Rong Chen

Rong is a DPhil student in International Development. Her research focuses on digital economy, including regulatory challenges imposed by digital platform firms, digital entrepreneurship, and e-commerce. Before arriving at Oxford, she completed a Master of Public Administration degree with concentration on Economic Policy and Sustainable Finance from Cornell University.   

Rong is currently an Economist at the Development Economics Vice Presidency of the World Bank Group. Since she joined the World Bank Group in 2012, she has primarily worked on issues relating to financial sector development, as well as digital technology advances. She was one of the principal authors of the World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work, focusing on analyses about the emergence of digital platform firms. From 2014-2017, she led the finance team of the Enabling the Business of Agriculture project, measuring regulatory environment for agricultural finance and financial inclusion in more than 60 countries. She also worked in the Doing Business project, co-authored the Doing Business 2013 and 2014 reports, and led the data analysis for the Doing Business in g7+ (fragile and conflict affected countries) report. She also worked as a youth advisor at the United Nations Population Fund and as a research fellow at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in Geneva, Switzerland.