Rate My Professor Alexander Hammer

Alexander B. Hammer is a Lecturer and Part-time Faculty member at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, serving as an Adjunct Professor since January 2020. He teaches the course “The Economics of U.S.-China Trade” in the MA International Economic Policy program. Hammer holds a BA from Brandeis University and the London School of Economics, an MA in economics and China studies from the Johns Hopkins SAIS program, and an MBA from Duke University. His career includes current role as Director and Senior Economist of the International Trade Administration’s Economic Analysis Unit since August 2020, where he leads a team of economists analyzing market conditions and economic developments in China and other emerging/transition countries. He spent fifteen years at the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), mostly as Lead Economist in the Office of Economics, heading the agency’s China Research Program, leading economic studies on trade issues including advanced-technology trade, government-supported innovation initiatives, and intellectual property right violations, and serving as Economics Editor and Editor-in-Chief for two USITC publications. Earlier positions include five years in the International Monetary Fund’s Asia and Pacific Department analyzing economic developments in China and other transition/emerging economies, three years at Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates, and shorter tenures at the French Senate, Royal Institute for International Affairs, and United Nations Association.

Hammer’s research specializations encompass the U.S.-China economic relationship in trade, investment, and innovation; China’s modern economic development and uneven transition; and China’s ownership reform involving state, private, and foreign enterprises. He is a frequent lecturer at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute, teaching U.S. diplomats and commercial service officers about the fundamentals of the Chinese economy and U.S.-China economic relations. Key publications include “Is China In a High-Tech, Low-Productivity Trap?” with Shahid Yusuf (USITC Working Paper, July 2020), “What’s Unique About China's Trade with the United States? A Multi-Dimensional Perspective Using China’s Customs Data” with Ujjwall Uppuluri (USITC Working Paper, July 2020), “How Big Is China’s BRI-Related OFDI Spending & Where Is It Going?” with Trevor Litwin (USITC Executive Briefing, July 2020), “Exporting U.S. Innovative Capacity to China? A Case Study of Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment” (CSIS, March 2020), “The Mysterious Divergence In China's Productivity And Innovation Patterns” with Jennifer Bernard (USITC Executive Briefing, September 2019), and “China’s Trade and Investment Relationship with Africa” with Lin Jones (USITC Executive Briefing, December 2012).