAO, could be aimed at a wider audience, including students in the Master’s program in Contemporary East Asia.
- Finally, his visit will provide an opportunity to explore institutional cooperation between CERGIC and the NUS Department of Economics, where informal links already exist (Mathieu Couttenier, Sophie Hatte, Lorenz Goette). As vice-dean, Tuan Hwee Sng will be able to facilitate exchanges that could lead to formal agreements, possibly involving other ENS Lyon laboratories (EVS, IAO, TRIANGLE).
Major publications
- Fernández-Villaverde, J., Koyama, M., Lin, Y., & Sng, T. H. (2023). "The fractured-land hypothesis". The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 138(2), 1173-1231.
- Qian, J., & Sng, T. H. (2021). "The state in Chinese economic history". Lu, Y., Luan, M., & Sng, T. H. (2020)."Did the communists contribute to China’s rural growth?". Explorations in Economic History, 75, 101315.
- Koyama, M., Moriguchi, C., & Sng, T. H. (2018). "Geopolitics and Asia’s little divergence: State building in China and Japan after 1850". Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 155, 178-204.
- Sng, T. H., Chia, P. Z., Feng, C. C., & Wang, Y. C. (2018). "Are China’s provincial boundaries misaligned?". Applied Geography, 98, 52-65.
- Ko, C. Y., Koyama, M., & Sng, T. H. (2018). "Unified China and divided Europe". International Economic Review, 59(1), 285-327.
- Sng, T. H., & Moriguchi, C. (2014). "Asia’s little divergence: State capacity in China and Japan before 1850". Journal of Economic Growth, 19, 439-470.
- Sng, T. H. (2014). "Size and dynastic decline: The principal-agent problem in late imperial China", 1700-1850. Explorations in Economic History, 54, 107-127.
