Zheng (Chris) Cao 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 a research assistant at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He holds a Ph.D. in Tourism Economics, an M.Sc. in Economics and a B.Econ. in Finance.

Chris’ expertise lies in tourism demand analysis, economic development, economic impact analysis and globalisation. 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
Economic impact analysis
Globalisation

Undergraduate Modules
BS1196 Principles of Macroeconomics
BS2240 Business Economics

Ph.D. in Tourism Economics, University of Surrey
M.Sc. in Economics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
B.Econ. 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

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

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