Dr. Pui-hang Wong


Assistant Professor / Deputy PhD Programme Director

Research group(s):
4. Governance and institutions
2. Structural Change and Economic Development
6. Migration and Development

Pui Hang Wong is an assistant professor at Maastricht University. He is also the deputy director of the PhD programme at UNU-MERIT and INSPIRE at Maastricht University. He coordinated the Foreign Policy and Development specialization (in cooperation with the Faculty of Law) of the MPP programme between 2018 and 2022.

His research centers on various global development issues (e.g., conflicts, migration, regional development and human capital) and computational methods. His research has appeared in, among others, Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Development StudiesHealth & Place, Social Indicators Research, and International Migration

He has taught quantitative methods, peace and conflicts, and sustainable development at the School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and University College Maastricht (UCM). He is also a guest lecturer at Aix-Marseille School of Economics. He has supervised theses on topics related to development, civil conflicts, and public policy at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. 

Pui-Hang Wong has held visiting positions at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and the Center for Economic Catch-Up at Seoul. He is a fellow of the African Studies Centre Leiden Community and a member of the Research School on Peace and Conflict. He read economics and political science at Monash (Australia), Essex (UK), the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Maastricht (Netherlands), and interned at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).




Selected publications by Pui-hang Wong


Articles (journal, professional, popular)
Collazos Ortiz, Maria & Pui-hang Wong, 2024, The effects of resource rents and elections on human capital investment in Colombia, Resources Policy, 89, DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.104578, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, Ortrun Merkle & Melissa Siegel, 2024, Remittance Receivers as Targets for Corruption in Latin America, Journal of Development Studies, 60(2): 324-343, DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2023.2265526, More information
Torres Chedraui, Ana Maria & Pui-hang Wong, 2024, A stranger at home? A multilevel analysis of anti-Muslim sentiment in Western European societies, Ethnicities, 24(1): 57-77, DOI: 10.1177/14687968221149, More information
Celbis, Mehmet Guney, Pui-hang Wong, Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2023, Job Satisfaction and the ‘Great Resignation’: An Exploratory Machine Learning Analysis, Social Indicators Research, 170(3): 1097-1118, DOI: 10.1007/s11205-023-03233-3, More information
Celbis, Mehmet Guney, Pui-hang Wong, Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2023, Impacts of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Older-Age Cohorts in European Labor Markets: A Machine Learning Exploration of Vulnerable Groups, Regional Science, Policy & Practice, 15(3): 559-584, DOI: 10.1111/rsp3.12520, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, 2022, Moral Injury in Former Child Soldiers in Liberia, Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 15(3): 847-856, DOI: 10.1007/s40653-021-00414-5, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2021, The ideal neighbourhoods of successful ageing: A machine learning approach, Health & Place, 72, DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2021.102704, More information
Wong, Pui-hang & Mehmet Guney Celbis, 2019, Human Rights, Income and International Migration, International Migration, 57(3): 98-114, DOI: 10.1111/imig.12558, More information
Celbis, Mehmet Guney, Pui-hang Wong & Tatjana Guznajeva, 2018, Regional integration and the economic geography of Belarus, Eurasian Geography and Economics, 59: 462-495, DOI: 10.1080/15387216.2019.1573694, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, 2016, How can political trust be built after civil wars? Evidence from post-conflict Sierra Leone, Journal of Peace Research, 53(6): 772-785, DOI: 10.1177/0022343316659334, More information


Book chapters
Wong, Pui-hang, Mehmet Guney Celbis, Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2023, Same Bed, Different Dreams? Socio-Economic Strata and Differences in Liveability Perception in European Cities, in: Fusco Girard, L., Kourtit, K., Nijkamp, P (eds.), The Future of Liveable Cities, Springer, Cham, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-37466-1_14, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, 2021, Economic Deprivation: Approaches, Causes, and Consequences for Violent Conflicts, in: Leal Filho W., Azul A.M., Brandli L., Lange Salvia A., Özuyar P.G., Wall T. (eds), Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Springer, Cham, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71066-2_70-1, More information
Turkeli, Serdar, Pui-hang Wong & Eleni Abraham Yitbarek, 2020, Multiplex Learning: An Evidence-Based Approach to Design Policy Learning Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa for the SDGs, in: In: Ramutsindela M., Mickler D. (eds), Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals, Springer, Cham, Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020, Sustainable Development Goals Series, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14857-7_26, More information
Merkle, Ortrun & Pui-hang Wong, 2019, It is all about power: Corruption, patriarchy and the political participation of women, in: Konte, Maty & Nyasha Tirivayi (eds.), Women and Sustainable Human Development: Empowering Women in Africa, Palgrave Macmillan, Geneva, More information


UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Moore, Lindsey, Mindel van de Laar, Pui-hang Wong & Cathal O'Donoghue, 2023, Making impact with agricultural development projects: The use of innovative machine learning methodology to understand the development aid field, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2023-011
Celbis, Mehmet Guney, Pui-hang Wong & Tatjana Guznajeva, 2018, The Eurasian customs union and the economic geography of Belarus: A panel convergence approach, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2018-029
Wong, Pui-hang, 2017, How development aid explains (or not) the rise and fall of insurgent attacks in Iraq, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2017-006
Wong, Pui-hang & Mehmet Guney Celbis, 2015, Migration as a response to differences in human rights and income: A bilateral panel study, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2015-053
Wong, Pui-hang, 2014, How can political trust be built after civil wars? Lessons from post-conflict Sierra Leone, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2014-083
Wong, Pui-hang, 2014, Insurgents in motion: Counterinsurgency and insurgency relocation in Iraq, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2014-045


External working papers
Sillen, Daan, Pui-hang Wong & Serdar Turkeli, 2019, Community Currency Programmes as a Tool for Sustainable Development: The Cases of Mombasa and Nairobi Counties, Kenya, More information


Conference contributions
Wong, Pui-hang & Russell TN Wong, 2024, Strategic Complementarity and the Rise of Polarization: Theory and Evidence, Allied Social Science Associations Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, USA, 5 - 7 Jan 2024, More information
Celbis, Mehmet Guney, Pui-hang Wong, Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2023, Job Satisfaction and the ‘Great Resignation’: An Exploratory Machine Learning Analysis, The Regional Science Academy and The 70th Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International, Virtual and San Diego, CA, 15 - 18 Nov 2023, More information
Collazos Ortiz, Maria & Pui-hang Wong, 2023, Doubly Cursed? The Effects of Resource Rents and Elections on Human Capital Investment in Colombia, 62nd European Regional Science Association Congress, Alicante, 28 Aug - 1 Sept 2023
Wong, Pui-hang, Mehmet Guney Celbis, Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2023, Liveability perceptions in European cities, The Regional Science Association Nederland Voorjaarsdag. Emotions and Perceptions in Space. Utrecht, 16 June, 2023
Wong, Pui-hang, 2021, Livability and Inequality, The Future of Liveable Cities, Napoli, 22-23 November, 2021, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, Mehmet Guney Celbis, Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2021, Nature as a source of urban resilience, ReGrowEU International Conference, Iasi, 7-11 October, 2021, More information
Celbis, Mehmet Guney, Pui-hang Wong, Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2020, Innovativeness as a Product of Work-related and Place-based Conditions: Results of a Spatial Econometric and Machine Learning Approach, The 67th Annual North American Meetings of the Regional Science Association International, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, 2019, Paths of Catch-up along the Global Value Chain: A Trajectory Analysis, Workshop, Center for Economic Catch-Up, Seoul, 14 March, 2019
Wong, Pui-hang, 2017, Explaining dropout from reintegration programme in Liberia, Symposium, Research School on Peace and Conflict, Oslo, 20-21 April, 2017
Wong, Pui-hang, 2016, Robust Peacekeeping, Symposium, Research School on Peace and Conflict, Oslo, 21-22 April, 2016
Merkle, Ortrun & Pui-hang Wong, 2016, Rethinking the old boys club: corruption and gender equality in  Sierra Leone, ISA's 57th Annual Convention: Exploring Peace, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, 2015, How Can Political Trust be Built after Civil Wars? Lessons from Post-Conflict Sierra Leone, European Network for Conflict Research (ENCoRe) Spring Meeting, Bonn, 5-7 March, 2015
Wong, Pui-hang, 2015, Insurgents in motion: Counterinsurgency and insurgency relocation in Iraq, Asian Political Methodology Conference, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 9-10 January, 2015, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, 2014, A Simple Model of Rebel Group Fragmentation, European Political Science Association (EPSA) Annual General Conference, Edinburgh, 19-21 June, 2014
Wong, Pui-hang, 2013, Rebel Group Fragmentation and Conflict Escalation, European Network for Conflict Research (ENCoRe) Event Data Workshop, Konstanz, 6-7 December, 2013
Wong, Pui-hang & Lutz Krebs, 2013, Are Anocracies More Likely to Experience Civil War?, Peace Science Society (International) - International Studies Association Joint International Conference, Budapest, 27-29 June, 2013
Wong, Pui-hang, 2013, Democratic transitions in divided societies, International Studies Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, 3-6 April, 2013


Theses
Wong, Pui-hang, 2017, The Hearts and Minds in Conflict and Peace: The Economics of Counterinsurgency and the Psychology of Reconstruction, PhD dissertation Maastricht University / United Nations University


Other (editorship, media appearance, keynote, etc.)
Wong, Pui-hang, Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp (eds.), 2023, Modelling Pandemic Impacts in Space, Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Special Issue, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, 2017, How does violent conflict affect labour supply: The case of the Kyrgyz Republic, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Oslo, Norway
Wong, Pui-hang, 2017, Sons of Iraq: Mosul will only recover if we heed the lessons of the US invasion, The Conversation, More information
Wong, Pui-hang, 2016, Robust Peacekeeping: A Necessary Evil?, UNU-MERIT Blog, More information


UNU-MERIT