The way in which companies affiliated with the Chinese auto industry transfer knowledge is at the centre of an upcoming public talk hosted by Brock’s Department of Economics.

Jei Bei, from Harvard Kennedy School, will give a talk at Brock on Monday, Nov. 26.

Jie Bai, a visiting scholar from Harvard Kennedy School, will speak about the effectiveness of quid pro quo policies in facilitating knowledge transfer to developing nations.

Her talk, “Quid Pro Quo, Knowledge Spillovers and Industrial Quality Upgrading” will take place Monday, Nov. 26 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in MCA 241.

Bai and her co-authors study the Chinese automobile industry, where foreign firms are required to set up joint ventures with domestic firms in return for market access.

Using a rich dataset of quality features for car models sold in the Chinese market between 2004 and 2015, they track the adoption decisions of specific technological features across firms and document patterns of knowledge spillover.

The research team’s market equilibrium model quantifies the impact of quid pro quo on firms’ decisions of quality provision. Using the results from the model, they examine the interaction between the government-led industrial policy and traditional market forces in driving improvements to industrial quality.

The Research Seminar Series from Brock’s Department of Economics continues throughout the 2018-19 academic year. The series offers an opportunity to learn from renowned researchers from Canada and around the world.

All talks are open to the public. Dates, times and room locations for all talks are listed on the department’s website.