Spotlight On: Tony Fang

Graduated: 2004
Thesis: Public Policy, Occupational Pensions And Alternative Retirement Savings Programs
Research areas: immigration, diversity, and cultural changes; cross-cultural management; inter-cultural communications; high performance workplace practices; pension, retirement policy and the ageing workforce; minimum wages and youth employment; union impact on wages, innovation and firm growth; pay equity and employment equity
Now: Full Professor & the Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Cultural and Economic Transformation, Memorial University
Links: Twitter; Facebook

During Tony Fang’s undergraduate studies at Shandong University in China, China was just beginning a period of dramatic economic and social transformation. While he says most Chinese people did not know much about the field of economics, in his second year he had the opportunity to read The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. “Although I did not fully understand the content at that time," he says, in a recent Memorial University Researcher of the Month profile, "it triggered my curiosity and passion in studying economics. I then transferred my major from mathematics to economics.” 

Now, his research interests encompass issues of immigration, diversity, and cultural changes; cross-cultural management; inter-cultural communications; high performance workplace practices; pension, retirement policy and the ageing workforce; minimum wages and youth employment; union impact on wages, innovation and firm growth; and pay equity and employment equity. 

Selected publications: 

• 2014. Fang, T. “Global Talent Management in China,” Global Talent Management. In A Ariss Global Talent Management: Challenges, Strategies, and Opportunities: Springer. 
• 2014. Rick Long and Tony Fang. “Is Compensation Actually Strategic: The Case of Profit Sharing,” International Journal of Human Resource Management, Forthcoming. (Impact Factor: 0.792. ISI Journal Citation Reports © Ranking). ABDC: A  
• 2013. Fang, T, Samnani AK, Novicevic MM, Bing MN. “Liability-of-Foreignness Effects on Job Success of Immigrant Job Seekers.” Journal of World Business (Columbia). Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 98–109. ABDC: A “Strategic Mis(fit): The Implementation of TQM in Manufacturing Organizations” (with CD Zatzick, and T Moliterno). Strategic Management Journal. Vol.33 No. 11, pp. 1321-1330. (Impact Factor: 3.367. ISI Journal Citation Reports © Ranking: 2010: 18/172, Management). ABDC: A*  
• 2012. “Do Employees Profit from Profit Sharing? Evidence from Canadian Panel Data” (With Rick Long). Industrial and Labor Relations Review (Cornell). Vol. 65, No. 4 Pages: 899-927. (Impact Factor: 1.07 ISI Journal Citation Reports © Ranking: 2010: 6/22, Industrial Relations and Labor). ABDC: A*  
• 2012. Fang, T and Y Ge. “Unions and Firm Innovation in China: Synergy or Strife?” China Economic Review, vol. 23, no. 1, March 2012, pp. 170–180. (Impact Factor: 0.947. ISI Journal Citation Reports © Ranking: 2010: 117/305, Economics). ABDC: A 

Fang says having studied, worked and lived in China, USA, Australia and Canada, gave him great opportunities to meet and work with people of different social, economic, and cultural backgrounds from all around the world.  

“I came to Canada as an international student and have witnessed the contribution of immigrants to the growth of population, the economy, and to the diverse culture of Canada as a whole. I have spent lots of time researching about immigration, including topics such as, labour economics and human resources management.” 

His current projects include: "Employer Perceptions to Hiring Newcomers and International Students in the Atlantic Provinces" (funded by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) and "Employer Perceptions to Hiring Newcomers and International Students in Newfoundland and Labrador" (funded by Newfoundland and Labrador's Workforce Innovation Centre) will consult with employers to understand their perspectives on hiring immigrants; a sub-project of "Productivity, Firms and Income" (a joint SSHRC-funded project with Professor Mike Veall at McMaster), looking at the attraction and retention of highly skilled immigrants and international students; "Strength in Adversity: Disasters and Emergencies, Neighbourhood Ties and Community Belonging" (with Grant Schellenberg and Feng Hou of Statistics Canada) explores the factors that contribute to the strength of community belonging within local areas; and "Warmth of Welcome: Australian, Canadian, and the US Immigration Systems Compared," part of SSHRC's partnership grant, "Pathways to Prosperity," which compares and contrasts the effectiveness of immigrant selection and integration policies in Australia, Canada, and the US. A book based on this project, The Migration Advantage: Lessons from Canada and Around the World, will be published by the University of Toronto Press. 

Since his time at the CIRHR, Fang’s work has included collaborations with Centre faculty and alumni. Some recent examples include Byron Lee (CIRHR PhD 2011) and professor Morley Gunderson: 

• Fang, T., Lee, B., Timming, A. R., & Fan, D. (2019). The effects of work-life benefits on employment outcomes in Canada: A multivariate analysis. Relations Industrielles, 74(2), 323-352. 
• 2014. Fang T, Gunderson M. "VULNERABLE GROUPS IN CANADA AND LABOUR MARKET EXCLUSION (Paper Prepared for the Special Issue on Worker Vulnerability and Strategies for Inclusion)". International Journal of Manpower. Accepted on September 15, 2014. ABDC: A 
• 2013. Dungan, P, Fang, T, and Gunderson M. “The Macroeconomic Impact of Canadian Immigration: An Empirical Analysis Using the FOCUS Model.” British Journal of Industrial Relations (LSE). Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 174-195. ABDC: A* 

Before coming to the CIRHR, Fang completed his BA in Economics at Shandong University in China, and his MA in Economics at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is now a Full Professor at Memorial University’s Department of Economics, where he holds the Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Cultural and Economic Transformation. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, and holds the J. Robert Beyster Faculty Fellowship at Rutgers University and serves on a World Bank's Expert Advisory Committee on Migration and Development.  

Previously, Fang taught at York University, I. H. Asper School of Business at University of Manitoba and Monash Business School in Melbourne, Australia, where he was Director of the Master of International Business Program. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard University, NBER, and Wharton School of Business University of Macau, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, City University of Hong Kong, and Southwest University of Finance and Economics.  

He served as the President of the Chinese Economists Society (2012-13), as the Domain Leader at CERIS, Ontario Metropolis Centre (2009-12), and as a member of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (2009-2012). In 2010, he received the title of “Chutian Scholar” of Hubei Province. In 2017, he was elected as a Fellow of Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).