Bowei Hu
Biography
I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in sociology at UCLA and am affiliated with the California Center for Population Research. My training includes experience with causal inference, experimental methods, introductory machine learning, and comparative-historical analysis.
Prior to enrolling in the sociology program at UCLA, I worked as a research assistant at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. My primary responsibility was to manage longitudinal data for firms and examine the impact of different expansion strategies on the performance of Taiwanese companies such as TSMC and Foxconn.
Dissertation Project
My research centers on organizational processes and social inequality. In my current project, I am using multilevel and longitudinal data from 17 countries and over one million households from 1995 to 2019 to examine the relationship between increasing concentration in top commercial banks and household indebtedness. I am also studying the impact of the diversification of banking institutions and legislation of alternative financial services on household borrowing in the United States.
- 2023–2024 ASA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant
Teaching
In addition to my research, I am an award-winning teaching assistant for undergraduate discussion sessions in research methods. Each year, I lead more than 12 teams of 60+ undergraduate students in conducting one survey project and one vignette experiment.
In 2022, I served as the instructor for “Introduction to Sociological Research Methods,” where I taught 40 students about various methods in social science research (such as surveys, experiments, and interviews), measurement techniques (including conceptualization and operationalization), sampling strategies, and evaluation tools (such as reliability and validity). The student evaluation for this course was 8.6 out of 9.
Degrees
- M.A. University of California, Los Angeles (2020)
- M.A. National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan (2015)
Publications
- Lin, Thung-Hong and Bowei Hu. 2019. “Subcontractors’ Dilemma: The Expansion of Taiwanese Firms 2002–2015.” International Journal of Taiwan Studies 2(2):199–229.
- Lin, Kuan-Hui, Thung-Hong Lin, Bowei Hu, Yi-Chung Chang, Chin-Hsun Yeh, Gee-Yu Liu and Chuang-Han Chan, 2017, “Earthquake, Housing Damage, and Fatality: A Causal-effect Analysis of Seismic Risk in Chi- Chi Earthquake”, City and Planning 44(1):83-112.
- Lin, Thung-Hong and Bowei Hu, 2017, “Size Matters: the Causes and Consequences of the Expansion of Taiwanese Business Groups” Pp. 231-268, edited by Zong-Rong Lee and Thung-Hong Lin, Unfinished Miracle: Taiwan’s Economic and Social Transition, Taipei: Academia Sinica.
Awards & Grants
2023–2024 ASA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant
2022–2023 Hiroshi Wagatsuma Memorial Fellowship
2021–2022 J. Young Scholarship
2020–2021 J. Young and Family Centennial Scholarship
2019–2022 Departmental Summer Funding
2018–2022 Departmental Fellowship
2018–2022 Ministry of Education Government Fellowship for Studying Abroad
2014–2015 Academia Sinica Fellowship
2011–2012 National Science Council College Student Research Grant
2011–2012 Shen Lin Memorial Foundation Fellowship
2009–2012 National Taipei University Fellowship
Advisors
- Jennie Brand (Co-chair)
- David Brady (Co-chair, UC Riverside Public Policy)
- Kevan Harris
- Olav Sorenson (UCLA Anderson School)
- Edward Walker
Collaborators
- Thung-hong Lin, Research Fellow, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
