颜色博士的研究获得国内外同行的关注。
他的博士论文《Real Wages and Skill Premia in China, 1860 to 1936》获得第十五届世界经济史大会博士论文奖,这是中国学者首次获此殊荣。
他的论文发表在国内外著名学术期刊如“International Economic Review”、“Explorations in Economic History”、《经济研究》、《管理世界》、《经济学季刊》等。
他的研究获得美国国家自然科学基金、中国国家社科基金和教育部人文社科基金的资助。
他还作为主持人承担了国家重修清史项目《清史•对外贸易志》的科研项目。
他担任SSCI期刊“Australian Economic History Review”的副编审。
“Globalization, Trade & Wages: What Does History tell us about China?” with Kris James Mitchener, forthcoming, International Economic Review, NBER Working Paper #15679.
“Big BRICs, Weak Foundations: The Beginning of Public Elementary Education in Brazil, Russia, India, and China,” with Latika Chaudhary, Aldo Musacchio and Steven Nafziger, Explorations in Economic History, Volume 49, Issue 2, April 2012, Pages 221-240.
"Real Estate Prices in Beijing, 1645-1840”, with Dan Raff and Susan Wachter, forthcoming, Explorations in Economic History.
“Real Wages and Skill Premia in China, 1858 to 1936,” revised and resubmitted, Review of Economic History.
“Why Do Large Firms Pay Higher Wages in Developing Countries”, with Hongbin Cai and Miaojun Wang, revised and resubmitted, Journal of Development Economics.
“The Long-Term Effects of Christian Aces in China”, with Yuyu Chen and Hui Wang.
“The Long-Term Effects of Railway Construction in China in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries”, with Hui Wang.
“The Price and Consumption of Salt in China in 1901”, with Patrick Hase, Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, summer 2009.
“ The State And Scope Of The Economic History Of Developing Regions”, with Stefan Schirmer, Latika Chaudhary, Metin Coşgel, Johan Fourie, Ewout Frankemav, Martine Mariottivii, and Grietjie Verhoefv, Economic History of Developing Regions, June 2010.