Sophia Chen
Last Updated: October 16, 2023
Sophia Chen is a Senior Economist at the IMF and Associate Editor of the IMF Economic Review. She is currently a desk economist in the Western Hemisphere Department. Previously she worked in the Research Department and the European Department. An award-winning economist, her research focus is in areas of banking, corporate finance, and macro-financial linkages. Her work emphasizes the critical role of financial sector development for economic growth and financial stability. Her papers span topics on financial crises, monetary policy transmission, and the effects of financial sector regulations. She has served as the guest editor of the IMF Research Perspective, an award-winning publication. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Email: YCHEN2@imf.org
Personal WebPage: https://sites.google.com/site/sophiachenecon/
Fluent In: Chinese.
Education:
Ph.D., University of Michigan
M.A., University of Michigan
M.L.A., University of Pennsylvania
B.Arch, Tsinghua University
Editorial Activities:
IMF Economic Review, Associate Editor, 2022-present
IMF Research Perspective, Guest Editor, 2020
Work in progress:
“Information Disadvantage and Loan Screening: Evidence from the Mortgage Market”, with Yangfan Sun.
“Government Credit and Monetary Policy Transmission: Evidence from Brazil”, with Leila Aghabarari, Deniz Igan, and Bernardus Van Doornik.
Field of Expertise:
Banking
Public Finance
Macro-Financial Issues
IMF Books and Working Papers:
Macroprudential Policy Effects: Evidence and Open Questions , Departmental Paper No 2023/002 , March 27, 2023
Differential Effects of Macroprudential Policy , Working Paper No. 2023/043 , February 24, 2023
Do Lenders Make Less-Informed Investments in High-Growth Housing Markets? , IMF Working Paper No. 2021/151 , May 27, 2021
Pricing Protest: The Response of Financial Markets to Social Unrest , Working Paper No. 2021/079 , March 19, 2021
Social Repercussions of Pandemics , Working Paper No. 2021/021 , January 29, 2021
Small and Vulnerable: Small Firm Productivity in the Great Productivity Slowdown , Working Paper No. 2020/294 , December 18, 2020
Tracking the Economic Impact of COVID-19 and Mitigation Policies in Europe and the United States , Working Paper No. 20/125 , July 10, 2020
The Dynamics of Non-Performing Loans during Banking Crises: A New Database , Working Paper No. 19/272 , December 06, 2019
Debt Maturity and the Use of Short-Term Debt : Evidence form Sovereigns and Firms , Departmental Paper No.19/03 , February 05, 2019
International Technology Sourcing and Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from OECD Countries , Working Paper No. 18/51 , March 12, 2018
Credit and Fiscal Multipliers in China , Working Paper No. 17/273 , December 12, 2017
A Toolkit to Assess the Consistency Between Real Sector and Financial Sector Forecasts , Technical Notes and Manuals No. 17/09 , June 05, 2017
Financial Information and Macroeconomic Forecasts , Working Paper No. 16/251 , December 23, 2016
Does Balance Sheet Strength Drive the Investment Cycle? Evidence from Pre- and Post-Crisis Cyprus , Working Paper No. 16/248 , December 22, 2016
Uncertainty and Investment: The Financial Intermediary Balance Sheet Channel , Working Paper No. 15/65 , March 20, 2015
The Tax-adjusted Q Model with Intangible Assets: Theory and Evidence from Temporary Investment Tax Incentives , Working Paper No. 14/104 , June 12, 2014
Financial Constraints, Intangible Assets, and Firm Dynamics: Theory and Evidence , Working Paper No. 14/88 , May 14, 2014
IMF Country Reports
St. Kitts and Nevis: Staff Report for the 2023 Article IV Consultation
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Staff Report for the 2022 Article IV Consultation
iMFdirect Blog Posts
"How Stock Markets Respond to Social Unrest", with Philip Barrett, May 10, 2021.
"COVID’s Long Shadow: Social Repercussions of Pandemics", with Philip Barrett, February 3, 2021.
F&D articles
“The Economics of Social Unrest”, with Philip Barrett, Finance and Development, August 2021.
Selected Issue
St. Kitts and Nevis: Labor Market Diagnosis and Policies
St. Kitts and Nevis: Climate Change Adaptation and Resilient Investment
Other Published Materials
Macroprudential Policy Effects: Evidence and Open Questions, IMF Departmental Paper, 2023/002.
"An Economy for All", IMF Research Perspective, Volume 22, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2020.
"Monetary Policy in the New Normal", with an IMF staff team, IMF Staff Discussion Note 14/3.
Publications in Journals (Refereed)
Publications in Journals (Referred)
"Social Repercussions of Pandemics", with Philip Barrett, Covid Economics, Issue 68, 2021.
Other Published Materials
Sophia Chen is a Senior Economist at the IMF and Associate Editor of the IMF Economic Review. She is currently a desk economist in the Western Hemisphere Department. Previously she worked in the Research Department and the European Department. An award-winning economist, her research focus is in areas of banking, corporate finance, and macro-financial linkages. Her work emphasizes the critical role of financial sector development for economic growth and financial stability. Her papers span topics on financial crises, monetary policy transmission, and the effects of financial sector regulations. She has served as the guest editor of the IMF Research Perspective, an award-winning publication. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Email: YCHEN2@imf.org
Personal WebPage: https://sites.google.com/site/sophiachenecon/
Fluent In: Chinese.
Education:
Ph.D., University of Michigan
M.A., University of Michigan
M.L.A., University of Pennsylvania
B.Arch, Tsinghua University
Editorial Activities:
IMF Economic Review, Associate Editor, 2022-present
IMF Research Perspective, Guest Editor, 2020
Work in progress:
“Information Disadvantage and Loan Screening: Evidence from the Mortgage Market”, with Yangfan Sun.
“Government Credit and Monetary Policy Transmission: Evidence from Brazil”, with Leila Aghabarari, Deniz Igan, and Bernardus Van Doornik.
Field of Expertise:
Banking
Public Finance
Macro-Financial Issues
IMF Books and Working Papers:
Macroprudential Policy Effects: Evidence and Open Questions , Departmental Paper No 2023/002 , March 27, 2023
Differential Effects of Macroprudential Policy , Working Paper No. 2023/043 , February 24, 2023
Do Lenders Make Less-Informed Investments in High-Growth Housing Markets? , IMF Working Paper No. 2021/151 , May 27, 2021
Pricing Protest: The Response of Financial Markets to Social Unrest , Working Paper No. 2021/079 , March 19, 2021
Social Repercussions of Pandemics , Working Paper No. 2021/021 , January 29, 2021
Small and Vulnerable: Small Firm Productivity in the Great Productivity Slowdown , Working Paper No. 2020/294 , December 18, 2020
Tracking the Economic Impact of COVID-19 and Mitigation Policies in Europe and the United States , Working Paper No. 20/125 , July 10, 2020
The Dynamics of Non-Performing Loans during Banking Crises: A New Database , Working Paper No. 19/272 , December 06, 2019
Debt Maturity and the Use of Short-Term Debt : Evidence form Sovereigns and Firms , Departmental Paper No.19/03 , February 05, 2019
International Technology Sourcing and Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from OECD Countries , Working Paper No. 18/51 , March 12, 2018
Credit and Fiscal Multipliers in China , Working Paper No. 17/273 , December 12, 2017
A Toolkit to Assess the Consistency Between Real Sector and Financial Sector Forecasts , Technical Notes and Manuals No. 17/09 , June 05, 2017
Financial Information and Macroeconomic Forecasts , Working Paper No. 16/251 , December 23, 2016
Does Balance Sheet Strength Drive the Investment Cycle? Evidence from Pre- and Post-Crisis Cyprus , Working Paper No. 16/248 , December 22, 2016
Uncertainty and Investment: The Financial Intermediary Balance Sheet Channel , Working Paper No. 15/65 , March 20, 2015
The Tax-adjusted Q Model with Intangible Assets: Theory and Evidence from Temporary Investment Tax Incentives , Working Paper No. 14/104 , June 12, 2014
Financial Constraints, Intangible Assets, and Firm Dynamics: Theory and Evidence , Working Paper No. 14/88 , May 14, 2014
IMF Country Reports
St. Kitts and Nevis: Staff Report for the 2023 Article IV Consultation
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Staff Report for the 2022 Article IV Consultation
iMFdirect Blog Posts
"How Stock Markets Respond to Social Unrest", with Philip Barrett, May 10, 2021.
"COVID’s Long Shadow: Social Repercussions of Pandemics", with Philip Barrett, February 3, 2021.
F&D articles
“The Economics of Social Unrest”, with Philip Barrett, Finance and Development, August 2021.
Selected Issue
St. Kitts and Nevis: Labor Market Diagnosis and Policies
St. Kitts and Nevis: Climate Change Adaptation and Resilient Investment
Other Published Materials
Macroprudential Policy Effects: Evidence and Open Questions, IMF Departmental Paper, 2023/002.
"An Economy for All", IMF Research Perspective, Volume 22, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2020.
"Monetary Policy in the New Normal", with an IMF staff team, IMF Staff Discussion Note 14/3.
Publications in Journals (Refereed)
Publications in Journals (Referred)
"Social Repercussions of Pandemics", with Philip Barrett, Covid Economics, Issue 68, 2021.