HKUST Annual Report 2021-2022

28 Gauging Vaccine Effectiveness in Data-Deficient Countries Prof. Abhiroop MUKHERJEE (Finance), Prof. George PANAYOTOV (Finance), PhD student Harsha DUTTA (Finance), and colleagues demonstrated how to measure vaccine effectiveness (VE) in the absence of adequate public health data. Applying a simple statistical tool known as a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) model to the analysis of public health data in India, the team found that even one dose of the vaccines used was 55% effective against infection and 80% against hospitalizations during the Delta wave in early 2021. This alternative method of measuring VE enables data-deficient countries to keep informed when formulating vaccination and immunization policies. Internationalizing the Renminbi and Its Impact In his book, One Currency, Two Markets: China’s Attempt to Internationalize the Renminbi (Cambridge University Press), Prof. Edwin LAI (Economics) analyzes the future of the international monetary system and the rising importance of the RMB. The study applies economic theories accessible to laymen to establish that financial development and openness are crucial for RMB internationalization to succeed, and points out how Hong Kong plays an important role. Employing the “gravity model”, the book predicts quantitatively that, by 2030, the RMB can be a distant third payment currency, after the US dollar and euro but surpassing the British pound sterling. How Online Advertising Affects Planned Purchases Prof. Ralf VAN DER LANS (Marketing) and colleagues published research that tested the hypothesis that online advertising can speed up product search by visually suppressing competing products. Three eye-tracking and two search-time experiments revealed that online advertisements with an image of the target product improved search speed by about 25% for websites without systematic visual organization of products. The results provide new perspectives on online advertising effects, the fundamental search processes through which these accrue, and how advertisements can support consumers in making planned purchases.