​Chun Kit (Andy) Chung 


Position
Lecturer (Assistant Professor), Department of Economics
University of Reading
​
​Education
PhD in Economics, Chinese University of Hong Kong
MEcon, University of Hong Kong
BSc in Economics, University of London
Dip in Economics, University of London

PG Cert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of London

​Background
My path to becoming an economist is quite unconventional. I started formally studying Economics only after entering the workforce, having completed my full-time education in another field. While working a full-time job, I pursued an undergraduate degree in Economics through distance learning from LSE and University of London, and later obtained a master’s degree in Economics part-time at University of Hong Kong. I continued my academic pursuit by earning a PhD in Economics part-time at Chinese University of Hong Kong. After completing my PhD, I continued working in industry for three more years before transitioning to academia as a lecturer at my alma mater in 2019. In 2021, I joined the University of Reading.

I became an applied microeconomist because I enjoy explaining human behaviour from an economic perspective. I find it fascinating to view the world through this lens, and I am particularly interested in researching topics that aren't traditionally considered fields within Economics. My current research interests include beauty, parenting, child development, household structure, labour, and football (soccer). I also strive to integrate my research into my teaching, helping students see Economics not just a set of models, but as a powerful tool for making sense of the world around us.

Research interests
Applied Microeconomics: Human Capital, Beauty, Family, Labour and Football (Soccer)

Publications​

1. Physical Attractiveness and Gender Differences in Drug Taking (with Junsen Zhang), Canadian Journal of Economics, forthcoming
2. Scoring goals: The impact of English Premier League football teams on local university admissions (with Carl Singleton, Adrian Bell, James Reade and Andrew Urquhart), Economics Letters, 2024
3. An Economic Analysis of Tiger Parenting: Evidence from Child Developmental Delay or Learning Disability (with Yanyan Xiong and Junsen Zhang), Labour Economics, 2022
4. Gender Difference in Suicide, Unemployment and Household Production, Applied Economics, 2009

Working papers

1. To work or not to work: my child ranks dead last in school! 
2. ​Parent-child Age Gap and Physical Punishment (with Junsen Zhang)
3. Looks and Gaming: Who and Why? (with Daniel S. Hamermesh, Carl Singleton, Zhengxin Wang and Junsen Zhang)  NBER working paper 32809, IZA discussion paper 17191 R&R at Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

Selected ongoing research projects

1. Native-immigrant earning gap (with Carl Singleton and Giovanni Razzu)
2. Beauty, Marriage and Cohabitation: an Economic Analysis (with Junsen Zhang) preliminary draft available soon
3. Football and crime (with Nils Braakmann, James Reade and Gennaro Rossi)

Administrative roles at UoR
School Director of Recruitment and Admissions, School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics
Undergraduate Admission Tutor, Department of Economics

2025-2026 modules
Introductory Microeconomics (with basic calculus; undergraduate)
Econometrics I (postgraduate)

Past modules at UoR
Principles of Economics 1 (undergraduate)
Introductory Mathematics for Economics I (undergraduate)
Money and Banking (undergraduate)
Microeconometrics II (postgraduate)
Microeconomic Policy (postgraduate)

Hobbies and interests
Traveling, watching (but not playing) football, reading history books, playing (some) video games, playing Gundam model kits...

Email: [email protected] 

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​Chinese University of Hong Kong