Personal profile
Biography
I am a lecturer in Global Political Economy at the University of Manchester. My areas of specialization include political economy of development, institutional change, food politics, and historical capitalism. I received my PhD in Sociology from the Johns Hopkins University and a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. My publications can be found in Journal of Peasant Studies, Development and Change, Socio-Economic Review, among others. I am working on my book manuscript: Quest for Common Prosperity: Politics of Agrarian Development and Spatial Inequality in China.
Email contact: [email protected]
Teaching
I am covening and teaching the following modules:
- POLI70311 Critical Approaches to Internation Political Economy
- POLI60312 Research Design and Skills
- POLI20722 Politics of Development
My office: 4.003 Arthur Lewis Building
Office hour for AY 2025-26 Semester 1: Monday 10:30 - 11:30 am. Email to book
Other research
I am also writing a series of articles on digital capitalism, platform algorithm, social reproduction, and real estate.
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University
20 Aug 2016 → 20 Aug 2024
Award Date: 20 Aug 2024
Bachelor of Arts, University of Michigan
Award Date: 30 Apr 2015
Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms
- Manchester China Institute
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 1 No Poverty -
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
Research output
- 3 Article
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Transcending boundaries and breaking social safety nets: how digital platforms reorganize the market and exacerbate economic insecurity
Song, Q. & Liu, T., 14 Sept 2025, In: Socio-Economic Review.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Real‐estate Boom, Commodification and Crises of Social Reproductive Institutions in Rural China
Liu, T., May 2023, In: Development and Change.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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‘Enclosure with Chinese characteristics’: a Polanyian approach to the origins and limits of land commodification in China
Liu, T., 20 Jan 2023, In: Journal of Peasant Studies.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review