Tianze Liu defended his dissertation on 8 September
Tianze Liu defended his dissertation on 8 September.
On 8 September, Tianze Liu successfully defended his dissertation Essays on the Economics of Specialized Skills.
Tianze Liu with the opponent Roope Uusitalo.
About the dissertation
Tianze Liu's dissertation is titled Essays on the Economics of Specialized Skills. The dissertation consists of three papers on how specialized skills shape labor market outcomes and economic dynamics.
The first paper studies the careers of IT-specialized graduates during the dotcom bust in Sweden, showing that they suffered initial earnings losses and lower chances of IT employment but eventually recovered by applying their skills in other high-paying occupations.
The second paper examines regional labor market effects of the IT sector’s boom-bust cycle around 2000, finding strong spillovers on earnings in construction, housing, and business services.
The third paper investigates a Chinese government policy designating certain university disciplines as centers of excellence. The results show that the policy attracts higher-ranking applicants, raises competition within designated fields, and generates spillover benefits for other disciplines within the same university.
About the defense
The opponent at the public defense was Professor Roope Uusitalo from Helsinki University. The grading committee consisted of Professor David Seim from Stockholm University, Jonas Larsson Taghizadeh from Uppsala University, and Arizo Karimi from Uppsala University. The supervisors were Oskar Nordström Skans and Lena Hensvik, both from Uppsala University.