Xiang Hui

Xiang Hui

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I study credible exchange in markets. My research asks how markets create trust when quality or intent are hard to verify, and how institutions such as reputation, certification, and platform governance shape behavior, market performance, and welfare.

One stream of my work studies digital platforms. Platforms often create trust through information design: they decide what is disclosed, what is verified, and how credibility is signaled. I study how these design choices affect buyers and sellers, and how they shape market efficiency and welfare. This work connects to broader questions about information asymmetry, reputation, and market design.

My recent work studies AI-mediated markets as a new setting for credible exchange. AI lowers the cost of production, but not necessarily the cost of verification. I study how this distinction reshapes expertise, labor demand, platform governance, and the allocation of value, and what institutions are needed to support credible and broadly beneficial exchange.

I also study decentralized systems and blockchain as mechanisms for trust, coordination, and decentralized governance. This work asks when decentralized records and incentives can support credible exchange, reduce dependence on traditional intermediaries, redistribute control or value, and when they instead create new forms of concentration.

Academic/Professional Activities

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• Editor, Associate Editor, Management Science
• Editor, Associate Editor, Decision Sciences
• Editorial Review Board Member, Marketing Science

Awards/Honors

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• Olin Award, Olin Business School, Washington University, 2026
• Olin Award, Olin Business School, Washington University, 2025
• Research Excellence Faculty Recognition, Office of the Provost, Washington University, 2025
• Marketing Science Service Awards, Marketing Science, 2023

Research Interests

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Economics of Technology, Trust Mechanisms, Digital Platforms