Jie Bai is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her research is at the intersection between development, IO and trade, focusing on information frictions and quality issues as well as other institutional barriers that hinder firm growth. Her recent projects have examined firms’ incentive and ability to build a reputation for quality, the relationship between firm growth and corruption, and the impact of internal trade barriers among Chinese provinces on firms' export behavior. Some of her ongoing work include studying reputational forces in online and offline export markets, information frictions in firm-to-firm trade, and quality upgrading in developing countries. In addition to working on firm-related topics, Jie is also interested in the development of rural enterprises and farmer organizations. Prior to joining Harvard, she spent a year at Microsoft Research New England.

Jie received her PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2016.