Bio
Dr. Hui Li is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong. Hui received her doctoral degree in public policy and management from the University of Southern California. Before joining the University of Hong Kong, she was an assistant professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida (2016-2018).
Her research focuses on public and nonprofit management, collaboration, civil society and governance, and civic engagement—issues that link nonprofits and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to the policy process. She is particularly interested in how various institutional actors, including government agencies, NGOs, and citizens, interact in environmental governance in authoritarian China. She has published in Public Administration Review, Governance, International Affairs, Regulation and Governance, American Review of Public Administration, Administration & Society, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, and other outlets.
Personal Website
Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=hUIFa5wAAAAJ&hl=en
Research Gate
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Li, H., Zhang, J.S., and Huang, K. (2025). Meta-analyzing the trust-performance link in collaboration: Moderating effects of contexts, dynamics, and methodological approaches. Public Performance & Management Review. 48(1), 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2024.2405839
Zhang, J.S., Yang, K.F., and Li, H. (2024). Legislative Capacity, Bureaucratic Reputation, and Delegation from a Trust Perspective: A Survey Experiment. Governance. 37(1), 281–301.
Li, H., and Farid, M. (2023). Stay or Exit: How do International NGOs Respond to Institutional Pressures Under Authoritarianism? Regulation and Governance. 17(2), 512-530
Zhang, J.S., Li, H., and Yang, K.F. (2022). Explaining Sustainability Innovation in City Governments: Innovation Mechanisms and Discretion Types in Multi-Level Governance. American Review of Public Administration. 52(5), 366–381
Li, H., Tang, S.Y., and Lo, C.W.H. (2022). Resource Dependency, Perceived Political Environment, and ENGO Advocacy Under Authoritarian Rule. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning. 24(6): 667-679
Zhang, J.S., Li, H., and Yang, K.F. (2021). A Meta-Analysis of the Government Performance-Trust Link: Taking Cultural and Methodological Factors into Account. Public Administration Review. 82 (1): 39-58
Farid, M., and Li, H. (2021). International NGOs as Intermediaries in China’s “Going Out” Strategy. International Affairs. 97 (6), 1945-1962.
Farid, M., and Li, H. (2021). Reciprocal Engagement and NGO Policy Influence on the Local State in China. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. 32, 597–609
Li, H., Wen, B., and Cooper, T.L. (2019). What Makes Neighborhood Associations Effective in Urban Governance? Evidence from Neighborhood Council Boards in Los Angeles. American Review of Public Administration. 49 (8), 931-943
Li, H. (2019). Leadership Succession and the Performance of Nonprofit Organizations: A Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Nonprofit Management & Leadership. 29: 341–361.
Li, H., Tang, S.Y., and Lo, C.W.H. (2018). The Institutional Antecedents of Managerial Networking in Chinese Environmental NGOs. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 47(2), 325-346.
Li, H. and Zhang, J. S. (2017). How do Civic Associations Foster Political Participation? The Role of Scope and Intensity of Organizational Involvement. Nonprofit Policy Forum. 8(1): 3-24
Li, H., Lo, C.W.H., and Tang, S.Y. (2017). Nonprofit Policy Advocacy under Authoritarianism. Public Administration Review. 77(1), 103-117.
Wang, W.J., Li, H., and Cooper, T.L. (2017). Civic Engagement and Citizenship Development: The Case of Homeowners’ Participation in Neighborhood Affairs in Beijing. Administration & Society. 49(6), 827-851.
Book Chapters & Encyclopedia Entries:
Li., H., and Teets, J. (2024). Civil Society in China. Oxford Bibliographies in Chinese Studies. DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199920082-0222
Li, H. (2023). Political Resources and NGO Policy Advocacy Strategies in Authoritarian China. In Max Grömping and Jessica C. Teets (eds.). Lobbying the Autocrat: The Dynamics of Policy Advocacy in Non-democracies (pp.180-201). University of Michigan Press
Li, H. (2021). Political Embeddedness and NGO Policy Advocacy Strategies in Authoritarian China. Democracy and Autocracy. 19 (3), 23-28.
Li, H., and Zhang, J.S. (2021). Chinese Public Administration Research in Mainstream PA Journals: A Systematic Review (2002-2020). In Thomas Andrew Bryer (ed.). Handbook of Theories of Public Administration and Management (pp. 286-298). Edward Elgar Publisher
Yeo, J.W., Li, H., Shin, Y.A. and Haupt, B. (2018). Cultural Approach to Crisis Management. In Ali Farazmand, Frances Edwards, Daniel Goodrich, Steven Koven and Matthew H. Ruther (eds.). Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy and Governance (pp. 1257-1261), Springer.
Research Grants
2025, Collaborative Research Project Grant, Research Grant Council, Co-Principal Investigator (HKD 2,000,000)
2023, General Research Fund, Research Grant Council, Principal Investigator (HKD 623,325)
2019, General Research Fund, Research Grant Council, Co-Investigator (HKD1,010,400)
2019, Seed Fund for Basic Research, The University of Hong Kong, Principal Investigator (HKD150,000)
Media Engagement
China’s Growing Flirtations With International NGO Collaboration. Belt and Road Podcast. (March 24, 2023)
How INGOs mediate China’s “going out” strategy. OUP Blog. Oxford University Press. (December 21, 2021)
