Jack Gao

Jack Gao is a Program Economist at the Institute for New Economic Thinking.

He is interested in international economics and finance, energy policy, economic development, and the Chinese economy.

He previously worked in financial product and data departments in Bloomberg Singapore, and reported on Asian financial markets in Bloomberg News from Shanghai.

Jack holds a MPA in International Development from Harvard Kennedy School, and a B.S. in Economics from Singapore Management University.

He has published articles on China Policy Review and Harvard Kennedy School Review.

By this expert

What Is Technology? Enabler, Accelerator, or Displacer?

Article | Oct 2, 2020

Technology has coevolved with human societies and played critical roles in past social and economic transformations. From the invention of steam engines to the use of electricity, technological changes were responsible for boosting productivity gains and increasing standards of living. But what really is technology? Is it an external force outside our control, or do we have a say in its direction, development, and deployment? These questions were undoubtedly made more urgent with the rapid advancement in digital technologies of late.

The Future of Work: What’s at Stake

Article | Sep 29, 2020

INET explores how technological and economic changes are affecting employment

AI is Forcing Us to Rethink Economics

Article | Aug 9, 2019

INET’s grantees and Commission on Global Economic Transformation are looking at artificial intelligence and society.

The Dismal Science and the Beautiful Game

Article | Jun 20, 2018

A light-hearted economic analysis of the World Cup

Featuring this expert

Jack Gao appeared on Arirang to discuss Biden’s infrastructure plan

News Apr 12, 2021

“There is a lot to like about with this infrastructure plan from what we already know and there seems to be a historical opportunity to get things right. Before answering your question, let me bring us to three trends just for context. Firstly, for decades we’ve had an economic model that benefited a small number of people tremendously and left behind the majority of Americans, resulting in widening inequality and decline in the middle class. The fact that a zip code could predict a lot of things; your health outcome, your lifespan, your success in life is an extremely telling example. Secondly, we’ve had the digital revolution which spanned a good part of the last 15 years that further demonstrated a lot of displacing and polarizing tendencies. If you’re in the wrong parts of the economy so to speak, it really didn’t work that much for you. Thirdly of course, we had the Covid crisis which turbocharged a lot of these trends. A lot of this is to say that sure there’s a lot of roads and bridges to fix and as well as fiscal infrastructure, but how to productively engage more Americans in the economic process through like you said job training and education, through better child care, invest in green recovery, and climate resilience these are paramount tasks.” — Jack Gao, Institute for New Economic Thinking

Jack Gao appeared on Arirang News to discuss American Chinese relations

News Dec 15, 2020

Joseph Bosco former China country director in the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Jack Gao, Program Economist at INET appeared on Arirang News to discuss whether the U.S.-China rivalry will improve under a Biden administration.