Yuchen Feng
Yuchen Feng
PhD in Economics
Cardiff Buiness School, Cardiff University
PhD in Economics
Cardiff Buiness School, Cardiff University
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Cardiff Buiness School, Cardiff University
I completed my PhD in Economics at Cardiff Business School, funded by the ESRC Wales DTP in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics (ONS). My research interests lie in applied microeconomics, particularly firm-level productivity, management practices, and innovation. I am also a Research Assistant for The Productivity Institute Wales Forum.
I completed my PhD in Economics at Cardiff Business School, funded by the ESRC Wales DTP in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics (ONS). My research interests lie in applied microeconomics, particularly firm-level productivity, management practices, and innovation. I am also a Research Assistant for The Productivity Institute Wales Forum.
I work extensively with large administrative microdata through the ONS Secure Research Service, including the Annual Respondents Database X (ARDx), Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) survey, the Annual Business Survey (ABS), the UK Innovation Survey (UKIS), and the Management and Expectations Survey (MES).
I work extensively with large administrative microdata through the ONS Secure Research Service, including the Annual Respondents Database X (ARDx), Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) survey, the Annual Business Survey (ABS), the UK Innovation Survey (UKIS), and the Management and Expectations Survey (MES).
Before my PhD, I completed an MRes in Advanced Economics and two MSc degrees at Cardiff University, following a Bachelor’s degree in Finance. I also have teaching experience across microeconomics, behavioural economics, and quantitative methods.
Before my PhD, I completed an MRes in Advanced Economics and two MSc degrees at Cardiff University, following a Bachelor’s degree in Finance. I also have teaching experience across microeconomics, behavioural economics, and quantitative methods.
Email address: Fengy31@cardiff.ac.uk
Email address: Fengy31@cardiff.ac.uk
Publications
When Formal Management Practices Meet Informal Control: Family Governance and Productivity in UK Firms
When Formal Management Practices Meet Informal Control: Family Governance and Productivity in UK Firms
Small Business Economics [Download]
with Andrew Henley and Anna Kochanova (2026)
Working paper version available as The Productivity Institute Working Paper No. 051. [Download]
Summary: This study uses UK management survey data and examines how management practices affect productivity in UK firms, highlighting the moderating role of family ownership. Results show that while better management is associated with higher productivity, this effect is weakened in family-managed firms—especially SMEs and those in services. Professional management can offset this negative effect, though the impact remains smaller in manufacturing.
Government attention on environmental protection and firms’ carbon reduction actions: Evidence from text analysis of manufacturing enterprises
Government attention on environmental protection and firms’ carbon reduction actions: Evidence from text analysis of manufacturing enterprises
Journal of Cleaner Production [Download]
with Kunyan Zhu and Lei Du (2023)
Summary: This study examines how government attention to environmental protection (GAEP) influences firms’ carbon reduction actions in China. Using text analysis of listed manufacturing firms (2012–2021), results show that GAEP enhances carbon reduction, partly by improving environmental subsidy allocation. The effect is stronger for state-owned firms and those in eastern and central China.
Working in progress
Truthfulness or Hypocrisy? Speculative Culture and Corporate Environmental Engagement
Truthfulness or Hypocrisy? Speculative Culture and Corporate Environmental Engagement
R&R at Organization & Environment
with Xiaoyu Wei and Kunyan Zhu
Summary: This study explores how speculative culture influences corporate environmental engagement in China. Findings suggest that speculative culture promotes engagement primarily as a strategic response to acquire external resources, especially under high competition and regulatory pressure.
Do Innovation Partners Raise Productivity? Evidence from a Multi-Stage CDM Model for UK Firms
Do Innovation Partners Raise Productivity? Evidence from a Multi-Stage CDM Model for UK Firms
Under review
with Kunyan Zhu
Summary: This study uses UKIS–ARDx data and a CDM framework to examine how different innovation partners shape firms’ productivity through stage-specific channels. We show that capability-oriented cooperation drives innovation inputs, while market-oriented partners enhance outputs, highlighting a trade-off between constraint relaxation and coordination costs.
Do workers share in the returns to firm level R&D activity? Evidence from UK manufacturing firms
Do workers share in the returns to firm level R&D activity? Evidence from UK manufacturing firms
Under review
with Jin Ho Kim and Kunyan Zhu
Summary: Using matched data from ARDx and BERD (1997–2019), we estimate labour market power via markdown measures. A 10% increase in R&D reduces markdown by 0.7%, indicating weaker monopsony power. The effect is stronger for internally funded R&D and in high-tech, labour-intensive firms, driven by increased employment and labour share rather than higher markups.
Understanding Wales’ Productivity Gap: A Firm-Level Decomposition Analysis
Understanding Wales’ Productivity Gap: A Firm-Level Decomposition Analysis
Funded by Wales Productivity Forum
with Melanie Jones
Summary: This paper uses ARDx data (2011–2020) to assess firm-level TFP in Wales relative to the rest of Great Britain. Wales shows a 4% productivity gap, with 55% explained by firm characteristics and 45% by structural factors. Unlike London, where gaps are structural, Wales’s disadvantage is mainly compositional, highlighting the need to improve firm mix and attract high value-added industries.
After the Fall: Political Connection Breakdown and the Realign of Corporate Social (Ir)responsibility
After the Fall: Political Connection Breakdown and the Realign of Corporate Social (Ir)responsibility
with Kunyan Zhu and Xiaoyu Wei
Summary: This study examines how official downfall affects firms’ nonmarket strategy in China. We show that firms reduce both CSR and CSI after political turnover, suggesting a broad retreat from politically sensitive activities. The negative effect on CSR is weaker for firms with stronger government exposure.
Managerial remote working and productivity: Evidence from UK firms
Managerial remote working and productivity: Evidence from UK firms
with Kunyan Zhu
Summary: Using the 2023 UK Management and Expectations Survey, we find that an additional day of managers’ weekly remote work is associated with about a 3% decline in labour productivity, while employees’ remote work is not. The negative association is substantially weaker in firms with stronger management practices and better digital infrastructure, highlighting the role of organisational capabilities in mitigating coordination and supervision frictions.
Firm Responses to Minimum Wage policy: Evidence from UK Firms
Firm Responses to Minimum Wage policy: Evidence from UK Firms
with Jin Ho Kim and Melanie Jones
Summary: This study uses UK firm-level administrative data from ARDx to examine how firms respond to minimum wage increases in the United Kingdom. Focusing on labour market power, productivity, and management practices, it explores the channels through which wage regulation shapes firm behaviour and adjustment.
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