Phone Number: +44 (0) 121 204 3607
Email: z.cao1@aston.ac.uk
Room: SW906

Chris is Lecturer in Economics at Aston Business School. He joined the school in September 2018. Prior to that, he worked as a post-doctoral research fellow at University of Surrey and as a research assistant at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 

Chris’ research interests lie in tourism economics, economic development, globalisation, and business dynamism. He has extensive experience in applied economics research and has been involved in a number of externally funded projects, including "Analysis and forecast of socio-economic impact of Clean Sky", "Economic impact of Watts Gallery", "Economic impact and travel patterns of accessible tourism in Europe" and "The economic effects of visa regulations on the demand for China’s tourism".

Chris has published a number of articles in top-tier internationally refereed journals, including Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel Research, and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

Tourism economics
Economic development
Globalisation
Applied macroeconometrics
Business dynamism

Current
BS2249 Intermediate Macroeconomics
BSK497 The Global Economic Environment

Past
Principles of Macroeconomics
Business Economics

PhD in Tourism Economics, University of Surrey
MSc in Economics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
BEcon in Finance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

09/2018 - present: Lecturer, Aston Business School, Aston University
11/2015 - 09/2018: Research Fellow, University of Surrey
09/2009 - 11/2011: Research Assistant, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Member, International Association of Tourism Economics (IATE)
Member, Royal Economic Society (RES)
Member, Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS)