Kexin Bai | Texas A&M University

About Me

Hello, and thanks for visiting my website! My name is Kexin Bai, and I am a Ph.D. student in Political Science at Texas A&M University.

My research explores how geopolitical tensions, such as economic sanctions, impact sender, target, and third-party firms and countries. I also examine how they respond to these shocks, from firms navigating sanctions restrictions to countries adjusting their geopolitical alignment in great power competition. I have additional interests in the role of gender in international politics. Methodologically, my work applies causal inference methods, experiments, and graph/network analytics.

Please feel free to contact me at: baikexin [at] tamu [dot] edu

Research Interests

International Political Economy, Economic Sanctions, Global Supply Chains, Graph/Network Analytics, Gender in International Politics

News

[June 2025] I will present my solo-authored paper, “Pressure Breeds Innovation: How Firms Adapt to Export Control Sanctions” at the Trade and Industrial Policy Graduate Papers Workshop, University of California, Davis.

[May 2025] I will present my co-authored paper, “Economic Sanctions, Firm Responses, and Financial Performance of American Suppliers of Huawei” (with Quan Li) at The Workshop on Global Value Chains in a Geopolitically Fragmented World: Trade, Security, and Resilience, hosted by the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University.

[April 2025] I will present my solo-authored paper, “Pressure Breeds Innovation: How Firms Adapt to Export Control Sanctions” at Graduate Students in International Political Economy (GSIPE) Workshop (Online).

[April 2025] I will present my co-authored paper, “Does Female Representation Increase Foreign Direct Investment? Evidence from the United States” (with Zhaoqing Li) at MPSA 2025.

[April 2025] I will present my solo-authored paper, “Pressure Breeds Innovation: How Firms Adapt to Export Control Sanctions” at MPSA 2025.

[March 2025] I will present my co-authored paper, “Economic Sanctions, Firm Responses, and Financial Performance of American Suppliers of Huawei” (with Quan Li) at ISA 2025.