Tao is a PhD candidate in Development Economics and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of International Development, School of Politics & Economics, and King's Business School. He holds dual Master's degrees in Local Economic Development and in Development Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the University of Manchester.

His research focuses on Multinational Enterprises (MNEs), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and Global Value Chains (GVCs). He has been selected for a two-year program in the AIB-CIBER Doctoral Academy, funded by the Sheth Foundation Fellowship. He has worked at the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and was a finalist for the UNCTAD-AIB Award for Best Research on Investment and Development.

Research

Thesis title: 'Essays on Outward FDI and Firm Development in Emerging Economies: How GVCs and Industry 4.0 reshape the Internationalisation of MNEs?'

Tao's research is rooted in the fields of International Business, Development Economics, and Economic Geography. It will explore the development dilemmas of MNEs and FDI strategies from an insight into GVCs and cutting-edge digital technologies, to shape a new policy agenda of SDGs. Tao worked on the AI and Knowledge Diffusion section for the UN's Technology and Innovation Report 2025.

Tao's research has been funded by the Academy of International Business (AIB), Centre for Doctoral Studies, and King's SOF, and selected for the 2024 AIB Annual Conference, the 50th AIB-UKI conference, and the CEA European Conference.

PhD supervision

• Principal supervisor: Dr Yundan Gong
• Secondary supervisor: Dr Jan Knoerich

Further Details

See Tao's research profile